Riley Skinner and Thaddeus Lewis, who both made their first starts at quarterback when Duke faced Wake Forest in 2006 and went on to rack up some of the best passing statistics in Atlantic Coast Conference history, will end their careers against each other today when the Demon Deacons travel to Wallace Wade Stadium (noon, WXLV, Ch. 45) for a meeting of teams not going to bowls.
Both own school records for passing attempts, pass completions, passing yards and passing touchdown. This year they joined N.C. State’s Philip Rivers as he only players in conference history who have thrown for 2,000 yards in each of their four seasons. Lewis ranks third all-time in the conference with 9,678 yards and needs 161 yards to pass Chris Weinke for second. Skinner is seventh at 9,127 and needs 334 to move into sixth.
Wake Forest senior defensive lineman John Russell means no disrespect to his teammate Skinner, but heaps high praise upon Lewis.
“Riley is going to hate me for saying this, but Lewis is probably the toughest quarterback in the conference,” Russell said. “The kid just knows how to take everything in stride. You look over and see guys like Lewis who not only comes with the leadership role and great poise, but also plays great football game in and game out regardless of the circumstances. That is what makes him so dangerous. He is just a great competitor.”
Lewis will be trying to lead Duke to its first victory over Wake since 1999. The three losses to the Skinner-led teams have been by five points or less. Two of those defeats came on deciding plays at the end.
In the 2006 game in which Skinner was pressed into service after Ben Mauk was injured the previous week, Wake escaped 14-13 on a blocked field goal in the waning seconds. Last year, Duke missed a field goal attempt that would have resulted in victory at the end of regulation, then lost in overtime when Alphonso Smith picked off a Lewis pass as the Deacons prevailed, 33-30.
A victory today would enable Duke (5-6, 3-4) to finish even overall and in the league. Wake (4-7, 2-5) will post the first losing season under Jim Grobe since 2005.
Given the close nature of the series in recent years, Russell and Skinner expect to sweat some more today. Given that Wake has lost five games by three points or less, two of them in overtime, Skinner wants to win without being involved in another thriller.
“It’s a game they circle and we circle,” Skinner said. “It’s an in-state game. People on the outside think we should win that game because it’s Duke. But we know that’s not the case. We know what they bring to the table, the talent they have. They’re disciplined and beat you with schemes. We’ve got to be ready. We’ve put ourselves in some close positions against them and we’ve gotten out of them the last couple of years. We don’t want to put ourselves in that position because we’ve been in that position too many times already this year.”
gsmith@hpe.com | 888-3519
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