Wake Forest looks to continue its unlikely run at the ACC Atlantic Division title when it hosts Boston College in a critical showdown Saturday.

The No. 22 Demon Deacons (7-1, 3-1) and No. 16 Eagles (7-1, 3-1) meet with the hope of taking over sole possession of first place in the conference.

At 7-1 for the first time since 1979 and third time in school history, Wake is in a three-way tie atop the Atlantic with the Eagles and Maryland.

That’s due in part to the Deacons’ first sweep of Tobacco Road rivals Duke, North Carolina State and North Carolina since 1987. Wake finished off the sweep with a 24-17 road win over the Tar Heels last week.

“This is something we’ve been building toward for a long time,” Deacons coach Jim Grobe said. “We’ve lost a lot of heartbreakers over the years, but this year we’ve got a lot of seniors. I’m not sure we’re doing it pretty, but we’re doing it.”

Riley Skinner threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Ken Moore for the go-ahead score early in the fourth quarter, and Joe Abbate sealed the victory with an interception in his own end zone for Wake Forest, which will be hosting a game involving two ranked teams for the first time since 1979.

“I’ll stick with the thrills if we can keep getting Ws,” Abbate said.

Any type of win in November has been hard to come by for the Deacons, who have lost eight straight in the month since a 45-17 victory Nov. 1, 2003, over Clemson.

Wake’s schedule also takes a difficult turn with Florida State, No. 23 Virginia Tech and Maryland the Deacons’ final three opponents following Boston College.

Additionally, Wake has been terrible against Top 25 opponents, dropping nine straight since a 38-24 win on Sept. 6, 2003, over N.C. State. The Deacons are 15-99-1 against ranked teams.

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Boston College ripped Buffalo 41-0 in its final non-conference game of the season Saturday. Backup quarterback Chris Crane, who got the start with coach Tom O’Brien opting to sit out starter Matt Ryan, ran for two touchdowns and threw for a third for the Eagles.

Ryan had a sore left ankle, and O’Brien saw no point in risking further injury with the first half being played in a downpour that left a rain-slick field — and the key game against Wake coming up.

“I didn’t want to put him out there and take a chance in the rain,” O’Brien said. “I didn’t know if we were going to slip and slide around and do everything else. I made the decision (Friday). ... It was pretty obvious then that it was going to be a terrible day.”

Ryan has thrown for 1,661 yards and nine touchdowns for Boston College, and six Eagles have at least 10 receptions, led by Kevin Challenger with team highs of 32 catches, 343 yards and four touchdowns.

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O’Brien is not surprised at Wake’s success given the emergence of Skinner, a backup who has thrown for 1,001 yards and five touchdowns after starter Ben Mauk suffered a broken arm and dislocated shoulder in the season opener.

“I think that is huge to lose your quarterback and be able to replace him and have the kind of success that they have had,” O’Brien said. “I thought Wake Forest was going to be the surprise team of the year because they had 17 or 18 starters back ... and they had the most experienced football team coming back and weren’t that far away from a winning season a year ago, and it’s obviously proved to be true because they have done a tremendous job.”

Boston College took a 6-5-2 lead in the series with Wake with a 35-30 victory last year. Wake Forest won the previous two meetings, and the last three games have been decided by 12 total points.