Associated Press
CLEMSON, S.C. ó Riley Skinner and Wake Forest are on top of the ACC’s Atlantic Division and heading to play a Clemson team in turmoil. Sounds like a Demon Deacon runaway, right?
Not so fast, says Skinner, Wake’s senior quarterback.
“We know they’re a lot better team than what their record says,” Skinner said. “That’s just the way football is sometimes.”
Wake Forest (4-2, 2-1 ACC) can take a huge step toward the league’s championship game with its first victory at Death Valley in 11 years. Then again, a win by the Tigers (2-3, 1-2) today would tighten up an already puzzling, unpredictable and mediocre-looking division.
“All our goals are still on the table if we beat Wake,” Clemson quarterback Kyle Parker said.
Still, it appears Wake Forest couldn’t have found a better time to play Clemson, who’s off week was filled with rumors of player disagreements and arguments between head coach Dabo Swinney and offensive coordinator Billy Napier after the Tigers last game, an unexpected 24-21 loss to underdog Maryland.
Skinner, the ACC’s leader in pass efficiency, knows it would be a mistake for his team to buy into Clemson’s problems.
“There’s never been any question of that in the locker room,” he said. “There’s nobody that feels like, ‘Oh, they’re 2-3, we should roll over this team.’ We all know, our coaches know, and they let us know, what kind of team we’re rolling into town to.”