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.
Cramps would end up being the least of Taylor’s concerns. He was sacked five times.
Taylor first appeared hurt as he jogged to the sideline medical tent midway through the third quarter, holding the back of his head after going down hard at the end of a short run.
Backup Luke Kromenhoek came in and quickly delivered a 39-yard pass to Anthony Evans III. Following a pair of fruitless red zone plays, Taylor returned to leap over the trenches for the Bulldogs’ first touchdown. He then threw a 42-yard touchdown to Sanfrisco Magee on the following drive, showing both he and Mississippi State still had juice left as Wake Forest’s lead fell to three points.
Ashford held the comeback off by leading Wake Forest on another scoring effort midway through the fourth quarter, plowing ahead for a critical first down to save the drive. He capped it with a 1-yard rushing touchdown, but the Bulldogs’ Kelley Jones blocked the extra point and scooped it up for a safety that made the game 36-29.
Mississippi State could not capitalize on the momentum, though, stumbling through another three-and-out drive that included more punishing hits to Taylor. Wake Forest retook possession, and moments later, Ashford flung a 62-yard touchdown pass to Clark.
After the extra point, the score stood at 43-29. With about two minutes left and a two-score gap, another comeback push appeared unlikely. Taylor, banged up all night and fighting through a sore ankle, came out to try anyway. The gutsy show of leadership cost him.
Mississippi State could be without quarterback Kamario Taylor for the foreseeable future. (David Jensen / Getty Images)
As Taylor broke a tackle and scrambled for a first down, Wake Forest cornerback Lardarius Webb Jr. went in for a low tackle that folded Taylor’s left leg in the wrong direction. Taylor immediately grabbed his lower leg as players around him began to kneel and pray. The stadium fell silent.
With a towel over his head, Taylor sobbed as a medical cart whisked him to the locker room. Kromenhoek returned for the Bulldogs’ final drive, but didn’t get far, and Wake Forest knelt out the final seconds for the win.
Taylor ended the night with 241 passing yards, 63 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns, one through the air and another on the ground. Thompson also set the Bulldogs’ program record for receiving yards in a season, recording 160 yards Friday for a season total of 948 yards.
Mississippi State, which entered the game at 5-7, was only playing in a bowl because other teams opted out of the postseason. Now, it could be without its quarterback for the foreseeable future. Taylor was seen walking on his own power after the game, though, so that stretch might be mercifully short.
For the Bulldogs, Friday was one of the few times getting a full-body slathering of mayo would be objectively better than what happened.
