2023 Birmingham Bowl

2023 76 Birmingham Bowl
17th Birmingham Bowl
1234 Total
Troy 0037 10
Duke 8603 17
DateDecember 23, 2023
Season2023
StadiumProtective Stadium
LocationBirmingham, Alabama
MVPChandler Rivers (CB, Duke)[1]
FavoriteTroy by 7.5[2]
RefereeNolan Dumas (Mountain West)[3]
Attendance20,023
United States TV coverage
NetworkABC
AnnouncersTom 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 34Total
Troy 0 0 3710
Duke 8 6 0317

at Protective StadiumBirmingham, 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: compattint 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

  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.