2009 Week 1

In a back-and-forth game, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons lost to the #15 Nebraska Cornhuskers, 38-27.

Wake replaced nearly its entire starting defense from last year's 8-5 Humanitarian Bowl championship team. The Deacons' defense struggled, allowing Zac Lee to complete 25 of 37 passes for 286 yards.

Wake was led by quarterback Riley Skinner, who threw for 216 yards and three touchdowns. The Deacons were plagued by a series of dropped passes by their receivers, including four drops by Marshall Williams.

The Deacons took a 27-21 lead shortly after halftime when Josh Adams hauled in a swing pass from Skinner and scampered 8 yards into the end zone. Skinner also threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Harris in the closing seconds of the first half, and a 44-yard bomb to Devon Brown midway through the first quarter.

The Cornhuskers regained the lead after a short touchdown pass from Lee to tight end Ben Cotton. Later in the third quarter, a Skinner pass was intercepted by Rickey Thenarse and returned 38 yards for a touchdown, extending the Huskers' lead to 8 points. The Deacons were unable to respond, going scoreless in the fourth quarter.

One highlight for the Deacons was their pass rush, which garnered six sacks on the game. True freshmen John Holloway and Dustin Thurman had two sacks each.