news-record.com

CLEMSON, S.C. -- Riley Skinner rose from the soggy turf without his helmet, a dazed look on his face that conveyed equal parts pain and disbelief.

The Wake Forest quarterback was the recipient of a sack by Clemson linebacker Kavell Conner that had jarred his headgear loose, just the latest in a series of blows the senior was quickly accumulating.

But Skinner was far from the only Demon Deacon taking it on the chin in Saturday's 38-3 loss to a Clemson squad that obviously found some answers to its woes during last week's bye.

"I think they did some good things with their off time," Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe said. "They played hard and played well. There is never any doubt about their talent level and I was impressed. Their coaching staff did a nice job scheme-wise and they gave us some things we didn't handle well."

Wake Forest (4-3, 2-2) hadwon four of its last five, with the only loss in overtime at Boston College. Clemson (3-3, 2-2) had lost three of four coming in.

The victory margin was the largest by either team in the series since the Tigers' 55-7 win in 2000 and it kept Grobe winless all-time at Clemson.

Skinner, who had spearheaded the league's second-leading offense, was under assault throughout the game as Clemson regularly found its way into Wake's backfield. The Demon Deacons were held to 81 rushing and 97 passing yards while completing only 46 percent of their passes.

"It's a matter of executing and we did our part in letting Riley get hit," center Russell Nenon said. "We need to play better than that and it showed you can't come out and take a week off against anybody.

"We weren't doing the right stuff at the right time. Clemson always has a stellar front seven. You see their athletes like (defensive ends) Ricky Sapp and Da'Quan Bowers, they're freaks out there, so you need to play your best game and obviously we didn't do that."

Clemson constantly kept the heat on Skinner in recording five sacks, its most since 2007, and even when Skinner didn't go down, he had little time to find his receivers. He was also hurried into two interceptions.

"We've played (Skinner) over the years and know if he gets hit a few times, he starts getting frustrated," Sapp said. "We knew we had to come out, hit him, and get him on the ground."

Clemson's defense was ranked third in the ACC, but the Tigers offense finally displaying some prowess was truly Wake's undoing.

What wasn't surprising was the big-play ability of Spiller, whose 66-yard touchdown run gave Clemson a 24-3 lead late in the second quarter. He would close out the scoring with a 14-yard touchdown in the third while rushing for 106 yards on only nine carries.

"I go back to Clemson's kids and think they played great," Grobe said. "I don't think we are going to get back and watch the film and feel like there is much blame to hand out. I just think we got beat today."

Wake Forest 0 3 0 0 -- 3 Clemson 10 21 7 0 -- 38

Clem--Palmer 1 pass from Parker (Jackson kick)

Clem--FG Jackson 22

Clem--Parker 3 run (Jackson kick)

Wake--FG Newman 28

Clem--Spiller 66 run (Jackson kick)

Clem--Harper 3 run (Jackson kick)

Clem--Spiller 14 run (Jackson kick)

A--72,000.

Wake Forest Clemson

First downs 13 16

Rushes-yards 44-81 33-195

Passing 97 187

Comp-Att-Int 12-26-2 15-24-0

Return Yards 6 38

Punts-Avg. 9-36.9 6-38.3

Fumbles-Lost 1-0 2-2

Penalties-Yards 6-55 2-20

Time of Possession 35:57 24:03

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING--Wake Forest, W.Dixon 8-35, Adams 9-26, Pendergrass 7-21, Bohanon 2-11, Rinfrette 5-8, Brown 1-0, Ma.Williams 1-0, McManus 1-(minus 1), Givens 3-(minus 7), Skinner 7-(minus 12). Clemson, Spiller 9-106, Ellington 2-34, Parker 7-31, Harper 3-13, Diehl 2-5, J.Ford 1-4, Taylor 2-3, Korn 6-3, Team 1-(minus 4).

PASSING--Wake Forest, Skinner 11-24-2-82, Ma.Williams 1-1-0-15, McManus 0-1-0-0. Clemson, Parker 10-17-0-132, Korn 4-6-0-23, J.Ford 1-1-0-32.

RECEIVING--Wake Forest, Brown 3-22, Ma.Williams 2-13, Adams 2-11, Givens 1-16, Skinner 1-15, Ford 1-9, Bohanon 1-7, Rinfrette 1-4. Clemson, Palmer 4-49, Ashe 2-16, Harper 2-15, Spiller 2-6, J.Ford 1-51, Dye 1-32, Allen 1-10, Br.Clear 1-6, Jones 1-2.