If there was one player who epitomized the sheer enthusiasm Wake Forest’s defensive players wanted and needed on Saturday against Virginia, it was fifth-year senior linebacker Aaron Curry.

In Wake's past two games, Curry has registered 21 tackles. He entered Saturday's game as the conference's third-leading tackler with an overall average of 9.0 per game and conference average of 10.0 per game.

AP photo

WINSTON-SALEM -  Wake Forest scored more points in the first half of Saturday's game against Virginia than it had in three games in October.

With a dominant first-half performance, the Demon Deacons secured a 28-17 victory over the Cavaliers, rejuvenating their offense -at least for a half — and
re-establishing their defensive might in the process.

Remember when Duke and State used to play?

If you need a win, play Team ACC Now in the Pick Six. Tudor and I lost again last week.

Zack Mansfield went 4-2, I went 3-3 and Tudor was 2-4. Not good.

Glenn Petty, of Today's ACC Headlines, gets a shot of confidence this week in an ACC-heavy schedule.

I have a guest picker lined up for Week 12, blog favorite GvilleGatr, but we're wide open after that. Send me an e-mail and there's a good chance you can brag to all your friends that you know more about football than the ACC Now fools.

It's rare but UNC and N.C. State could both win an ACC game on the same day on Saturday. The Heels and Pack are certainly catching teams at the right time.

The 19th-ranked Tar Heels get No. 22 Georgia Tech after a bye week, which translates to much-needed extra practice time to prepare for Paul Johnson's offense. Unlike Duke, or Wake Forest, the Heels had no experience against Johnson at Navy so this will be their first exposure to his version of the flexbone option.

WINSTON-SALEM — Wake Forest sophomore running back Josh Adams will be available to play against Virginia on Saturday after missing his first game of the season against Duke last week.

Adams, the former Cary High star, sprained his left ankle in a game against Miami on Oct. 25.
Wake senior kicker Sam Swank sprained his right quadriceps on Oct. 6 and has yet to return.

Listen to Wake coach Jim Grobe talk about the kicker's progress.

Staff video by Scott Sharpe

WINSTON-SALEM — You can't play too loose around Wake Forest CB Alphonso Smith. Duke QB Thaddeus Lewis knew that before Wake beat Duke 33-30 in overtime on Saturday but Smith picked Lewis off twice, giving him two big reminders.

Smith grabbed the second in front of Duke WR Eron Riley on a play near the end zone that likely would have given Duke the victory. Smith has 19 interceptions in a Wake Forest uniform. He needs two more to pass Dre' Bly of North Carolina to rank No. 1 in ACC history.

"Honestly the win was more important," Smith said of how the Deacons ending a two-game losing streak. "The win felt better. To be the all-time interception leader is great. I appreciate this and I appreciate the opportunity Coach [Jim] Grobe and Ron Wellman have given me. I'm really blessed and I'm really fortunate."

WINSTON-SALEM — Duke coach David Cutcliffe said he knew he was going to try an onside kick in the second half at Wake Forest because he thought the Blue Devils could make something happen on the Demon Deacons.

It didn't work. Wake Forest ended up with the ball at the Duke 26, after Duke was called for interference on the play, and took a 22-20 lead at the end of the third quarter on a Shane Popham
field goal.

"I don't like digging fox holes but I thought there was something there," Cutcliffe said after the 33-30 overtime loss.

Staff video by Scott Sharpe

• First Look
• Photo gallery
• Video: Smith's OT pick
• Video: Boldin touchdown

WINSTON-SALEM — It was the kind of game Wake Forest had won many times before and the kind Duke had seen and won just a week ago.

Experience and an old Duke bugaboo won out on Saturday.

Duke got snakebit by another last-second missed field goal at the end of regulation as Wake Forest pulled out a 33-30 overtime victory over the Blue Devils in a seesaw battle at BB&T Field.

WINSTON-SALEM — So what does this say for the 4-3 Blue Devils? The game isn't on TV and the only bowl rep in town to watch Duke play Wake Forest this afternoon is the Chick-fil-A Bowl (Dec. 31), which has a spot for the ACC's No. 2 team.

Duke won't be the second choice out of the ACC even though both Duke and Wake need two more victories to become bowl eligible. Obviously Wake has more clout in bowl circles.