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Wake Forest wins first bowl game since 2002

Dec 29, 2007 - 11:50 PM CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Ticker) -- Kenneth Moore made sure Jim Grobe did not regret his decision to stay at Wake Forest.

Moore hauled in 11 receptions Saturday and finished with 171 all-purpose yards as Wake Forest rallied for a 24-10 victory over Connecticut in the Meineke Car Care Bowl.

It was the Demon Deacons' first bowl win since beating Oregon in the Seattle Bowl in December 2002 - Grobe's second season as Wake Forest's coach.

"Being in bowl games is pretty good stuff," Grobe said. "Winning is even better."

One of the most sought-after coaches this offseason, Grobe reportedly turned down the Arkansas job earlier this month, opting instead to stay at Wake Forest.

Playing for the first time since Grobe's change of heart, Wake Forest (9-4) overcame a sluggish first half Saturday to win for the ninth time in its last 11 games - a strong finish to a season which started with a disappointing 0-2 start.

Grobe began gaining national attention after the 2006 season, when the Demon Deacons went 11-3, won the Atlantic Coast Conference and lost to Louisville in the Orange Bowl.

"Twenty wins in two years for little old Wake Forest isn't too bad," Grobe said. "The number one thought for our football team is that we haven't arrived.

"Back-to-back bowl games is pretty good, but you have to be careful that it's not enough. That's a key for us - continue to play in bowl games and compete for championships."

Moore, a senior, completed his collegiate career in style, finishing with 112 receiving yards and collecting 59 more on kickoff and punt returns en route to being named the game's MVP.

The speedy Moore finished the season with an ACC-record 98 receptions for 1,011 yards, becoming the third player in school history to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark.

"We're going to miss (Moore)," Grobe said. "He is a guy who fought through some injuries in his career. And he came on to be as good a player as I've ever coached."

But despite Moore's constant energy, Wake Forest looked listless early and entered the break facing a 10-0 deficit.

The second half was a different story, however, as the Demon Deacons used a power running game and relentless defense to completely wear down the Huskies (9-4).

"Defensively, I thought we played about as good as we could," Grobe said. "I challenged our kids to play better. I was proud of our kids, because there wasn't any panic at halftime."

Wake Forest got on the scoreboard less than three minutes into the third quarter when Josh Adams raced up the middle for a 38-yard touchdown to make it 10-7.

Moore reeled off a 15-yard punt return to give Wake Forest solid field position with six minutes remaining in the quarter.

The Demon Deacons capitalized 2 1/2 minutes later, when Riley Skinner hooked up with John Tereshinski for a 20-yard scoring strike to make it 14-10.

Sam Swank added insurance with a 43-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter, and Micah Andrews sealed the victory with a 9-yard TD run with 36 seconds remaining.

"This loss today is something we have to put behind us and move forward," said UConn coach Randy Edsall, who also was sought-after by other schools following the regular season.

Adams ran for 66 yards on 19 carries while Andrews chipped in 64 on just eight attempts for Wake, which limited UConn to just 213 yards of total offense.

Skinner was solid, completing 29-of-38 passes for 268 yards with one interception.

Tyler Lorenzen struggled throughout for the Huskies, completing just 13-of-26 passes for 98 yards and one interception.

Special teams accounted for UConn's only touchdown when Larry Taylor returned a first-quarter punt 68 yards to open the scoring.

Edsall, who coached the Huskies to a share of the Big East Conference title, turned down the coaching job at Georgia Tech this month, opting instead to stay at UConn.

"We have to develop more depth in our program," he said. "We are trying to take our program to another level. We are only losing five starters, but we still have a lot of work for next year."