The 2023 Birmingham Bowl will be a contest between the Troy Trojans and the Duke Blue Devils in a rare ACC versus Sun Belt clash. Troy enters the game after repeating as Sun Belt champions by beating Appalachian State 49-23 to hold a record of 11-2. For Duke, it was a season that started with a lot of promise that resulted in a 7-5 finish. For the Trojans, this will be the program’s first bowl game against a power five opponent. Both teams come in with bowl-winning streaks too. Troy has won five in a row and is 6-3 all-time. The Blue Devils have won their last four bowl appearances and have gone 7-8 in bowls in their history. The game will kick off at 11 a.m. Central and will be broadcast on ABC.
2023 Birmingham Bowl Preview
Head Coaches
The situation with the head coaches is one of the subplots of this football game. Both Troy and Duke will be coached by interims due to Mike Elko and Jon Sumrall leaving for other programs. Elko took the vacant job at Texas A&M after the dismissal of Jimbo Fisher. Sumrall left for Tulane after the Sun Belt Championship Game to replace Willie Fritz who left for Houston. Both schools have named their new head coaches with Duke hiring Penn State defensive coordinator Manny Diaz and Troy hiring Notre Dame offensive coordinator Gerad Parker. But for this game, Troy will be led by defensive coordinator Greg Gasparato and Duke by running backs coach Trooper Taylor.
Troy Trojans
It was another great year for the Troy Trojans under Sumrall. In his two seasons as head coach, the Trojans went 23-4 and won two Sun Belt championships. The Trojans will look for another 12-win season by winning the 2023 Birmingham Bowl.
The Trojan offense is led by its backfield duo of quarterback Gunnar Watson and running back Kimani Vidal. Both are looking to end their college careers with a big performance. For Watson, it was the first time in his six-year career that he was the unquestioned starter. He flourished this season passing for 3.339 yards and 27 touchdowns. He threw for 300-plus yards in three games and had his best game against Texas State. On that late October Saturday, he passed for 398 yards and four touchdowns in the 31-13 win. His receivers were reliable all season. The top two are Jabre Barber and Chris Lewis. Barber caught 65 passes for 892 yards and five touchdowns. Lewis was the big play threat catching 32 passes for 735 yards and ten touchdowns.
Defenses could not just focus of the Troy passing attack though. Vidal was not just the best running back in the Sun Belt, but one of the best in the nation. He was second in FBS with 1,582 yards and added 14 touchdowns. If Vidal got going in the run game, the Trojans became almost impossible to stop.
The defense was stout once again despite the loss of Carlton Martial from the year prior. Quarterbacks did not live comfortably with both Javon Solomon and Richard Jibunor creating pressure. Solomon ended the season with 16 sacks and Jibunor had nine. The secondary was led by Reddy Steward with four interceptions, and another All-Sun Belt performer Dell Pettus. The defense led the Sun Belt in yards allowed (306.6) and points (17.2).
Duke Blue Devils
Duke started the season with a 4-0 start and a convincing 28-7 victory over Clemson in the season opener. All that came unraveled against Notre Dame when quarterback Riley Leonard got injured late in the game. The injury was one that Leonard could never fully recover from. The entire offense could not either. The Blue Devils rank 11th in the ACC in total offense, and 13th in passing at 180.7 yards per game. Henry Belin IV struggled in relief, and now Leonard is off to Notre Dame. They turned to freshman Grayson Loftis who played well in the final three games. In the season finale against Pitt, Loftis threw for 248 yards and two touchdowns.
The offense will be without running backs Jordan Waters and Jaquez Moore after they entered the transfer portal. The next running backup could be Jaylen Coleman. He rushed for 152 yards on 37 carries this season. Loftis will have wide receiver Jordan Moore to throw to. Moore caught 59 passes for 794 yards and eight touchdowns this season. He closed out the season with back-to-back 100-yard games.
The defense was the strength of the Blue Devils this season. They were third in the ACC allowing 19.8 points per game. The defense overall was middle of the conference giving up 354.6 yards per game. They will be without defensive lineman Aeneas Peebles who has transferred to Virginia Tech. He had four sacks on the season and 40 tackles. Duke will have linebacker Tre Freeman. He led the team in tackles with 97 on the season.
Who Wins the 2023 Birmingham Bowl?
Both teams are looking to end the season with a win. For Troy, it is about finishing what they started and having another 12-win season. For Duke, a win would not salvage the once-promising season but would end it on a happy note. If both teams were at full strength, the edge would have to go to Duke. With Duke having so many key players gone from the team, the Troy Trojans take a close 27-20 victory.
