One of the great new traditions in college football took place on Friday as Maryland coach Mike Locksley was covered in Duke's mayonnaise after the Terrapins' 16-12 win over No. 23 NC State in the Duke's Mayo Bowl. The victory was Maryland's eighth, clinching the most wins for the program since 2010.
Locksley came prepared for the mayo bath after the game with a giant hat to wear as the mayo came down. However, he heroically took the hat off to get some mayo on his head after his second career bowl victory. Duke's Mayo promised $10,000 to charity for the winner of this game in exchange for the mayo bath.
THEY DIDN’T HURT HIM! pic.twitter.com/l5fYIOE8G2
— Duke's Mayo Bowl (@DukesMayoBowl) December 30, 2022
NC State coach Dave Doeren told the broadcast that he hates mayonnaise, and the program played like it down the stretch. The Wolfpack had the ball facing fourth-and-9 at midfield and opted to take a delay of game and punt it away with only minutes remaining. NC State got the ball back with 2:34 remaining in the fourth quarter with a chance to win the game; however, Wolfpack quarterback Ben Finley threw an interception to Jakorian Bennett to ice the game.
Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagoviloa threw two interceptions but connected with Octavian Smith Jr. for the only touchdown of the game. Finley threw two interceptions for NC State but added 269 yards in a strong final freshman performance. Bennett was named Mayo Bowl MVP in his final career game at Maryland.
Last year, South Carolina coach Shane Beamer was the first coach to agree to being smothered in mayonnaise after winning the Duke's Mayo Bowl. The Gamecocks beat North Carolina 38-21. Winning the Duke's Mayo Bowl proved to be a launching-off point for Beamer and South Carolina as the Gamecocks are poised to finish in the final rankings for the first time since 2013.
The volunteers who doused Beamer struggled to carry the heavy mayonnaise-filled container in 2021 and hit Beamer in the back of the head. In 2022, Duke's Mayo turned to the internet to find fans to dump the cooler. Raleigh, North Carolina, pastry chef Allison Vick and engineer Kevin DeValk were selected in an online contest and performed their duties admirably.
LOL pic.twitter.com/zA8h4zfELE
— Duke's Mayo Bowl (@DukesMayoBowl) December 30, 2022