Wake Forest wide receiver Chris Givens better prepare to hear some muffled laughter when the Demon Deacons review game tape this week. Givens was a good 10 yards ahead of the nearest Syracuse defender when he caught a pass from quarterback Tanner Price in the first quarter.

Automatic touchdown for Wake's top receiver? Not quite. Somehow he lost his footing just after catching the ball, stumbling to the artificial turf. Wake eventually settled for a field goal.

Of course Givens made up for that nicely in the second quarter, again getting behind Syracuse's secondary for a 60-yard touchdown.

Trick plays have been a staple in Jim Grobe's tenure at Wake Forest, and it took a single play to attempt one Thursday. Wake ran a reverse off the opening kickoff, good for an additional 10 yards.

One strange night for Wake placekicker Jimmy Newman. He had made 13 consecutive field goals, the longest such streak in school history. Then he missed a 34-yard attempt that was negated when a Syracuse defender ran into him. So Newman lined up for another try and missed it right, much wider than the first.

Broken tackles were a big problem for Wake's defense last season. The Deacons seemed to correct that throughout the first quarter, then Syracuse tight end Nick Provo dragged himself away from a tackler with about 9 1/2 minutes left in the first half, to go the last 15 yards to a go-ahead touchdown.