2023 Birmingham Bowl

2023 76 Birmingham Bowl
2023 76 Birmingham Bowl
17th Birmingham Bowl
Troy Trojans	Duke Blue Devils
(11–2)	(7–5)
Sun Belt	ACC
10	17
Head coach: ; Greg Gasparato (interim)	Head coach: ; Trooper Taylor (interim)
Date	December 23, 2023
Season	2023
Stadium	Protective Stadium
Location	Birmingham, Alabama
MVP	Chandler Rivers (CB, Duke)
Favorite	Troy by 7.5
Referee	Nolan Dumas (Mountain West)
Attendance	20,023
United States TV coverage
Network	ABC
Announcers	Tom Hart (play-by-play), Cole Cubelic (analyst), and Dawn Davenport (sideline)
Birmingham Bowl
< 2022	2024 >

The 2023 Birmingham Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 23, 2023, at Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Alabama. The 17th annual Birmingham Bowl featured the Troy Trojans from the Sun Belt Conference and the Duke Blue Devils from the Atlantic Coast Conference. The game began at approximately 11:00 a.m. CST and was aired on ABC.^[4]^[5] The Birmingham Bowl was one of the 2023–24 bowl games concluding the 2023 FBS football season. The game was sponsored by gas station chain 76 and was officially known as the 76 Birmingham Bowl.^[6]

Teams

The game featured Sun Belt Conference champion Troy Trojans and the Duke Blue Devils from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). This was the third meeting between Troy and Duke; the Blue Devils defeated the Trojans in both prior meetings. It was also both teams' first appearance in the Birmingham Bowl.^[7]

Troy Trojans

The Trojans entered the game with a 11–2 record (7–1 in the Sun Belt). After clinching their conference's West Division title, the Trojans defeated Appalachian State, 49–23, in the Sun Belt Championship Game to capture their eighth Sun Belt title.

Duke Blue Devils

The Blue Devils entered the game with a 7–5 record (4–4 in the ACC), tied for sixth place in their conference. Their quarterback, Riley Leonard transferred to Notre Dame, while their backup, Henry Belin IV, had an "upper-body" injury. It meant that their 3rd stringer true freshman quarterback Grayson Loftis had to start.

Game summary

2023 76 Birmingham Bowl

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Troy	0	0	3	7	10
Duke	8	6	0	3	17

at Protective Stadium • Birmingham, Alabama

Date: Tuesday, December 23, 2023
Game time: 11:00 a.m. CST
Game weather: Sunny• Temperature: 60 °F (16 °C) • Wind: 5 mph (8.0 km/h) NW
Game attendance: 20,023
Referee: Nolan Dumas
TV announcers (ABC): Tom Hart (play-by-play), Cole Cubelic (analyst), and Dawn Davenport (sideline)
Box score

Game information

First Quarter

(2:29) DUKE – Jaylen Coleman 1 yard run, Nicky Dalmolin 2-point run conversion (Drive: 7 plays, 64 yards, 3:33; Duke 8–0)

Second Quarter

(6:51) DUKE – Todd Pelino 34 yard field goal (Drive: 11 plays, 50 yards, 5:23; Duke 11–0)
(0:00) DUKE – Todd Pelino 37 yard field goal (Drive: 17 plays, 54 yards, 6:24; Duke 14–0)

Third Quarter

(1:36) TROY – Scott Taylor Renfroe 44 yard field goal (Drive: 10 plays, 53 yards, 5:29; Duke 14–3)

Fourth Quarter

(13:29) DUKE – Todd Pelino 45 yard field goal (Drive: 6 plays, 47 yards, 3:07; Duke 17–3)
(5:54) TROY – Derrick Graham 2 yard run, Scott Taylor Renfroe kick (Drive: 10 plays, 87 yards, 3:13; Duke 17–10)

Statistics

Statistics	TROY	DUKE
First downs	17	19
Plays–yards	64–330	67–330
Rushes–yards	26–89	38–147
Passing yards	241	183
Passing: comp–att–int	22–38–1	19–29–1
Time of possession	27:56	32:04

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Troy	Passing	Gunnar Watson	21/36, 230 yards, INT
	Rushing	Kimani Vidal	17 carries, 79 yards
	Receiving	Jabre Barber	10 receptions, 107 yards
Duke	Passing	Grayson Loftis	19/29, 183 yards, INT
	Rushing	Jaquez Moore	14 carries, 73 yards
	Receiving	Sahmir Hagans	5 receptions, 55 yards

References

^ @BuzzSportsRadio (December 23, 2023). "Duke CB Chandler Rivers is game MVP" (Tweet). Retrieved December 23, 2023 – via Twitter.
^ Parks, James (December 11, 2023). "College football bowl schedule, game odds, point spreads for 2023-24". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
^ Austro, Ben (December 3, 2023). "2023-24 bowl officiating assignments". footballzebras.com. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
^ Straka, Dean (May 31, 2023). "2023-24 college football bowl schedule, games, dates, locations, kickoff times, TV channels". CBS Sports. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
^ Lewis, Barry (June 3, 2023). "2023-24 College Football Bowl Schedule, Dates, Times Announced". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
^ "76 Named Title Sponsor of Birmingham Bowl". Retrieved November 30, 2023.
^ "Winsipedia - Troy Trojans vs. Duke Blue Devils". Winsipedia. Retrieved December 8, 2023.

External links

Game statistics at statbroadcast.com

[1] @BuzzSportsRadio (December 23, 2023). "Duke CB Chandler Rivers is game MVP" (Tweet). Retrieved December 23, 2023 – via Twitter.

[2] Parks, James (December 11, 2023). "College football bowl schedule, game odds, point spreads for 2023-24". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 12, 2023.

[3] Austro, Ben (December 3, 2023). "2023-24 bowl officiating assignments". footballzebras.com. Retrieved December 5, 2023.

[4] Straka, Dean (May 31, 2023). "2023-24 college football bowl schedule, games, dates, locations, kickoff times, TV channels". CBS Sports. Retrieved July 1, 2023.

[5] Lewis, Barry (June 3, 2023). "2023-24 College Football Bowl Schedule, Dates, Times Announced". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 1, 2023.

[6] "76 Named Title Sponsor of Birmingham Bowl". Retrieved November 30, 2023.

[7] "Winsipedia - Troy Trojans vs. Duke Blue Devils". Winsipedia. Retrieved December 8, 2023.

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