First Quarter

Wake Forest 3, Clemson 0

Key Moment: After driving down the field with ease on its first possession, Wake Forest was unable to put any points on the board thanks to a miscue in the kicking game. Holder Ryan McManus bobbled the snap, leading to an ugly miss by Shane Popham, who started in place of an injured Sam Swank.

The man: Riley Skinner. The Wake Forest quarterback led the Demon Deacons on a pair of long drives, with one resulting in points. The junior passed for 48 yards on 6-of-7 passing in the quarter, while also rushing for 35 yards.

Time of possession: Wake Forest 9:41, Clemson 5:19

Second quarter

Wake Forest 3, Clemson 0

Key Moment: After stuffing Michael Hamlin and Clemson on a fake punt attempt inside Wake Forest territory, the Demon Deacons failed to capitalize on their ensuing possession, as Popham’s second field goal of the night sailed wide right. The miss left Wake ahead 3-0, which held into halftime.

The man: Chris Clemons. Clemons came up with a big stop on Wake Forest’s drive following the Tigers’ punt fake, as he tackled Wake’s Rich Belton for a 1-yard loss on a screen pass on third-and-two from the Clemson 21-yard line. The Deacons missed the field goal on the ensuing play.

Time of possession: Wake Forest 8:17, Clemson 6:43.

Third quarter

Clemson 7, Wake Forest 3

Key Moment: Clemson finally got on the scoreboard late in the quarter when quarterback Cullen Harper connected with Jacoby Ford for a 10-yard touchdown. Ford came streaking across the field from the left side and caught the ball at the 5-yard line, bobbled it and regained control just before being slammed by a pair of Wake Forest defenders at the goal line.

The man: Cullen Harper. The Clemson signal caller found his stride following a turnover on downs by Wake, as he connected with receiver Nelson Faerber for a 35 yard completion from the Tigers’ 30-yard line. Harper then capped the drive 7 plays later with the touchdown to Ford.

Time of possession: Wake Forest 7:58, Clemson 7:02

Final

Wake Forest 12, Clemson 7

Key Moment: Facing third-and-24 from his own 8-yard line, Wake Forest quarterback Riley Skinner was able to find D.J. Boldin for a 28-yard gain, giving the Demon Deacons’ drive new life. The play was crucial to the 15-play, 78-yard scoring drive that Skinner and Boldin capped off with a 7-yard touchdown with 5:28 to play, which turned out to be the winning score.

The man: Riley Skinner. On the game-winning drive, the junior was 6-of-8 passing for 63 yards, including the winning touchdown pass to Boldin. Skinner was clutch for the Demon Deacons throughout the drive, as he went 3-of-3 on third-down attempts for gains of 28, 9 and 11 yards.

Time of possession: Wake Forest 9:56, Clemson 5:04

—Eric Sprott