Mississippi State, playing in its first postseason since 2022-23, fell to Wake Forest, 43-29, in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl on Friday night. The loss marked the Bulldogs’ fourth in a row as the program’s rebuild appears to need more work before a new season begins in 2026.
Offensive line issues were apparent as Mississippi State allowed five sacks, nine tackles for loss, and saw freshman quarterback Kamario Taylor facing near-constant pressure throughout the contest. Taylor went down with an injury in the final minutes of the game and had to be carted off, but according to head coach Jeff Lebby, initial reports were encouraging.
“Initial reports have been good, so we’ll continue to evaluate and get more information,” Lebby said.
Taylor’s mother, LaQuandra Conner, posted an update on social media after the game and said the injury was to her son’s ankle and that “nothing is torn or broken.”
On defense, Mississippi State allowed Wake Forest quarterback Robby Ashford – even with reliable weapons in running back Demond Claiborne and receiver Chris Barnes opting out before the contest – to pick apart the Bulldogs’ secondary. Ashford, a former Auburn and South Carolina signal-caller, tossed for 303 yards on 20 of 33 passing with five total touchdowns and one interception.
Here’s how the entire Duke’s Mayo Bowl played out between Mississippi State and Wake Forest.
Scoring Summary
Mississippi State opened the game with an explosive play, a 51-yard toss from Taylor to Brenen Thompson. But Wake Forest buckled down on defense and forced the Bulldogs to settle for a 33-yard field goal off the foot of Kyle Ferrie. The 3-0 lead would be the only one Mississippi State held all night.
On the ensuing kickoff, Wake Forest’s Kordell Bartley returned the ball 100 yards into the opposite end zone. A successful two-point conversion gave the Demon Deacons an 8-3 lead.
The Bulldogs answered with another Ferrie field goal, this time from 50 yards out, to cut the deficit to 8-6.
To close out the opening quarter of play, Ashford found Kamrean Johnson on a 14-yard touchdown pass. The score was 15-6 in favor of the Demon Deacons.
Just over halfway through the second quarter, Ferrie kicked a chip-shot field goal from 23 yards away to bring the score to 15-9. The score stuck until halftime.
In the third quarter, Ashford tossed a 64-yard touchdown bomb to Jack Foley. Ashford then crossed the goal-line on the two-point attempt to extend Wake Forest’s lead to 23-9. Mississippi State followed it up with another Ferrie field goal, 23-12, before Ashford used his legs to get into the end zone and make it a 30-12 game.
Taylor finally found the end zone on a short run and then connected with tight end Seydou Traore on the two-point conversion. The score was 30-20 in favor of Wake Forest going into the fourth quarter.
A comeback looked like it could be on the horizon in the fourth quarter when Taylor hir Sanfrisco Magee on a 42-yard touchdown pass, making it a one-possession game at 30-27. However, Wake Forest’s offense lost no momentum and scored two late-game touchdowns – one being another Ashford run and the other being a 62-yard pass from Ashford to Ty Clark III – and while Mississippi State was able to block one of the extra point attempts and return it for two points, it was too little, too late. The final score from Charlotte, N.C., was 43-29 with Wake Forest on top.
What Lebby said
After the game, second-year Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby spoke with reporters and gave credit where credit was due.
“[Ashford] did a really good job of just being able to create and extend with his feet,” Lebby said. “He is a guy that obviously ran and made plays in the game. Then again, when you don’t do a good job against him in the pocket, he makes you play.”
The Bulldogs’ box failed to put sufficient pressure on Ashford, notching just one sack, while the secondary allowed plenty of gaps that Ashford was able to find via the pass game. Mississippi State was without safeties Isaac Smith and Tony Mitchell, and a lack of depth showed.
When speaking about Taylor, Lebby affirmed that the freshman quarterback many consider to be the future of the program is expected to make a full recovery from the ankle injury. He was pleased with Taylor’s play that included 241 yards and a touchdown on 13 of 22 passing. He led the team with 63 rushing yards and one touchdown without turning the ball over.
Box Score
Both quarterbacks, Taylor (304 total yards, two touchdowns) and Ashford (353 total yards, five touchdowns), had impressive outings.
Taylor’s favorite receiver on the night was Thompson, who caught four passes for 106 yards and a score. In the process, Thompson became the fourth Bulldog in program history to notch 1,000-plus yards in a season, finishing the 2025-26 campaign with 1,054 yards and six touchdowns. Anthony Evans III had 80 yards on four catches. Fluff Bothwell rushed the ball 14 times for 38 yards as the rushing attack was noticeably incomplete without Davon Booth, who opted out of the game to prepare for the NFL Draft.
Ashford’s favorite receiver on the night was Carlos Hernandez, who caught six passes for 73 yards. Clark was a constant option out of the backfield, both rushing and receiving, finishing with 164 total yards on 17 carries and three catches.
Leading Mississippi State’s defense was linebacker Jalen Smith with 12 tackles. Jahron Manning had the team’s lone sack and Brylan Lanier managed to pick off Ashford in the second quarter.
Leading Wake Forest’s defense was linebacker Nick Anderson with 12 tackles. The Demon Deacons totaled nine tackles for loss and five sacks. Dallas Afalava had 1.5 of the sacks.
J.T. Mitchell contributed to this report.