2020 Duke's Mayo Bowl

The 2020 Duke's Mayo Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 30, 2020, with kickoff at noon EST on ESPN.^[4] It was the 19th edition of the Duke's Mayo Bowl (formerly the Belk Bowl), and was one of the 2020–21 bowl games concluding the 2020 FBS football season. Duke's Mayonnaise was the title sponsor of the game.

2020 Duke's Mayo Bowl
19th Duke's Mayo Bowl
Wake Forest Demon Deacons Wisconsin Badgers (4–4) (3–3) ACC Big Ten 28 42 Head coach:  Dave Clawson Head coach:  Paul Chryst
1 2 3 4 Total Wake Forest 14 0 7 7 28 Wisconsin 0 14 14 14 42
Date	December 30, 2020
Season	2020
Stadium	Bank of America Stadium
Location	Charlotte, North Carolina
MVP	Jack Sanborn (LB, Wisconsin)[1]
Favorite	Wisconsin by 10[2]
Referee	James Carter (SEC)[3]
Attendance	1,500
United States TV coverage
Network	ESPN
Announcers	Taylor Zarzour (play-by-play), Matt Stinchcomb (analyst) and Marty Smith (sideline)
International TV coverage
Network	ESPN Deportes
Duke's Mayo Bowl  < 2019 2021 >

Teams

Based on conference tie-ins, the Duke's Mayo Bowl was expected to feature teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and the Big Ten Conference.^[5] On December 20, teams from those conferences were announced as the game participants; Wake Forest of the ACC and Wisconsin of the Big Ten.^[6] This was the first meeting between the two programs.^[7]

Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Main article: 2020 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team

Wake Forest entered the bowl with a 4–4 record (3–4 in conference play). The Demon Deacons played two ranked teams during the season, losing to Clemson and defeating Virginia Tech. Wake Forest had played in two prior editions of this bowl, winning the 2007 Meineke Car Care Bowl and 2017 Belk Bowl, when it was known by those names.^[6]

Wisconsin Badgers

Main article: 2020 Wisconsin Badgers football team

Wisconsin entered the bowl with a 3–3 record, all in conference games. The Badgers played three ranked teams during the season, losing to each of Northwestern, Indiana, and Iowa. This was the first appearance by Wisconsin in this bowl.^[6]

Game summary

2020 Duke's Mayo Bowl

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Wake Forest	14	0	7	7	28
Wisconsin	0	14	14	14	42

at Bank of America Stadium • Charlotte, North Carolina

• Date: Wednesday, December 30, 2020
• Game time: 12:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 41 °F (5 °C) • Wind: NNE 5 mph
• Referee: James Carter (SEC)
• TV announcers (ESPN): Taylor Zarzour (play-by-play), Matt Stinchcomb (analyst) and Marty Smith (sideline)
• ESPN game summary

Game information

First quarter (11:21) WF – Jaquarii Roberson 4 yard pass from Sam Hartman, Jack Crane kick (Drive: 9 plays, 65 yards, 3:39; Wake Forest 7–0) (7:21) WF – Jaquarii Roberson 18 yard pass from Sam Hartman, Jack Crane kick (Drive: 6 plays, 71 yards, 1:59; Wake Forest 14–0) Second quarter (13:28) WIS – John Chenal 2 yard rush, Collin Larsh kick (Drive: 11 plays, 75 yards, 6:28; Wake Forest 14–7) (3:21) WIS – Graham Mertz 1 yard rush, Collin Larsh kick (Drive: 5 plays, 9 yards, 2:13; Tied 14–14) Third quarter (11:11) WF – Jaquarii Roberson 8 yard pass from Sam Hartman, Jack Crane kick (Drive: 5 plays, 50 yards, 1:51; Wake Forest 21–14) (8:45) WIS – Graham Mertz 1 yard rush, Collin Larsh kick (Drive: 5 plays, 33 yards, 2:15; Tied 21–21) (1:20) WIS – Mason Stokke 14 yard pass from Graham Mertz, Collin Larsh kick (Drive: 2 plays, 32 yards, 0:44; Wisconsin 28–21) Fourth quarter (13:49) WIS – Garrett Groshek 1 yard rush, Collin Larsh kick (Drive: 2 plays, 2 yards, 0:40; Wisconsin 35–21) (9:24) WIS – Jalen Berger 1 yard rush, Collin Larsh kick (Drive: 1 play, 3 yards, 0:09; Wisconsin 42–21) (0:06) WF – Christian Beal-Smith 1 yard rush, Jack Crane kick (Drive: 12 plays, 59 yards, 2:08; Wisconsin 42–28)

Statistics

Statistics	WF	WIS
First downs	27	19
Plays–yards	87–518	64–266
Rushes–yards	35–111	44–122
Passing yards	407	144
Passing: comp–att–int	24–52–4	13–20–1
Time of possession	26:08	33:52

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Wake Forest	Passing	Sam Hartman	20/37, 318 yards, 3 TD, 4 INT
	Rushing	Christian Beal-Smith	21 carries, 82 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Jaquarii Roberson	8 receptions, 131 yards, 3 TD
Wisconsin	Passing	Graham Mertz	11/17, 130 yards, 1 TD
	Rushing	Garrett Groshek	13 carries, 41 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Jack Dunn	6 receptions, 60 yards

Aftermath

During their post-game locker room celebration, Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz accidentally dropped and shattered the game trophy.^[8][9]