Late field goal does in Ole Miss

September 07, 2008 12:44 pm

— WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Sam Swank kicked a 41-yard field goal with 3 seconds left to cap a dramatic final minute and give No. 20 Wake Forest a 30-28 win over Mississippi on Saturday.
After Jevan Snead’s 5-yard touchdown pass to Cordera Eason on fourth down with 1:01 left gave Ole Miss the lead, Riley Skinner led the Demon Deacons (2-0) on a 56-yard drive, keyed by a pass interference penalty against Marshay Green.
Swank, the nation’s active career leader with 65 field goals, calmly drilled the game-winning field goal for the sixth lead change of the game.
Skinner completed 32-of-43 passes for a career-high 348 yards and two touchdowns and no interceptions, and D.J. Boldin caught 11 passes for 123 yards, including a 22-yard catch on the final drive.
The Rebels (1-1) were a minute away from giving first-year coach Houston Nutt a signature win in only his second season, when Snead led a 7-minute, 80-yard drive. Facing fourth-and-3 from the Wake Forest 5, Snead was quickly flushed out of the pocket, scrambled right, then left and back right again before finding Eason in the front of the end zone.
Snead showed poise all afternoon, completing 20-of-33 for 360 yards and three touchdowns, often creating after the pocket collapsed.
Early, Nutt’s “Wild Rebel” formation of direct snaps to running backs and receivers caused Wake Forest problems.
A direct snap to Dexter McCluster turned into a reverse-flea flicker, with Snead finding Brandon Bolden for a 33-yard gain. That set up Snead’s 4-yard TD pass to Gerald Harris.
It showed early that Ole Miss was going to make it tough for Wake Forest, but Swank bailed out his teammates as he surpassed 300 career points.

Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.