Wake Forest to Play Wisconsin in 2020 Duke’s Mayo Bowl

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Wake Forest University has accepted an invitation to play Big Ten representative Wisconsin in the Duke's Mayo Bowl on Dec. 30, in Charlotte, N.C. at Bank of America Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ESPN at 12 p.m.

Wake Forest (4-4, 3-4 ACC) will be facing Wisconsin (3-3, 2-3 Big Ten) for the first time in school history.

Tickets
Due to very limited capacity at Bank of America Stadium, tickets are unfortunately not available for sale directly through the Wake Forest Ticket Office. Fans are encouraged to monitor Ticketmaster for tickets as they may become available and the official Duke's Mayo Bowl Charlotte Sports Foundation website. Updates regarding virtual events and viewing parties available to fans will be posted at the Wake Forest Bowl Central site in the coming days.

Quotes:
Head Coach Dave Clawson:
"I'm excited for our student-athletes who have put in a tremendous amount of hard work since they returned to campus in July. Playing in the Duke's Mayo Bowl bowl will be an excellent opportunity for our program as we play an outstanding opponent in Wisconsin. It will be a great trip for our players and I am proud of the season we have had to this point that earned us this additional opportunity to compete."

Athletic Director John Currie:
"On behalf of President Hatch, Coach Clawson and our student-athletes, I am honored to accept this invitation to the Duke's Mayo Bowl. Our football team is excited and hungry for an opportunity to compete against Wisconsin and play in Bank of America Stadium. While all of Deacon Nation cannot be with us in the Queen City, I am excited to see our loyal fans support our players virtually and on social media leading up to and during the game."

Pre-Bowl Game Virtual Pep Rally: Dec. 30 at 11 a.m.
Enjoy performances from the Spirit of the Old Gold and Black, Wake Forest Spirit Squads, and hear from Coach Dave Clawson and members of the team. This virtual experience will stream live on social media, YouTube, and through the Deacon Virtual Ticket and Screamin' Demon Rewards apps.

DVST Bowl Game Experience
The Deacon Virtual Ticket experience will be extended for bowl season for those who purchased the virtual season ticket. Fans who did not may purchase access to the bowl season content for the week leading up to the game for only $19.99. This experience provides fans exclusive access to written, photo, and video content inside the Wake Forest Football program. Memberships can be purchased for bowl week at GoDeacs.com/virtualticket.

Deacon fans have a great tradition of traveling to bowl games and showing their support, and this year, fans have an opportunity to illustrate that support in a different way. While the Wake Forest community is unable to gather and cheer on the team in person, individuals can still create an impact by making a charitable gift to support "Raising the Standard" for the football program through the official bowl donation site.

Follow on Social Media:
Follow the Deacs on social media and GoDeacs.com for the latest announcements and news. We will be sharing information over the next few days and week as unique fan opportunities are finalized.

Accounts:

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'20 Season News & Notes

The Demon Deacons +13 turnover margin this season ranks first nationally and leads the ACC.
- Wake Forest's streak of 16-straight games of a forced turnover came to an end on Saturday. This streak dates back to Boston College September 28, 2019.
- Wake Forest has 12 interceptions on the season, which is tied with Kentucky for the top mark in the country. Wake Forest's three INT returns for touchdowns are tied with four other teams for the top mark in the country.
- Nine different players have an interception this season.
Through eight games, Wake Forest has only turned the ball over three times this season and the Deacs are the only FBS schools who have played more than five games to throw one or no interceptions this season and the only ACC school.
Over the past seven games, the Demon Deacons have 21 rushing touchdowns equalling their entire 2019 total.
Since 2017, Wake Forest ranks second in the ACC with ten 50-plus point games, trailing just Clemson.

Individual Stats of Note:

Jaquarii Roberson
- Redshirt junior wide receiver Jaquarii Roberson became the first Wake Forest player since Chris Givens in 2011 to have back-to-back-to-back 100-plus yard receiving games. Most recently, he had a nine-catch, 138-yard performance at Louisville on Saturday. It also marked the third consecutive game the Murfreesboro, N.C. native found the endzone, scoring on a 37-yard pass from Sam Hartman in the third quarter.
- Heading into Saturday, Roberson ranks second in the ACC in reception yardage per game, posting a 99.4 yard average this season. Despite having just eight games this season he also ranks sixth in total yardage (795) and eighth in total receptions (54) in the league.
- Roberson enters the final regular season game needing just 72 yards to move into the top-10 in program history for single-season receiving yards. Marshall Williams currently ranks 10th with 867 yards during the 2009 season.
Nick Sciba is on his way to becoming the most accurate kicker in ACC history. Through three seasons, he is 57-of-64 (.891), the best mark for any kicker in conference history (min. 50 attempts).
- ACC Career Field Goal Percentage
  - 1. Nick Sciba (2018-present) WF 89.1
  - 2. Roberto Aguayo (2013-15) FSU 88.5
  - 3. Nate Freese (2010-13) BC 86.4
  - 4. Christopher Dunn (2018-present) NCST 86.2
  - Andre Szmyt (2018-present) SYR 86.2
Defensive lineman Miles Fox continued to be a disruptive force in the backfield. On Saturday, he had a career day, finishing with a career-high four tackles for loss.
- Fox, who is nominated for the Piccolo Award (ACC Comeback Player of the Year), has had at least one tackle for loss in six of the Deacs eight games this season including the last four games.
- His eight tackles for loss on the season are a career-high.
- Fox also recorded a sack in the game and now has 4.5 on the season, which ranks second on the team behind Carlos "Boogie" Basham Jr.
Sam Hartman's streak of consecutive passes without an interception, a Wake Forest program record, came to an end on Saturday. He ended the streak with 258 passes without throwing an interception dating back to the Syracuse game in 2019.
- The streak ranks fifth in ACC history and was just 12 away from fourth in conference history.
- Hartman owns the Wake Forest season record as he broke Tanner Price's mark (166 in 2012) against North Carolina. The Cornelius, N.C. native went 219 throws this season without an INT.
- Coming into the game, Wake Forest was the only school in the ACC without an interception this season and the only school in the country to play more than three games without an interception.
ACC Records for Consecutive Passes without an Interception:
- 1. Russell Wilson, NC State (2008-09) - 379
- 2. Trevor Lawrence, Clemson (2019-20) 366
- 3. Ryan Finley, NC State (2016-17) - 339
- 4. Drew Weatherford, Florida State (2007) - 270
- 5. Sam Hartman, Wake Forest (2019-20) - 258
- 6. Mitch Trubisky, North Carolina (2015-16) - 243
- T7. Christian Ponder, Florida State (2009) - 237
- T7. Chris Weinke, Florida State (1999) - 237
- 9. Matt Blundin, Virginia (1990-91) - 213
- 10. Thaddeus Lewis, Duke (2007-08) - 206
- 11. Daniel Jones, Duke (2016-17) - 202
- 12. Everett Golson, Florida State (2015) - 200
- 13. Jacoby Brissett, NC State (2014) - 187
- 14. Trevor Lawrence, Clemson (2018-19) - 182
- 15. Tanner Price, Wake Forest (2011-12) - 181
- 16. Thomas Sirk, Duke (2015) - 178
  - Hartman passed Christian Ponder (Florida State - 2009), Chris Weinke (Florida State - 1999) and Mitch Trubisky (North Carolina - 2015-16) to move into fifth on Saturday.

Wake Forest vs. Big Ten

Wake Forest has a 4-11 all-time record against Big Ten opponents.
The Demon Deacons own victories over Indiana (2016), Purdue (2002) and two wins over Northwestern (1996, 1997).

Postseason in Charlotte
Wake Forest's game in Charlotte on Wednesday, Dec. 30 will mark the Demon Deacons third postseason game in the Queen City in program history. Wake Forest defeated Texas A&M in the 2017 Belk Bowl and downed UConn in the 2007 Meineke Car Care Bowl.

Bowl History
The Deacs are 9-5 all-time in bowl games.

1946 Gator Bowl -- January 1, 1946

Wake Forest, 26; South Carolina, 14
- Wake Forest's first-ever postseason appearance came in the inaugural Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla., and Coach Peahead Walker's squad made that initial bowl trip a successful one, defeating South Carolina, 26-14. A crowd of more than 10,000 fans was on hand to witness the rematch between the two future ACC members who had played to a 13-13 tie earlier in the season. This time Wake took control at the outset, capping its opening possession with a three-yard run by Nick Sacrinty. A missed extra-point, however, resulted in the Gamecocks taking a 7-6 lead with the only score of the second quarter. The Deacs regained the lead and took control in the second half behind their bruising ground attack. Rock Brinkley finished off two time-consuming drives with short TD runs of five and four yards, then Bob Smathers clinched the verdict with a 20-yard run on a reverse. The 378 yards rushing in the game stood as a Wake Forest single game record for 22 years. The victory culminated a dramatic turnaround season that had started with three straight losses but ended at 5-3-1.

1949 Dixie Bowl -- January 1, 1949

Wake Forest, 7; Baylor, 20
- Three years after competing in the first Gator Bowl, the Demon Deacons were invited to Birmingham, Ala., to compete in the second -- and last -- Dixie Bowl. Unlike that first postseason experience, though, this venture proved unfulfilling from a won-lost standpoint as Wake Forest dropped a hard-fought 20-7 contest to Baylor in what was frequently referred to at the time as the "Battle of the Baptists." A crowd of over 20,000 was in attendance as Baylor jumped out to a 20-0 lead with three touchdowns in the first half, two coming on lengthy drives, the third following a long pass interception. The Deacs of Coach Peahead Walker refused to quit, however, and rallied to pull within striking distance on a TD by Mike Sprock in the third period after recovering a Baylor fumble. Wake went on to control most of the game and held the advantage statistically overall (six more first downs, 63 more yards in total offense), but never could reach paydirt again. The contest marked the first time that a Wake Forest football team had played in a January bowl game. The Demon Deacons finished the season with a 6-4 record.

1979 Tangerine Bowl -- December 22, 1979

Wake Forest, 10; LSU, 34
- After a 30-year absence from the bowl scene, Wake Forest completed one of the most surprising stories in college football in 1979 with a visit to the Tangerine Bowl in Orlando, Fla. The Demon Deacons earned that trip and a pairing against an emotional LSU squad, playing its final game under veteran coach Charlie McClendon by compiling an 8-3 regular season mark and attaining a national ranking in the top 20. The Tigers seized the momentum early with touchdown drives on their first two possessions. Wake Forest, meanwhile, was struggling offensively and committed three turnovers before Phil Denfeld made the score 24-3 with a field goal as the first half ended. Coach John Mackovic's Deacs came back to play much better after intermission, taking the second half kickoff and scoring their lone TD of the night on an eight-play drive that ended with a 34-yard pass from Jay Venuto to Wayne Baumgardner. Two other drives into LSU territory were halted, though, and the SEC power eventually built its advantage with 10 more points in the final period.

1992 Independence Bowl -- December 31, 1992

Wake Forest, 39; Oregon, 35
- Wake Forest staged a stirring second half rally for a 39-35 victory over Oregon before 31,337 fans and a national television audience on ESPN, concluding a stunning year in appropriate fashion. The Deacons had been 1-3 in September until reeling off six straight wins to climb into the national polls for the first time in 13 years and capture the imagination of college football followers everywhere. Oregon held the upper hand early, taking advantage of four first-half turnovers to build a 22-10 halftime lead, then adding another TD late in the third period that left the Deacs trailing, 29-10, with less than 20 minutes remaining in the game. Ned Moultrie scored on a short run, then Todd Dixon, who was named the game's Most Outstanding Player, exploded with TD receptions of 30 and 61 yards in less than four minutes to give his team a 31-29 edge that it would never relinquish. John Leach, who ran for 116 yards, added what proved to be the deciding score later in the final quarter. Dixon finished with five receptions for 166 yards and two TDs, while veteran coach Bill Dooley completed his outstanding career with victory No. 162.

1999 Aloha Bowl -- December 25, 1999

Wake Forest, 23; Arizona State, 3
- A Wake Forest team anchored by 26 seniors earned the first winning season and first bowl bid in head coach Jim Caldwell's tenure. That veteran leadership helped the Deacs to an impressive 23-3 win over Arizona State in the nationally-televised Jeep Aloha Bowl on Christmas Day. Both teams got off to a slow start offensively, and the score was tied 3-3 at intermission. The Deacs got rolling in the second half, however, blanking ASU 20-0. After another field goal, Wake broke the game open as quarterback Ben Sankey hit Coach's son, Jimmy Caldwell, across the middle, and Caldwell scampered 56 yards into the endzone. The Sun Devils managed just 42 yards of offense after that point, as Morgan Kane's 1-yard TD leap and Matt Burdick's third field goal provided the final margin. Sankey earned Bowl MVP honors, passing for 188 yards and rushing for 56. The Deacon defense was stifling, holding the Sun Devils to just 164 yards of total offense. Adrian Duncan led the defense with eight tackles and a sack, while Fred Robbins collected three sacks.

2002 Seattle Bowl -- December 30, 2002

Wake Forest, 38; Oregon, 17
- In his last game at WFU, James MacPherson passed for a season-high 241 yards and two touchdowns as the Deacons beat Oregon 38-17 in the Seattle Bowl. MacPherson, who also ran for a score, hit Jason Anderson with TD tosses of 57 and 63 yards to earn MVP honors. Wake Forest (7-6) finished with a winning record for the second straight year. The Deacons last had consecutive winning seasons in 1987-88. The second annual Seattle Bowl marked the first meeting between the Ducks and Demon Deacons since Dec. 31, 1992 in the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La. Wake Forest also won that game, 39-35. Entering the game, Wake Forest was ranked eighth nationally in rushing offense, averaging 239.9 yards a game. The Deacs ran for 256 against Oregon, even with their early emphasis passing. The Ducks opened the game with a 45-yard field goal, but Wake Forest answered with a seven-play, 65-yard drive, topped by Ovie Mughelli's one-yard touchdown run. MacPherson found Anderson for a 57-yard scoring pass early in the second quarter to push Wake's lead to 14-3. MacPherson also added a one-yard touchdown dash just before halftime. MacPherson, who had just six touchdown passes going into the game, closed the third quarter with his 63-yard touchdown pass to Anderson. Chris Barclay added a 12-yard TD run late in the game for the final margin. Anderson caught three passes for a career-best 157 yards.

2007 FedEx Orange Bowl -- January 2, 2007

Wake Forest, 13; Louisville, 24
- No. 15 Wake Forest lost 24-13 to No. 5 Louisville in the Orange Bowl in the Deacons' first BCS appearance. And for a team which made its name on winning the close games, losing one to end the season was tough to take. The Deacons (11-3) entered as 10-point underdogs, and did an effective job of keeping Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm in check during the first half, holding him to 7-of-13 passing for 79 yards at halftime.

2007 Meineke Car Care Bowl -- December 29, 2007

Wake Forest, 24; UConn, 10
- Behind do-it-all receiver Kenneth Moore and a swarming defense full of big plays, Wake Forest rallied to beat fellow upstart Connecticut 24-10 in the Meineke Car Care Bowl. The Demon Deacons had to come from behind to do it, reeling off the final 24 points after falling behind 10-0 at halftime against the Huskies, who were playing in only their second bowl game. Riley Skinner completed 29 of 38 passes for 268 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, and ACC rookie of the year Josh Adams rushed for 81 yards and a score. Linebacker Stanley Arnoux highlighted a series of big plays for Wake Forest with an interception and two fourth-down stops.

2008 Eaglebank Bowl -- December 20, 2008

Wake Forest, 29; Navy, 19
- Riley Skinner went 11-for-11 and threw the go-ahead touchdown pass to Ben Wooster with 7:52 left, leading Wake Forest to a 29-19 comeback victory over the Midshipmen in the inaugural EagleBank Bowl to open the 2008 bowl season. He finished with 166 yards passing and was named the game's Most Valuable Player. It was a rematch of a September game played at Wake Forest, when Navy took advantage of five turnovers by Skinner--four interceptions and a fumble--to pull off a 24-17 upset.

2011 Music City Bowl -- December 30, 2011

Wake Forest, 17; Mississippi State, 23
- Mississippi State withstood a late Wake Forest rally to down the Demon Deacons 23-17 in the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl at LP Field in Nashville. The Deacons (6-7) fell victim to Mississippi State's (7-6) potent rushing attack as Vick Ballard ran for a career-high 180 yards and two touchdowns to head up the Bulldogs' 255 yards on the ground. The loss overshadowed a career day for Wake Forest redshirt sophomore Michael Campanaro who caught 10 passes for 128 yards - both career highs. Wake Forest forced four turnovers, its second-highest total of the season. Two of them came on interceptions by Duran Lowe, the first of his career, and Merrill Noel, along with fumble recoveries by Nikita Whitlock and Kenny Okoro to keep the Deacons within striking distance for the entire contest.

2016 Military Bowl -- December 27, 2016

Wake Forest, 34; Temple, 26
- Wake Forest jumped out to a 31-7 lead and held on to defeat No. 23-ranked Temple, 34-26, to claim the 2016 Military Bowl inside Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on Tuesday, Dec. 27. The victory was the Demon Deacons' first bowl win since 2008, and the first victory over a ranked team since 2011. After the Owls (10-4) cut Wake Forest's (7-6) lead to 31-26 with 3:39 remaining, John Armstrong returned a kickoff 80 yards, leading to a Mike Weaver field goal with 1:59 left. Temple returned the kickoff to its own 47-yard-line and completed a 9-yard pass, but the Deacons' defense held strong with a pass breakup by Thomas Brown and a tackle for loss by Duke Ejiofor, then an incomplete pass for a turnover on downs. Wake Forest entered victory formation and twice took a knee to seal the win. Brown was named the Military Bowl MVP for his efforts on defense. He tied for the team lead with seven tackles, also adding a sack, 2.5 TFLs and a forced fumble, helping the Deacons shut down the Owl rushing game, limited to -20 yards.

2017 Belk Bowl -- December 29, 2017

Wake Forest, 55; Texas A&M, 52
- Wake Forest and Texas A&M engaged in the most entertaining bowl game of the season as the Demon Deacons came away with a 55-52 win over the Aggies on Dec. 29 in the Belk Bowl at Bank of America Stadium. The game was a back-and-forth affair all afternoon and wasn't settled until Wake Forest running back Matt Colburn scored on a one-yard run with just 2:18 to play. The Deacon defense then forced the Aggies into a fourth down incompletion with 28 seconds remaining to seal the win. The contest featured five lead changes and over 1,200 yards of total offense. The two teams combined to set NCAA bowl game records for total offense plays (191) and pass completions (74) by both teams. Wake Forest was led by quarterback John Wolford who, in his final college game, completed 32 of 49 passes for 400 yards and four touchdowns. Colburn had 150 yards on 21 carries including an electric 66-yard run. Wide receiver Scotty Washington caught nine passes for 138 yards and a score while tight end Cam Serigne had a touchdown reception to go with nine catches and 112 yards receiving. Linebacker Jaboree Williams led the Deacon defense with 11 tackles and an interception while safety Cam Glenn and linebacker Justin Strnad each had 10 tackles in the contest.

2018 Birmingham Bowl -- December 22, 2018

Wake Forest, 37; Memphis, 34
- Jamie Newman engineered his second last-second comeback victory in four starts as Wake Forest won its third straight bowl game with a 37-34 victory over Memphis in the Jared Birmingham Bowl. Memphis led 34-30 with 1:15 remaining in the game. The Deacons started their final drive of the day at their own 25 as Newman drove them to the one-yard line behind completions of 49 and 20 yards to senior Alex Bachman, the latter giving Wake Forest a first and goal at the Memphis one. Newman scored the final touchdown, his third of the game, on a one-yard run with 34 seconds left to play. Wake Forest had to overcome a 28-10 deficit after the Tigers returned an interception and a kickoff for touchdowns in the second quarter. The Deacons rallied, as they did all season, scoring 20 unanswered points to take a 30-28 lead late in the third quarter behind a pair of Newman touchdown runs of 1 and 17 yards. Newman earned MVP honors while Bachman finished with seven receptions for a career-high 171 yards. Freshman Nick Sciba was perfect on three field goal attempts including a career-long of 49 yards and contributed 13 of Wake Forest's 37 points. Junior Justin Strnad led the defense with 11 tackles and senior Demetrius Kemp recorded Wake Forest's lone interception.

2019 Pinstripe Bowl -- December 27, 2019

Wake Forest, 21; Michigan State, 27
- Wake Forest's record-setting offense started off the New Era Pinstripe Bowl like it started many games in 2019, by scoring on its opening drive. The Deacs scored on a Kendall Hinton 29-yard touchdown reception to grab the early 7-0 lead. Michigan State answered and went ahead 10-7 on a field goal and a tipped-pass interception returned for a touchdown. The Deacons regained the lead in the second quarter when breakout freshman wide receiver Donavon Greene gave Wake Forest a 14-10 lead when he made an acrobatic, one-handed catch in the end zone, a catch that was the No. 7 play of the day on that night's SportsCenter. After MSU went up 17-14 midway through the second quarter, Wake Forest regained the lead when Jack Freudenthal scored on a 44-yard touchdown reception. A late Spartan field goal left the Deacs with a 21-20 halftime advantage. Michigan State regained the lead with a short pass that gave the Spartans a 27-21 advantage early in the third quarter, which would prove to be the final tally of the game. Following a Michigan State missed field goal with three minutes left in the fourth quarter that would have iced the game, there wasn't a soul in Yankee Stadium that didn't believe the Wake Forest offense would engineer another game-winning, last-second drive, just as it did in the 2017 Belk Bowl and 2018 Birmingham Bowl. But the drive stalled and the Deacons' hopes were dashed.

Wake Forest Athletics

Wake Forest to Play Wisconsin in 2020 Duke’s Mayo Bowl

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Miles Fox

Jack Freudenthal

Donavon Greene

Sam Hartman

Kendall Hinton

Jamie Newman

Jaquarii Roberson

Nick Sciba

Justin Strnad

Scotty Washington

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