CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Robby Ashford couldn't have imagined a better way to close out his roller-coaster college career.
The six-year redshirt senior quarterback threw for 303 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 50 yards and two scores to take MVP honors, Koredell Bartley scored on a 100-yard kickoff return and Wake Forest beat Mississippi State 43-29 in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl on Friday night.
Ashford, who arrived at Wake Forest this season eager for a chance to start, threw TD passes of 14 yards to Kamrean Johnson, 64 yards to Jack Foley and 62 yards to Ty Clark III and had scoring runs of 2 and 1 yards for the Demon Deacons (9-4).
Wake Forest finished the season winning seven of its final nine games, this one sending coach Jake Dickert to a celebratory mayonnaise bath.
“When I got to Wake Forest, I was in a rough spot mentally and physically,” said Ashford, who transferred from South Carolina after also spending time at Oregon and Auburn. “I was kind of down on myself, almost at a point where I didn’t know if I wanted to keep playing. Man, these guys just instilled just so much in me, and, just helped me in so many ways and instilled that confidence back in me.”
The end result was a nine-victory season for Dickert, the most wins by a first-year coach in Wake Forest history.
The victory also meant having 42 1/2 pounds of mayonaisse dumped over his head. But he had some support, as his three children joined him in the celebration and got doused as well.
“I couldn't get my wife to do it. She was like, ‘Absolutely not!’" laughed Dickert. “But to share that with my kids is something that is going to be a special memory for us for the rest of our lives.”
Clark finished with 153 yards from scrimmage after taking over the starting role after second-team All-ACC selection Demond Claiborne opted out of the game after declaring for the NFL draft.
Freshman quarterback Kamario Taylor, making his second college start, had a big second half for Mississippi State (5-8) and finished 13 of 22 for 241 yards and a touchdown. He ran for 60 yards and another score before suffering what appeared to be a significant leg injury with 1:46 left in the game. He was carted off the field.
Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby wouldn’t go into detail after the game about the extent of Taylor’s injury, but sounded relieved, saying: “I feel good about the initial reports.”
After the Bulldogs took an 3-0 lead on the game's first possession, Bartley fielded the ensuing kickoff at the goal line and weaved his way up the field before turning up the speed and outracing five defenders to the end zone for the longest touchdown in bowl history.
Ashford, a sixth-year QB playing for his fourth college, put Wake Forest ahead 30-12 in the third quarter on a 2-yard run to make it a three-possession game and the Demon Deacons seemed in cruise control.
But the Bulldogs came storming back.
Mississippi State finally found the end zone on the last play of the third quarter when Taylor took a shotgun snap, got a running start and leaped over the line and extended the ball over the goal line on his descent.
He added a 2-point conversion toss to cut it to 10 and then found Sanfrisco Magee over the middle for a 42-yard catch-and-run touchdown pass to make it 30-27 with 10:17 left.
Wake Forest appeared to put it away when Ashford ran for his second touchdown with 4:07 remaining, but Navaeh Sanders blocked the extra point and Kelly Jones scooped it up and scored for 2 points for the Bulldogs to make it 36-29.
On the ensuing possession, Mississippi couldn't manage a first down and Lebby made the curious decision to punt on fourth-and-11 from the Bulldogs 25 with 2:35 left in the game, putting trust in his defense that it would force a three and out and get the offense the ball back.
That backfired, as Ashford dumped a pass off to Clark on a third-and-7 and he raced 62 yards untouched to the end zone to seal the win.
The bowl game's unique tradition includes the winning head getting a 5-gallon bucket filled with 42 1/2 pounds of mayonnaise dumped on his head after the game.
“I think we have laid a tremendous foundation here,” Dickert said after bringing in 40 new players in the transfer portal. “Nine wins is really, really special.”
Up next
Mississippi State: Hosts Louisiana-Monroe on Sept. 5.
Wake Forest: Hosts Akron on Sept. 3.
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