WVU Pours it On North Carolina to Win Duke’s Mayo Bowl

Charlotte, N.C. – The electric atmosphere created by WVU fans in Charlotte sparked the Mountaineers from the start. West Virginia fans were then treated to the reward of seeing mayonnaise dumped all over Neal Brown after beating North Carolina 30-10 in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.

It only took 11 seconds for West Virginia to get on the scoreboard on Wednesday night. Garrett Greene found Traylon Ray for a 75-yard touchdown, a play that stands as the third longest in the history of the bowl game. A defensive stop followed and momentum was all on the side of the Mountaineers early on in the first quarter.

Watch: Garrett Greene to Traylon Ray Ignites WVU Fans to Open Duke’s Mayo Bowl

And West Virginia would continue to reclaim the momentum whenever the Tar Heels threatened to steal it away all night long. One example of this was Aubrey Burks picking off a pass in the WVU end zone to derail North Carolina’s drive in the final minutes of the first quarter.

North Carolina would eventually get on the board with a 28-yard field goal, but West Virginia would make sure it was still clear who owned the day when Marcis Floyd recovered a fumble on a punt return and hand the ball right back to a WVU offense, granted that drive did end in a missed 52-yard field goal attempt by Michael Hayes.

But it would not take long for Mountaineer Nation to have something to cheer about again. Beanie Bishop returned a punt return 78 yards to the house and added another bullet point to his WVU resume. Bishop’s return that put West Virginia on top 14-3 was the programs first punt return for a touchdown since Tavon Austin did it in 2012.

And now Beanie Bishop adds WVU's first punt return for a touchdown since 2012 to his resume. One hell of a complete lone season for the transfer. https://t.co/ShUhkiIsxA

— Mike J. Asti (@MikeAsti11) December 27, 2023

The Tar Heels weren’t dead yet, answering WVU’s score with one of their own on the ensuing drive. This moved the score to 14-10 before West Virginia added a field of their own to make it 17-10 as the second half came to a close.

Tyrin Bradley offered the first highlight of the second half by grabbing a pick with one hand. Despite the big play, North Carolina managed to avoid having it lead to points. And while West Virginia still held the lead, the feeling that the Mountaineers were squandering opportunities to put the Tar Heels away was starting to set in.

But Greene was on a mission to make sure to put an end to any uncertainty. After overshooting Ray in an attempt for another deep touchdown, he managed to still lead the offense down the field before having to settle for a field goal. Hayes kicked a 34-yard field goal and added three to the scoreboard, making it 20-10 in favor of the Mountaineers.

Minutes later 20 became 27 when Jahiem White found the end zone. He danced his way to securing a bowl victory to cap off the 2023 season.

Neal Brown and West Virginia finished the year with win number nine and sent the program into 2024 on a winning note. WVU fans were able to close the night by singing Country Roads and enjoying mayonnaise.