A Rare Matchup in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl

Mississippi State started the season 4-0, including a win over Arizona State. The Bulldogs then lost four in a row before rebounding to beat Arkansas in early November.

This is a different MSU team than the one that played much of the season. Freshman quarterback Kamario Taylor took over the starting duties in the Egg Bowl against Ole Miss in the regular season finale. He threw for 178 yards and rushed for another 173 yards with two touchdowns in the loss to Ole Miss.

“We talk about predictable outcomes,” head coach Jeff Lebby told the media Thursday, in talking about his new quarterback. “I want to be able to call something and know what’s going to happen before it happens.” He said Taylor’s improvisational skills make him different. “Tamario’s got the ability to make something right when it’s not right.”

The month off from the end of the regular season has been good for the Bulldogs, according to Lebby. “It’s a huge advantage being able to practice, being able to lift, being able to meet, and being able to do all the things we’ve been able to do for the last month.”

Lebby is off to a slow start in Starkville. He is 7-17 after two seasons with a 1-15 conference record. He said a bowl win on Friday can be a difference maker for the program going forward. “It’s all we’ve talked about,” he said. “The thing these guys will remember is Friday night, playing in the game, and having the ability to win. It would be a huge step in the right direction for our program.”

Wake Forest

After back-to-back 4-8 seasons, Dickert moved east from Washington State to take over the Demon Deacons for the 2025 season. The season had some would-have, could-have, should-have moments. A missed call by the officials (as acknowledged by the ACC) in the closing minutes of the one-point loss to Georgia Tech still stings months later. Self-inflicted wounds cost Wake in the season finale at Duke.

Wake Forest will be going without starting running back Demond Claiborne (declared for the NFL) and receivers Chris Barnes and Micah Mayes (going into the portal on Friday), among others.

Dickert said on Thursday that he can still go three deep at running back and that several receivers will have a chance to step up. “Sometimes when you lose a couple of playmakers, you don’t have to worry about getting them the football in certain situations.”

Dickert also addressed the long layoff with a month off since the end of the regular season. “I believe 32 days, but who’s counting?” he said with a grin. “Football is a rhythm, physical, tough, execution, detailed game.” He said he has been working the team with a physical nature during the extra practices. It remains to be seen if that is enough. “That will be the challenge in that flow of the first quarter. Who’s adjusted to game speed faster?”

And he has taken note of MSU’s new quarterback. “Dynamic,” is the word he used to describe Taylor. “And I would imagine in four weeks of practice, he is going to have tremendous growth in that time.”

And as far as what the bowl game does for the program, coming off a surprisingly successful season? “No one thought we could be here. Everyone thought I’d be waiting for the portal right now because we weren’t going to be any good. These seniors have dictated the tempo and the mentality of our whole season. And they want to finish it off the right way.”

Postgame

The winning coach gets a vat of Duke’s Mayo over them at the end of the game. Both coaches say they eagerly await the Mayo bath if it means they won the game.

How To Watch:

Day/Date: Friday, January 2nd, 2026

Time:  8 PM ET

Location: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC

TV: ESPN