Mississippi State and Wake Forest meet in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl

By Canadian Press on December 8, 2025.

Wake Forest (8-4) vs. Mississippi State (5-7), Jan. 2 at 8 p.m. EST.

BetMGM College Football Odds Opening Line: Mississippi State by 3. Against the spread: Mississippi State 8-4, Wake Forest 8-4.

How to watch: ESPN

Key stats

Mississippi State Offense

Overall: 398.4 yards per game (58th in FBS)

Passing: 237 yards per game (59th)

Rushing: 161.4 yards per game (65th)

Scoring: 30.5 points per game (45th)

Mississippi State Defense

Overall: 405.8 yards per game (104th in FBS)

Passing: 216.3 yards per game (60th)

Rushing: 189.5 yards per game (119th)

Scoring: 29.2 points per game (96th)

Wake Forest Offense

Overall: 389.1 yards per game (69th in FBS)

Passing: 232.3 yards per game (62nd)

Rushing: 156.8 yards per game (71st)

Scoring: 26.8 points per game (75th)

Wake Forest Defense

Overall: 321.9 yards per game (26th in FBS)

Passing: 199.7 yards per game (40th)

Rushing: 122.3 yards per game (34th)

Scoring: 21.5 points per game (38th)

Wake Forest ranks 104th in the FBS with a -5 turnover margin, compared to Mississippi State’s 54th-ranked +2 margin.

Wake Forest is 131st in the FBS with 68.9 penalty yards per game.

Wake Forest is 126th in FBS in red zone offense, scoring on 74.4% of trips. Mississippi State’s red zone defense ranks 42nd at 80.5%.

Mississippi State ranks 114th in the FBS with an average time of possession of 28:10.

Team leaders

Mississippi State

Passing: Blake Shapen, 2,436 yards, 15 TDs, 8 INTs, 64.1 completion percentage

Rushing: Da’Marion Bothwell, 639 yards on 128 carries, 6 TDs

Receiving: Brenen Thompson, 948 yards on 53 catches, 6 TDs

Wake Forest

Passing: Robby Ashford, 2,169 yards, 9 TDs, 7 INTs, 59.2 completion percentage

Rushing: Demond Claiborne, 907 yards on 179 carries, 10 TDs

Receiving: Chris Barnes, 547 yards on 39 catches, 3 TDs

Last game

Mississippi State was defeated by Ole Miss 38-19 on Friday, Nov. 28. Kamario Taylor passed for 178 yards on 15-of-31 attempts (48.4%) with no touchdowns and one interception. He also carried the ball 20 times for 173 yards and two rushing touchdowns. Bothwell had 80 rushing yards on 17 carries, adding two receptions for 11 yards. Thompson recorded 80 yards on six catches.

Wake Forest lost 49-32 to Duke on Saturday, Nov. 29. Ashford led Wake Forest with 342 yards on 27-of-43 passing (62.8%) for two touchdowns and one interception. He also carried the ball 16 times for 44 yards and one rushing touchdown. Claiborne carried the ball 13 times for 58 yards, adding two receptions for 10 yards. Sawyer Racanelli had seven receptions for 123 yards and one touchdown.

The Associated Press