Chris Givens was Skinner’s top target, catching five passes for 116 yards and two scores as the Demon Deacons (4-2, 2-1) moved into first place in the division by shredding Maryland’s suspect defense.

“We’re looking pretty good in the conference right now. But we’ve got Clemson and Miami and Georgia Tech and Florida State coming up, which isn’t fun to think about,” Skinner said. “But you know what, if we keep clicking like we are and our defense keeps getting better and better each week, we’ll put ourselves in a position to battle against those guys.”

Especially with the senior playing like perhaps the best quarterback in the ACC, a development that led coach Jim Grobe to change his offense.

Wake Forest scored touchdowns on its first five possessions in building a 35-10 halftime lead. Skinner moved past Brian Kuklick in the second quarter and has 8,296 yards passing. A week earlier he broke Kuklick’s career touchdown mark.

“That’s probably as good a first half of football that we’ve ever played,” Grobe said.

It looked easy against Maryland (2-4, 1-1), which couldn’t build on last week’s surprising win over Clemson. The Terrapins allowed 516 yards and their banged-up offense couldn’t keep up.

Chris Turner was 24 of 44 for 307 yards and three touchdown passes for Maryland, playing only its second road game of the season. Davin Meggett, filling in for injured running back Da’Rel Scott, was held to 21 yards on six carries, including a 1-yard touchdown run on fourth down.

Turner’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Torrey Smith with 1:37 left cut the lead to 10, but Wake Forest recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock.

“We blew a lot of coverages in the first half,” Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen said. “I thought we played better in the second half, but it was too little, too late.”

With Wake Forest alum Arnold Palmer watching from the sidelines on homecoming, Josh Adams rumbled 48 yards for a touchdown on the opening possession with the aid of a crushing downfield block by Mike Rinfrette.

It was a sign of how easily Wake Forest would move the ball against first-year coordinator Don Brown’s defense.

Unfazed by Maryland’s constant blitzing, Skinner threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Marshall Williams, a 32-yarder to a wide-open Givens and 20-yard TD to an even more open Andrew Parker as Wake Forest took control.

“What made me feel comfortable in the first half was I was seeing their defense,” Skinner said.

Skinner set a career-high for TDs in the third quarter when Givens beat Cameron Chism on a 27-yard play for a 42-17 lead.

“I thought Cameron Chism had a tough day,” Friedgen said. “That hurt us quite a bit.”

Wake Forest, which came in ranked No. 1 in the ACC in total offense, proved no match for Maryland, which has allowed at least 32 points in five of six games.

Beating poor-tackling Maryland and with losses by Boston College and North Carolina State, the Demon Deacons now control the Atlantic Division ahead of next week’s trip to Clemson.

They’re doing it with the poise of the lightly recruited Skinner, who got one of Wake Forest’s final scholarships in 2005.

Skinner completed 24 of 33 passes and finished 2 yards shy of setting a career high in yards passing for a fourth straight week.

“He’s one of the better quarterbacks to ever play in the ACC,” Friedgen said. “They don’t even have to tell him what to do anymore on the sidelines.”