Wake Forest to play in Duke’s Mayo Bowl
Wake Forest didn’t leave the state of North Carolina for any of its last three games and won’t be leaving for its bowl game, either.
The Deacons will play in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, the ACC announced Sunday afternoon. The opponent will be Mississippi State, which was 5-7 and punched a bowl berth after some bowl-eligible teams opted out of playing.
Wake Forest and Mississippi State will match up Jan. 2 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
Wake Forest has played in Charlotte’s bowl game three times in the past 20 years — though, this is the first time the sponsor is the same. The Deacons beat Connecticut 24-10 in the Meinecke Car Care Bowl in 2007; they beat Texas A&M 55-52 in the Belk Bowl in 2017; and they lost to Wisconsin 42-28 in the first year of it being the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.
It’s the reward at the end of a surprising first season at the helm for coach Jake Dickert. Wake Forest was coming off back-to-back 4-8 seasons and the end of Dave Clawson’s 11-year tenure.
The Deacons went 8-4 this season, sweeping non-conference games and going .500 in ACC play. That included wins against Virginia and SMU.
Mississippi State also went 4-0 in its non-conference slate, which were the first four games of the season. The Bulldogs’ only SEC win was 38-35 at Arkansas.
The only previous football meeting between Wake Forest and Mississippi State was in the 2011 Music City Bowl. That was a 23-17 win by the Bulldogs.
Did you enjoy this story? If so, subscribe to Deacons Illustrated to read *every* in-depth, objective, substantive story. Click here, subscribe, and stop missing out!
