2026 Duke's Mayo Bowl
The 2026 Duke's Mayo Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 2, 2026, at Bank of America Stadium located in Charlotte, North Carolina. The 24th annual Duke's Mayo Bowl began at approximately 8:00 p.m. EST and aired on ESPN. It was one of the 2025–26 bowl games concluding the 2025 FBS football season. The game's title sponsor was Duke's Mayonnaise.
[2025 2025 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team|Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team|Wake Forest] of the Atlantic Coast Conference defeated [2025 2025 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team|Mississippi State Bulldogs football team|Mississippi State] of the Southeastern Conference, 43–29.
Teams
The game featured Wake Forest of the Atlantic Coast Conference and Mississippi State of the Southeastern Conference. The teams had one prior meeting, a win by Mississippi State in the 2011 Music City Bowl.
Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Wake Forest compiled an 8–4 record during the regular season, losing to one ranked team, Georgia Tech, and defeating one ranked team, Virginia.
Mississippi State Bulldogs
Mississippi State won their first four games, including a four-point win over ranked Arizona State, but then lost seven of their eight remaining games. Five defeats were to ranked teams—Tennessee, Texas A&M, Texas, Georgia, and Ole Miss. With a 5–7 record, the Bulldogs were not bowl eligible, but received a invitation due to some bowl-eligible teams opting out.