Who could blame Wisconsin Badgers quarterback Graham Mertz for being a little excited on Wednesday after his team defeated Wake Forest at Duke’s Mayo Bowl?
Mertz shot 130 yards and no interception in the 42-28 victory – but while he was celebrating inside the Badgers’ locker room after the game, he was caught on video dropping the team’s football-shaped crystal trophy, breaking it on the floor .
“We just wanted everyone to have a piece of that trophy,” joked Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst after Mertz’s post-game disaster.
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Wisconsin players were initially silent as to who destroyed it, including Jack Sanborn, named the Most Valuable Player in the contest, who exclaimed “no comment”. But the videos soon appeared online.
“There is video evidence of who broke the trophy, and I will not say anything more about it,” added Badgers linebacker Noah Burks, who intercepted Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman at the end of the third quarter. “Although we didn’t know that the trophy came out.”
Mertz later confessed to breaking the trophy during a post-game virtual press conference.
“I dropped it. This is on me,” he said.
“My mom would say it’s a boo-boo, but it’s okay, let’s recover,” he continued. “It will be the last trophy I will drop, I guarantee you.”
Players tried to redeem their prize by gluing a real jar of Royal Duke Mayonnaise to the base of the trophy – an unforeseen victory for the sponsor of the bowling game, which was played in Charlotte, NC
Despite the accident, Mertz was responsible for three touchdowns and Wisconsin turned four interceptions in the second half – all by different players – into 21 points to turn a game played into almost a Demon Deacons defeat. Five players scored touchdowns for the Badgers.
The game was tied at 21-21 at the end of the third quarter, until Burks intercepted Hartman and returned the ball 41 yards to create a 14-yard Mertz scoring blow for defender Mason Stokke, giving the Badgers their first advantage.
Hartman was caught in the next three possessions, despite launching an interception throughout the season.
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“It looked like one led to the other,” said Sanborn, adding that the Badgers picked up some of Hartman’s tendencies.
“Throughout the game, similar concepts have emerged,” continued Sanborn. “We kind of knew where he wanted to throw the ball. He was making shots early in the game. But we found out where he wanted to go with the ball.”
Wisconsin players hoist the trophy after the victory over Wake Forest at the Duke’s Mayo Bowl NCAA college football game at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC, Wednesday, December 30, 2020. (Associated Press)
After the game, Twitter users noticed an earlier post from the Duke’s Mayo Bowl Twitter account, which didn’t seem to age well.
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“A quick reminder that we have the best football trophy,” wrote the report.
The Associated Press contributed to this report