WINSTON-SALEM, N. C. — Sam Swank kicked a 41-yard field goal with 3 seconds left to cap a dramatic final minute and give No. 20 Wake Forest a 30-28 victory over Mississippi on Saturday.

After Jevan Snead’s 5-yard touchdown pass to Cordera Eason on fourth down with 1: 01 left gave Ole Miss the lead, Riley Skinner led the Demon Deacons on a 56-yard drive, keyed by a pass interference penalty against Marshay Green.

Swank, the nation’s active career leader with 65 field goals, made the game-winning field goal for the sixth lead change of the game.

Skinner completed 32 of 43 passes for 267 yards and 2 touchdowns with no interceptions, and D. J. Boldin caught 11 passes for 123 yards, including a 22-yard catch on the final drive.

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The comeback avoided another embarrassing loss for the Atlantic Coast Conference, which was in danger of being without a ranked team next week if the Demon Deacons (2-0 ) followed last week’s upset losses by Clemson and Virginia Tech.

The Rebels (1-1 ) were a minute away from giving first-year Coach Houston Nutt a signature victory in only his second game, when Snead led a 7-minute, 80-yard drive. Facing fourth-and-3 from the Wake Forest 5, Snead was quickly flushed out of the pocket, scrambled right, then left and back right again before finding Eason in the front of the end zone.

Justin Sparks’ extra point broke the tie, but the experienced Demon Deacons weren’t finished.

Skinner’s pass to Boldin gave the Demon Deacons hope. Then Green interfered with Josh Adams on Skinner’s long pass. That put Swank in position, and he kicked his fifth field goal without a miss in two games.

It set off a wild celebration in Wake Forest’s first home game since the completion of a $ 47 million, seven-story tower that houses luxury suites, club seats and the press box at BB&T Field.

Snead showed poise all afternoon, completing 20 of 31 passes for 253 yards and 3 touchdowns, often creating plays on the run after the pocket collapsed.

Snead scrambled away from a defender and threw in the flat to Dexter McCluster, who raced past three defenders for a 31-yard touchdown to give Ole Miss a 21-20 lead early in the fourth quarter.

It made up for Snead throwing interceptions on consecutive plays early in the third quarter. The second, a diving grab by Brandon Ghee, led to Swank’s 27-yard field goal to get Wake Forest within 14-13.

A three-and-out on the next possession gave Wake Forest great starting field position, and Skinner found Marshall Williams for a 24-yard touchdown pass to give Wake Forest a 20-14 lead. NO. 2 GEORGIA 56, CENTRAL MICHIGAN 17

ATHENS, Ga. — Led by Knowshon Moreno, Georgia responded just fine after being bounced from No. 1.

Moreno rushed for 168 yards and tied his career high with three touchdowns, while massive defensive end Demarcus Dobbs rumbled for an improbable 78-yard score after picking off a deflected pass to lead the second-ranked Bulldogs past Central Michigan.

Matthew Stafford got in on the fun by completing 18 of 28 passes for 213 yards, hooking up with Mohamed Massaquoi on two touchdown passes.

Georgia started the year No. 1 and opened with a 24-point victory over Georgia Southern that really wasn’t that close. But the voters were more impressed with Southern California’s 52-7 rout at Virginia, so they pushed the Trojans ahead of the Bulldogs.

Unfazed by the snub, Georgia (2-0 ) raced to a 28-0 lead over the Chippewas just before halftime, and stymied any hopes of a comeback with two big scoring plays early in the third quarter.

After Central Michigan (1-1 ) closed to 28-14 on Dan LeFevour’s second TD pass, Moreno put it away. The sophomore took the pitch on a sweep around right end, burst upfield when he spotted a hole, stiff-armed defensive back Eric Fraser and crashed off the pylon for a 52-yard score. NO. 9 AUBURN 27, SOUTHERN MISS 13

AUBURN, Ala. — Chris Todd completed 21 of 31 passes for 248 yards in his first start and gave No. 9 Auburn’s passing game a needed lift in a victory over Southern Miss.

The junior college transfer might have ended the Tigers’ quarterback question by completing an array of short and mid-range passes and effectively running the new Spread offense.

He also led a late scoring drive for Auburn (2-0 ) after Southern Miss (1-1 ) surged back with two touchdowns against a defense that had pitched a shutout for the first 102 minutes of the season. This time it was the running backs who struggled at times, with three of them losing fumbles a week after Todd and Kodi Burns (Fort Smith Northside ) had a hard time completing passes.

The final 4: 59 was eventful, if nothing else. Auburn’s Jerraud Powers and Zac Etheridge had interceptions and the Tigers recovered a last-play fumble and had a fourth-down stop.

Ben Tate ran for 71 yards and a touchdown and caught 3 passes for 51 yards for the Tigers. Injury-plagued reserve Tristan Davis had a 13-yard scoring run in his first carry since late in the 2005 season.

Burns, last week’s starting quarterback, didn’t play in the first half and was 0 for 3 with an interception for the Tigers. He did run for a 1-yard touchdown after being listed as questionable with a cut on his left leg.

Todd passed for 59 yards to set up that score.

After racking up 51 points and a schoolrecord 633 yards in an opening victory over Louisiana-Lafayette, the Golden Eagles managed just 305 yards. Damion Fletcher, who gained 220 yards a week earlier, was limited to 29 yards on 13 carries but added 6 catches for 57 more. KENTUCKY 38, NORFOLK STATE 3

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Freshman Randall Cobb threw for one touchdown and ran for two others in relief of Mike Hartline, and Kentucky dominated Norfolk State in its home opener.

Kentucky (2-0 ), which had kept rival Louisville’s offense off the scoreboard a week earlier, was looking to add some offensive power to the defensive excitement it displayed against the Cardinals. They got an immediate jolt from Cobb, a freshman who led his high school to two consecutive state titles in Tennessee.

Cobb entered late in the first quarter, generating a loud ovation from the sellout crowd. He immediately rewarded that confidence without even throwing a pass, burning the Spartans (1-1 ) with his speed.

First, he sprinted 16 yards untouched on a draw play to put Kentucky near the red zone. Then, two plays later, he called his own number again, dodging several defenders and hurdling another for an 18-yard score — the first of Kentucky’s four rushing touchdowns.

Cobb scored again on Kentucky’s next possession, pushing away several defenders on the sneak from a yard out. He also displayed the strength of his left arm on the drive, firing a 27-yard strike to his former high school teammate, Kyrus Lanxter, putting the Wildcats in position. MISSISSIPPI STATE 34, SE LOUISIANA 10

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Wesley Carroll threw two touchdowns and Anthony Dixon had two rushing scores to lead Mississippi State past Southeastern Louisiana.

Dixon led the Bulldogs (1-1 ) with 80 yards on 18 carries. Mississippi State rushed 46 times for 216 yards, while the Lions (1-1 ) gained only 33 yards on the ground.

Carroll redeemed himself with 158 yards passing after tossing three interceptions in Mississippi State’s 22-14 loss to Louisiana Tech last weekend.

Bulldogs wide receiver Brandon McRae set season and game highs with eight catches for 72 yards, including one touchdown in the third quarter.

Adam Carlson hit a pair of second-quarter field goals for the Bulldogs. Austin Wilbanks had a 1-yard touchdown catch to give Mississippi State a 20-3 lead in the second quarter. NO. 13 ALABAMA 20, TULANE 6

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Javier Arenas returned a punt 87 yards for a touchdown and Alabama (2-0 ) held on for a victory over Tulane, forced out of New Orleans a week ago by the threat of Hurricane Gustav.

Just one game after looking like world beaters against then-No. 9 Clemson, a listless Alabama allowed four sacks of John Parker Wilson, fumbled once, missed two kicks and gained only 172 yards — just 38 in the first half.

Playing in its season opener after days of hotel food and worrying about friends and family back in Louisiana, Tulane kept the Tide offense off balance but managed only field goals of 35 and 21 yards by Ross Thevenot, who missed two more.

Alabama didn’t manage an offensive touchdown until the end of the third quarter, when Mark Ingram scored on a 15-yard run to cap a 77-yard, 11-play drive that wore down the Tulane defense. SEC standings EASTERN DIVISION

CONF ALL Georgia.............................. 0-0 2-0 Vanderbilt.......................... 1-0 2-0 Kentucky............................ 0-0 2-0 Florida................................ 0-0 2-0 South Carolina.................. 0-1 1-1 Tennessee.......................... 0-0 0-1 WESTERN DIVISION

CONF ALL Auburn.............................. 0-0 2-0 Alabama............................ 0-0 2-0 Arkansas.................... 0-0 2-0 LSU.................................... 0-0 1-0 Mississippi........................ 0-0 1-1 Mississippi State............... 0-0 1-1 THURSDAY’S GAME Vanderbilt 24, South Carolina 17 SATURDAY’S GAMES Auburn 27, Southern Miss 13 Georgia 56, Central Michigan 17 Wake Forest 30, Mississippi 28 Kentucky 38, Norfolk State 3 Arkansas 28, La.-Monroe 27 Mississippi State 34, SE Louisiana 10 Alabama 20, Tulane 6 Florida 26, Miami 3