After a 3-3 finish in abbreviated regular season play, the Wisconsin football team was selected to play in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina against a 4-4 Wake Forest team from the ACC. Before the matchup, the Badgers had never played the Demon Deacons in the program’s history and entered as the slight favorite.
Wake Forest received the first-half kickoff and quickly went to work, using their high tempo offense behind the arm of redshirt sophomore quarterback Sam Hartman to score a touchdown on a nine-play opening drive. The Demon Deacons continued their strong start on defense, forcing a three-and-out on Wisconsin’s first offensive possession.