Wake Forest's Jake Dickert welcomes Duke's mayo bath as MSU suffers in bowl loss
For the Bulldogs, Friday was one of the few times getting a full-body slathering of mayo would be better than what happened in a 43-29 loss.
Wake Forest coach Jake Dickert won arguably the worst, and inarguably the smelliest, prizes in all of sports Friday night: 4.5 gallons of Duke’s mayonnaise dumped over his head.
In a twist on the tradition, he brought his wife and two sons under the bucket with him. Lucky them.
The latest iteration of the Duke’s Mayo Bowl at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., ended in a 43-29 victory for the Demon Deacons over Mississippi State. Though the game was lopsided for most of it, things heated up into a back-and-forth battle in the fourth quarter.
Ultimately, however, a night full of absurd pageantry ended with one of the worst scenes a program can witness as Mississippi State quarterback Kamario Taylor — in a game his team wasn’t even supposed to be in, let alone nearly win — suffered a brutal injury that ended any consolations about almost pulling off the upset.
It took less than three minutes of game time for the first condiment pun of the broadcast. As an incomplete pass from Taylor sailed through the back of the end zone, ESPN’s Anish Shroff seized his moment.
“Taylor to the end zone. Too much mustard on a night for mayo,” Shroff quipped with audible satisfaction in his voice. Nailed it.
Fans took in the action alongside an army of “mayo maniacs” in yellow, Duke’s-themed overalls offering up shots of mayonnaise. In what may have been the first sober food crime of the new year, one shirtless maniac convinced sideline reporter Paul Carcaterra to top a bite of bananas foster bread pudding with a glob of Duke’s.
This was the general vibe as Friday’s Duke’s Mayo Bowl began. (David Jensen / Getty Images)
The contest got off to a quick start after the opening drive ended in a Mississippi State field goal. Wake Forest’s Koredell Bartley returned the subsequent kickoff for a 100-yard touchdown, which the Demon Deacons capped with a successful 2-point conversion on a lob from wide receiver Sawyer Racanelli to tight end Eni Falayi.
Wake Forest (9-4) piled up steady marches down the field and broken tackles to maintain the lead. Quarterback Robby Ashford passed for 303 yards, three touchdowns and only one interception. Running back Ty Clark III led the ground attack with 91 yards on 17 carries, while Ashford ran for 50 yards and two touchdowns.
Mississippi State’s offense had problems finishing drives for most of the night but found a spark late. Until the final drive of the third quarter, all of the Bulldogs’ points came from kicker Kyle Ferrie, who knocked through four field goals, including an early 50-yarder.
The impact of having more than a month between games was evident for Mississippi State. Several Bulldogs went down with injuries on both sides of the ball, including Taylor and star receiver Brenen Thompson, who both struggled with cramps throughout the night. The broadcast mentioned that Taylor received at least three rounds of IV fluids by the start of the second half.
