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ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Redemption wasn't on the minds of a fragile Wake Forest football team when the Demon Deacons came into Navy-Marine Corps Stadium Saturday. Survival was a more predominant thought.

One week after getting crushed at Clemson by 35 points, Wake Forest needed very much to beat Navy. A torrential rain -- and a punishing fullback -- got in the way during a 13-10 defeat.

Vincent Murray ran for a career-best 175 yards and quarterback Kriss Proctor, subbing for an injured Ricky Dobbs, chipped in 89 yards for an offense that racked up 338 yards rushing on 62 attempts and did not attempt a single pass.

The downpour soaked the quickly diminishing crowd of 31,907, the turf and the fingers of the Wake Forest receivers, frustrating quarterback Riley Skinner.

The defeat put Wake Forest (4-4) in a difficult position with a schedule that includes games against Miami, Georgia Tech and Florida State.

"It was tough," said Demon Deacons coach Jim Grobe. "The conditions were really, really hard to throw the football, not only throw it but catch it. It looked like a pretty good Skinner setup (for a fourth-quarter comeback), but the conditions were really rough."

Skinner was 13-of-25 for 173 yards and a touchdown, but he was sacked three times and had several passes dropped. "You can't use it as an excuse," Skinner said. "It didn't rain in the first quarter and we didn't score any points."

Trailing 13-10, Wake Forest got the ball at its 20 with 3:56 remaining and all three of its timeouts.

But a holding call against right tackle Jeff Griffin put the Deacons in a second-and-20 hole, and Wake Forest was eventually forced to punt.

"The holding penalty was the back-breaker, pretty much," Grobe said.

It was not just Wake Forest's offense that couldn't find a rhythm in the rain and wind. Despite facing the Midshipmen for the third time in a little more than a year -- the teams split last year's meetings, including a victory for the Demon Deacons in the EagleBank Bowl -- Navy's option befuddled Wake Forest.

Overcoming what could have been a costly fumble at the Wake Forest 2 with Navy leading 13-3 late in the third quarter, Proctor ran the option to near-perfection in his first collegiate start.

"We were hoping maybe to get more turnovers in the game -- sometimes an inexperienced guy puts the ball on the ground more -- but I thought he played really well," Grobe said.

It was Murray who was Navy's go-to guy in the absence of Dobbs (knee injury) and slot back Marcus Curry (foot injury).

"There's a lot of little things that happen in this offense, and it kind of gets you out of your normal routine," said defensive tackle John Russell.

Russell made a critical error when he jumped offside on a late third down, prolonging a Navy drive.

"I jumped, but I didn't touch anybody. I told the ref I was a good four or five inches from touching anybody," Russell said. "It was just a bonehead play on my part. Just got to get better."

Wake Forest gained 135 yards rushing on 35 attempts, with junior Josh Adams accounting for 89 yards.

"When it rains like this, you've got to get the running game going," Griffin said. "We had it going earlier in the year. We got to find where the hell that thing is."

Wake Forest had better find it fast, considering that 5-2 Miami is coming to town on Saturday.

"We lost two games in a row last year, and we came back to win a couple of good ones," said Skinner. "It's going to be tough to dwell on this one when you have such a talented team coming in."

Wake Forest 0 3 0 7 -- 10 Navy 3 3 7 0 -- 13

Navy--FG Buckley 50

Wake--FG Newman 40

Navy--FG Buckley 41

Navy--Proctor 40 run (Buckley kick)

Wake--Brown 15 pass from Skinner (Newman kick)

A--31,907.

Wake Navy

First downs 18 16

Rushes-yards 35-135 64-338

Passing 173 0

Comp-Att-Int 13-25-0 0-0-0

Return Yards 13 13

Punts-Avg. 6-33.8 4-48.5

Fumbles-Lost 1-0 1-1

Penalties-Yards 7-57 4-39

Time of Possession 25:59 34:01

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING--Wake Forest, Adams 18-89, Pendergrass 5-27, Skinner 8-17, Rinfrette 3-2, Ma.Williams 1-0. Navy, Murray 27-175, Proctor 23-89, Teich 2-35, Greene 4-20, Doyle 3-12, Finnerty 1-9, Byrd 1-2, Team 3-(minus 4).

PASSING--Wake Forest, Skinner 13-25-0-173.

RECEIVING--Wake Forest, Brown 3-47, Ford 2-29, Ma.Williams 2-29, J.Williams 2-23, Adams 2-17, Bohanon 1-19, Pendergrass 1-9.