West Virginia to face North Carolina in Duke's Mayo Bowl
On Sunday, West Virginia football found its bowl destination to close out the season after finishing 8-4 and capturing fourth place in the Big 12 Conference.
The Mountaineers are set to compete in the Duke's Mayo Bowl on Wednesday, Dec. 27 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, facing off against North Carolina according to Brett McMurphy of the Action Network.
This bowl matchup has occured at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, the home of the NFL's Carolina Panthers, since the first game took place in 2002. Kickoff is set for 5:30 p.m. and the expected payout is $4,780,461 according to the Business of College Sports.
West Virginia competed in the first-ever edition of the Duke's Mayo Bowl, formerly known as the Continental Tire Bowl, in 2002.
This was before a variety of name changes, including a switch to the Meineke Car Care Bowl from 2005 to 2010 and a stint as the Belk Bowl from 2011 to 2019 before becoming the Duke's Mayo Bowl in 2020. The Mountaineers were crushed by the Virginia Cavaliers 48-22 in that inaugural matchup and now return to the game 21 years later in 2023.
Despite the name changes, West Virginia holds a 1-1 record in this specific bowl matchup, falling to Virginia in 2002 while also grabbing a victory in comeback fashion in the 2008 Meineke Car Care Bowl over this very team, North Carolina, 31-30. This is WVU's most recent matchup all-time with the Tar Heels.
West Virginia had a strong season in 2023, racking up eight wins overall and six Big 12 conference wins, which are both career highs for head coach Neal Brown at West Virginia that led to a fourth-place Big 12 Conference finish.
WVU is now rewarded with a matchup against a nationally recognized program, North Carolina, in the postseason. The Tar Heels finished the season 8-4 and 4-4 in the ACC Conference and come to this bowl game after a seventh place conference finish.
This is now West Virginia's third appearance in the Duke's Mayo Bowl and it's second all-time matchup against North Carolina. West Virginia is knotted up with a 1-1 record in its school history against UNC, falling in the 1996 Gator Bowl by a 20-13 score alongside the 2008 bowl win.
West Virginia has a strong history in major postseason bowl games, which includes a 3-0 record since 2000 in highly-touted BCS bowl matchups. This includes the 2006 Sugar Bowl win over Georgia, the 2008 Fiesta Bowl victory over Oklahoma and the legendary 2012 Orange Bowl win over Clemson.
Overall, the Mountaineers have competed in 40 postseason bowls and take home a 16-24 all-time record.
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