2023 Birmingham Bowl
The 2023 76® Birmingham Bowl was the 17th Birmingham Bowl postseason college football game, the first with Motiva Enterprises' 76 brand as title sponsor, and the third to be played at Protective Stadium in downtown Birmingham.
The game was played at 11:00 AM on Saturday, December 23, 2023 and broadcast live on ABC and ESPN's Bowl Season Radio Network.
The 11-2 Troy Trojans of the Sunbelt Conference took on the 7-5 Duke Blue Devils of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Both teams came to town under the leadership of interim head coaches as Duke's Mike Elko had accepted the job of replacing Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M University, and Troy's Jon Sumrall had taken Willie Fritz's place at Tulane University. The Mountain West Conference furnished the game officials. Trooper Taylor led Duke while Greg Gasparato led Troy for the bowl game. Similarly, Duke turned to freshman quarterback Grayson Loftis as Riley Leonard had announced his transfer to Notre Dame.
Each team had a pep rally in the Uptown district on the evening before the game followed by a fireworks display. On the morning prior to the game, a "Bud Light Fan Fest Tailgate" took place in the district with live music, interactive games, food and beverage vendors, and another fireworks display.
ABC paired Tom Hart with Cole Cubelic to call the game, with reporter Dawn Davenport on the sidelines. Eli Gold called the game for ESPN's "Bowl Season Radio" broadcast.
The weather was sunny for the game, with a high of 60°F.
Result
Duke opened the scoring late in the 1st quarter with a 1 yard run by Jaylen Coleman for a touchdown and a 2-point conversaion from Nicky Dalmolin. The Blue Devils added two Todd Pelino field goals in the 2nd quarter to take a 14-0 lead into halftime. Troy answered in the 3rd quarter with a Scott Taylor Renfroe field goal from 44 yards out. Duke edge back to a 14-point lead with another kick early in the 4th quarter. Troy was able to cut into the lead with Derrick Graham's 2-yard touchdown run with 5:54 remaining, but Duke held on for the 17-10 victory.
The teams were dead even with 330 yards of total offense and 4 punts each. Duke gained 147 of its yards on the ground, helping them control the clock and overcome a 1-turnover margin against the Trojans. Duke cornerback Chandler Rivers broke up 3 passes and made 2 tackles for loss to earn most-valuable player honors.
Impact
The fact that both teams were within driving distance of Birmingham helped boost attendance and economic impact slightly. The announced attendance was 20,023. Neilson counted 2.67 million viewers for the ABC broadcast. Planners anticipated a total economic impact of around $9 million.
| Birmingham Bowl |
|---|
| Site:Legion Field (2006–2020), Protective Stadium (2021–) |
| Names: Papajohns.com Bowl (2006–2010), BBVA Compass Bowl (2011–2014), Birmingham Bowl (2015–2017), Jared Birmingham Bowl (2018), TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl (2020–2022), 76® Birmingham Bowl (2023) |
| By year: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, Jan. 2015, Dec. 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 |
References
- "2023 Birmingham Bowl" (December 24, 2023) - Wikipedia - accessed January 1, 2023
- Chandler, Courtney (December 22, 2023) "Birmingham Bowl boosting city's economy." CBS42.com
- Turrentine, Caleb (December 23, 2023) "Defense leads Duke past Troy in Birmingham Bowl." ABC3340.com
External links
- Birmingham Bowl website