Virginia Tech Football: Duke's Mayo Bowl Preview

The Virginia Tech Hokies (6-6, 4-4 ACC) will compete against the Minnesota Golden Gophers (7-5, 5-4 B1G) in the 23rd annual Duke's Mayo Bowl. The game will be played Friday Jan 3, 2025 at 7:30 PM EST at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina and will be streamed on ESPN.

Lots of Hokie action in Charlotte! 🦃🏈🏒 Come on out to the Duke’s Mayo Bowl on Jan. 3, and don’t miss the Club Hockey team taking on UNC at Truist Field the next day, Jan. 4! pic.twitter.com/Aq4lKJuBi5
— Brent Pry (@CoachPryVT) December 19, 2024

This will mark the first meeting between the Hokies and Golden Gophers in program history. So, what can the Hokies expect from their Big 10 competitors?

1. Golden Bowlers

Darius Taylor leads Minnesota to victory in the 2023 Quick Lane Bowl | USA Today

Minnesota currently holds the longest active bowl game winning streak in Big 10 history, and is tied for the seventh longest in college football history with seven consecutive bowl game wins. Under head coach P.J Fleck, the Golden Gophers are 5-0 in bowl games and 23-3 against non-conference opponents, including bowl games. Their latest bowl game victory was 30-24 over the Bowling Green Falcons in the 2023 Quick Lane Bowl.

2. Darius Taylor

The Gopher's running back situation will look a little different after some off-season transfer portal action with many players potentially opting out of play. However, sophomore Darius Taylor has announced his return for the 2025 season and will play in the bowl game. After missing the season opener with a hamstring injury, Taylor finished the 2024 season with 873 total rushing yards, 183 of which were against non-conference teams. Taylor was the MVP of Minnesota's 2023 Quick Lane Bowl victory and has continued to be the star of their running back room.

3. Max Brosmer

After finishing the 2024 regular season with 2,617 passing yards and a completion rate of 66.8%, Minnesota's quarterback Max Brosmer holds the sixth highest yardage total and best completion rate in program history. Brosmer has caught the attention of the NFL, appearing as no. 9 on NFL Draft analyst Jordan Reid's 2025 NFL draft QB rankings. If drafted, Brosmer would be the first quarterback drafted out of Minnesota in 52 years. While most potential NFL prospects would opt out of playing in a bowl game to protect their draft rankings, Brosmer has committed to playing in the Duke's Mayo Bowl.

The Golden Gophers will certainly be tough competition, which will make for an exciting game as Brent Pry and Fleck both hope to be on the receiving end of the Duke's Mayo bath.

However, the bowl game won't be the only Hokie sports excitement in Charlotte that weekend. Jan. 4 the Virginia Tech Men's Club Hockey team will be competing in their first-ever outdoor game with UNC Chapel Hill at Truist Field.

GET READY FOR HISTORY! 🔥
On January 4th, Virginia Tech Men’s Ice Hockey takes the ice at Truist Field for an epic outdoor showdown against UNC Chapel Hill 🏒 #Hokies #VTvsUNC #OutdoorHockey #HokieNation https://t.co/bYEUmzrf8I pic.twitter.com/X4kBkRePPb
— VT Ice Hockey (@VTicehockey) December 24, 2024

The Virginia Tech Club Hockey team is currently ranked fourth in the ACHA Southeast Ranking and has had a record breaking season recording a 13-game winning streak and leading the ACCHL in power play and penalty kill percentages. The Hokies are hoping to continue to dominate their competition as they make program history.

Virginia Tech Transfer Portal Commitments (9)

Safety Sherrod Covil Jr (Previous School: Clemson)

RB Terion Stewart (Bowling Green)

RB Marcellous Hawkins (Central Missouri)

DL Jahzari Priester (Hampton)

DB Isaiah Brown-Murray (ECU)

DB Tyson Flowers (Rice)

DB Joseph Reddish (Wingate)

DB Isaiah Cash (Sam Houston State)

OL Tomas Rimac (West Virginia)