WINSTON-SALEM – Riley Skinner stood smiling, a large inflated plastic bandage protecting an elbow that threw 45 passes.

Skinner took his lumps at the hands of the N.C. State defense, getting sacked six times and getting picked off twice – the first one putting the Deacons in a 7-0 early hole. The mistakes prodded Skinner to try to make amends and he certainly did, outdueling highly touted Wolfpack quarterback Russell Wilson in an aerial battle as Wake held on for a 30-24 victory at BB&T Field.

“You want to make up for the mistakes,” Skinner said. “The defense was playing their hearts out. Our offensive line was protecting. The receivers were catching. When you are the reason for the mistakes, you want to do your part.”

Skinner did his part by completing 31 tosses for 361 yards, setting a personal record for a third straight game, and three touchdowns. The last was a thread-the-needle 25-yarder to Chris Givens that gave Wake its last 10-point lead at 27-17 with 10:05 to play.

But after Wilson answered with a drive that ended with a 5-yard scoring reception by former Ragsdale standout Toney Baker, and Wake settled for a field goal after a procedure penalty on third down at the State 1, State still had a chance to pull out a victory with a touchdown when it got the ball back with 4:44 left.

The chance died on a first-down play from the Wake 29 when Wilson overthrew Donald Bowens in the end zone and was picked by freshman cornerback Kenny Okoro, making his first start in the wake of coach Jim Grobe’s personnel changes during the week.

“(Wilson) threw it outside instead of inside to the receiver,” State coach Tom O’Brien said. “He throws it inside, it might be a whole different ending.”

Okoro felt a certain sense of satisfaction after the Wolfpack tried to take advantage of his inexperience, particularly on its opening scoring drive.

“The receiver ran a great route and I saw the ball overthrown,” Okoro said. “I felt like they were picking on me the whole game. I was getting really mad. When I got my chance, I was going to make a play.”

Wake, however, wasn’t assured of the victory until Josh Adams took a Skinner pass, slipped a couple of tackles and made a first down at the Deacon 34 with just more than a minute to go.

Wake (3-2, 1-1 ACC) moved almost exclusively through the air by design and gained just 30 yards on the ground as its rushing game continued to struggle.

“Our two-minute offense has been working well the whole year,” Skinner said. “Before, we went to it when we got down 14. This time, the coaches decided to use it from the start.”

Wilson went 20-for-43 for 275 yards, tossed two touchdowns and ran for another. But he also threw two interceptions, the first one ending his record streak of attempts without an interception at 379. Baker also lost a fumble for State( 3-2, 0-1).

“We just continue to self-destruct,” O’Brien said. “We have to change that with coaching, but some of the guys have to grow up.”

gsmith@hpe.com | 888-3519