Shane Beamer, Mack Brown make decision on Duke's Mayo Bowl celebration

South Carolina coach Shane Beamer and North Carolina coach Mack Brown are willing to take one for the team when they meet in Charlotte on Dec. 30.

The two head coaches have agreed to accept a mayonnaise bath should their football team win the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, via Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic. The condiment company based outside of Greenville, South Carolina, said they would donate $100,000 to a charity of the winning team’s choice if the victorious coach agreed to the idea.

This will be North Carolina’s fifth appearance in the bowl, which is the most in its history. They are 1-3, and Tar Heels wide receiver Ryan Switzer was the MVP when they won in 2013. South Carolina has been once, a 28-0 thrashing at the hands of Virginia in 2018.

The Charlotte-based bowl is celebrating its 20th anniversary this season, and it has gone by four different names during its existence. In addition to the Duke’s sponsorship, the bowl has been the Continental Tire Bowl (2002-2004), Meineke Car Care Bowl (2005-2010) and Belk Bowl (2011-2019).

The bowl’s first year sponsored by Duke’s was a 2020 matchup between Wisconsin and Wake Forest. The Badgers won 42-28, and Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz hilariously and accidentally broke the glass trophy.

Matchup to watch: Tar Heels pass offense vs. Gamecocks pass defense

The game pits one of the nation’s most explosive pass offenses against one of its better pass defenses.

UNC is led by Sam Howell on offense, who happens to be from outside of Charlotte. The potentially NFL-bound signal caller has thrown for 2,851 yards and 23 touchdowns this year and rushed for an additional 825 yards and 11 touchdowns. Howell is looking to hit the 3,000 passing yards mark for the third time in as many seasons.

His top target — by a substantial margin — is wideout Josh Downs. Downs has 98 receptions for 1,273 yards this year. No other North Carolina wide receiver has more than 27 receptions or 539 yards.

The South Carolina defense will need to stop the duo, and they have had great success against the passing game this season. In his first season in Columbia, head coach Shane Beamer’s defense is allowing just 178.8 passing yards per game. That mark ranks second in the SEC (only behind Georgia) and ninth nationally. The team is giving up nearly 12 fewer points than they did in 2020.

North Carolina-South Carolina kicks off at 11:30 a.m. on ESPN on Dec. 30. UNC is a nine-point favorite, and they lead the series 35-19-4 all-time.