The final non-CFP bowl game of the year was played Friday night in Charlotte, North Carolina, as Wake Forest beat Mississippi State 43-29.
The Story
It was a valiant effort that came up just short for Mississippi State in their finale of year two in the Jeff Lebby era.
The 5-7 Bulldogs were awarded a spot in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl against 8-4 Wake Forest despite falling short of a .500 record. It was a season that ended at 5-8, but felt like it could’ve easily been 8-5 with some of the heartbreak that Mississippi State endured through close losses.
Their performance in the Mayo Bowl was hard fought, but in the end, Wake Forest’s 28 second half points were too much to overcome. Wake Forest bullied Mississippi State up front, finishing with five sacks and 11 tackles for loss. The Demon Deacons were great in all three phases also finishing with a kickoff return for a touchdown and over 450 yards of offense.
Regardless of the loss, the future still looks bright for the Bulldogs. Freshman phenom quarterback Kamario Taylor looked great despite having to leave the game early with an injury. He finished the game with over 300 yards of offense and two touchdowns. He also averaged 11.0 yards per attempt through the air.
The Stats
4-9: The SEC is now 4-9 in bowl season. They were 2-7 in games when not facing another SEC team and were favored in seven of those nine games.
11: Wake Forest was 17th in the country this season in tackles for loss with 86. They finished with 11 against Mississippi State.
353: Robby Ashford ended the game with 353 yards. It was his third straight game with at least 350 yards of offense.
4.5: The winning coach had 4.5 gallons of mayonnaise dumped on their head in celebration.
The Social Media Reaction
FOUR AND A HALF GALLONS OF MAYO FOR THE DICKERT FAMILY 😂
Wake coach Jake Dickert brought his family up to join him for the mayo bath after winning the Duke’s Mayo Bowl 😅 pic.twitter.com/LPhrPhvE4K
— ESPN (@espn) January 3, 2026
A family drenched in Duke’s Mayo. pic.twitter.com/4ZMtpVMbMr
— Duke’s Mayo Bowl (@DukesMayoBowl) January 3, 2026
The Duke’s Mayo Bowl has a “Mayoman” walking around handing out full bottles of Duke’s Mayo. Mmmmm twangy.
Gotta love the bowls that understand how much we love when they commit to the bit pic.twitter.com/G6g6mEgwz1
— Bobby Football (@Rob__Paul) January 3, 2026
DO YOU HEAR THE PEOPLE SING?
SINGING THE SONG OF MAYO MEN.
IT IS A MUSIC OF THE MANIACS.
WE WILL NOT BE HUNGRY AGAIN. pic.twitter.com/CXswpWRO4I— Duke’s Mayo Bowl (@DukesMayoBowl) January 3, 2026
Bowl season is officially over, and it was filled with so many unique “dumps” and “baths,” hard to pick a favorite:
– Duke’s Mayo Bowl (mayo)
– Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (French fries)
– Cheez-It Citrus Bowl (Cheez-Its)
– Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl (Frosted Flakes)
– Holiday Bowl… pic.twitter.com/4XjJQMjzz8— Bobby Football (@Rob__Paul) January 3, 2026
AS A REMINDER…
WE ARE NOT THE REFS. WE DO NOT KNOW THE REFS. WE CAN NOT CONTACT THE REFS FOR YOU.
PLEASE DO NOT TWEET US ABOUT THE REFS.
WE ARE JUST TRYING TO HAVE A GOOD TIME WITH OUR FRIENDS ONLINE.
— Duke’s Mayo Bowl (@DukesMayoBowl) January 3, 2026
