| Game Name: | Duke's Mayo Bowl |
| Subheader: | 20th Duke's Mayo Bowl |
| Date Game Played: | December 30 |
| Year Game Played: | 2021 |
| Football Season: | 2021 |
| Stadium: | Bank of America Stadium |
| City: | Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Visitor School: | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
| Visitor Name Short: | North Carolina |
| Visitor Nickname: | Tar Heels |
| Visitor Record: | 6–6 |
| Visitor Conference: | ACC |
| Visitor Coach: | Mack Brown |
| Visitor 1Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 13 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 8 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 0 |
| Home School: | University of South Carolina |
| Home Name Short: | South Carolina |
| Home Nickname: | Gamecocks |
| Home Record: | 6–6 |
| Home Conference: | SEC |
| Home Coach: | Shane Beamer |
| Home 1Q: | 18 |
| Home 2Q: | 7 |
| Home 3Q: | 7 |
| Home 4Q: | 6 |
| Mvp: | Dakereon Joyner (WR, South Carolina) |
| Odds: | North Carolina by 7[1] |
| Referee: | Reggie Smith (Big Ten) [2] |
| Attendance: | 45,520[3] |
| Us Network: | ESPN |
| Us Announcers: | Anish Shroff (play-by-play), Mike Golic Jr. (analyst), and Taylor McGregor (sideline) |
The 2021 Duke's Mayo Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 30, 2021, at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. The 20th edition of the Duke's Mayo Bowl, and the second under its current name, the contest featured the North Carolina Tar Heels of the Atlantic Coast Conference and the South Carolina Gamecocks of the Southeastern Conference. The game began at 11:30 a.m. EST and was televised on ESPN. It was one of the 2021–22 bowl games concluding the 2021 FBS football season. Duke's Mayonnaise served as the game's title sponsor.
South Carolina defeated North Carolina with a final score of 38–21, winning its first bowl game since 2017. South Carolina kicker Parker White became the program’s all-time leader in points.[4]
This was the 20th edition of the game, though only the second under its current name; the bowl had previously gone by three other names since its inauguration in 2002. Consistent with conference tie-ins, the game featured the North Carolina Tar Heels from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and the South Carolina Gamecocks from the Southeastern Conference (SEC). This was the 59th meeting between North Carolina and South Carolina, who spent 1953 to 1970 in the ACC together; entering the game, the Tar Heels led the all-time series, 35–19–4.[5] The teams' last met in a pair of season-opening contests in 2015, won by South Carolina,[6] and 2019, won by North Carolina;[7] both games were also played at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. Additionally, the teams are scheduled to meet again in Charlotte in 2023 and have scheduled a home-and-home series for 2028 and 2029. This was North Carolina's 36th overall bowl game appearance and their fifth in this particular game, having competed in 2004, 2008, 2009 and 2013.[8] South Carolina made their 24th overall bowl game appearance and their second in this particular game, with their lone previous appearance coming in 2018.[9]
See main article: 2021 North Carolina Tar Heels football team. North Carolina finished their regular season with an overall 6–6 record, 3–5 in ACC games. After starting with two wins in their first three games, the team alternated losses and wins for the rest of the season. The Tar Heels played four ranked teams, losing to Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, and NC State while defeating Wake Forest.
See main article: 2021 South Carolina Gamecocks football team. South Carolina also finished their regular season with an overall 6–6 record, 3–5 in SEC games. After starting with two wins followed by two losses, the team alternated wins and losses for the rest of the season. The Gamecocks played three ranked teams, losing to Georgia, Texas A&M, and Clemson.
| Statistic | North Carolina | South Carolina | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First downs | 14 | 27 | |
| First downs rushing | 5 | 17 | |
| First downs passing | 9 | 9 | |
| First downs penalty | 0 | 1 | |
| Third down efficiency | 1–10 | 6–11 | |
| Fourth down efficiency | 1–1 | 0–0 | |
| Total plays–net yards | 50–333 | 66–543 | |
| Rushing attempts–net yards | 29–128 | 51–301 | |
| Yards per rush | 4.4 | 5.9 | |
| Yards passing | 205 | 242 | |
| Pass completions–attempts | 12–21 | 12–15 | |
| Interceptions thrown | 0 | 0 | |
| Punt returns–total yards | 0–0 | 1–(−7) | |
| Kickoff returns–total yards | 1–16 | 0–0 | |
| Punts–average yardage | 5–46.6 | 2–41.5 | |
| Fumbles–lost | 1–0 | 1–0 | |
| Penalties–yards | 4–37 | 4–20 | |
| Time of possession | 20:58 | 39:02 |
| Tar Heels passing | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12–20 | 205 | 1–0 | |||
| 0–1 | 0 | 0–0 | |||
| Tar Heels rushing | |||||
| 5 | 72 | 1 | |||
| 9 | 29 | 0 | |||
| Drake Maye | 2 | 24 | 0 | ||
| Sam Howell | 13 | 3 | 0 | ||
| Tar Heels receiving | |||||
| Antoine Green | 4 | 73 | 0 | ||
| 3 | 62 | 0 | |||
| Garrett Walston | 1 | 37 | 1 | ||
| Bryson Nesbit | 2 | 29 | 0 | ||
| Stephen Gosnell | 1 | 3 | 0 | ||
| Ty Chandler | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Gamecocks passing | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dakereon Joyner | 9–9 | 160 | 1–0 | ||
| 3–6 | 82 | 1–0 | |||
| Gamecocks rushing | |||||
| 31 | 182 | 1 | |||
| Dakereon Joyner | 10 | 64 | 0 | ||
| Juju McDowell | 5 | 52 | 1 | ||
| Jaheim Bell | 3 | 21 | 0 | ||
| Zeb Noland | 1 | −9 | 0 | ||
| O'Mega Blake | 1 | −9 | 0 | ||
| Gamecocks receiving | |||||
| Jaheim Bell | 5 | 159 | 2 | ||
| Ahmarean Brown | 4 | 61 | 0 | ||
| Juju McDowell | 1 | 8 | 0 | ||
| 1 | 7 | 0 | |||
| 1 | 7 | 0 | |||