2023 Birmingham Bowl
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. 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.
Teams
The game featured Sun Belt Conference champion Troy Trojans and the Duke Blue Devils from the Atlantic Coast Conference. 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.
Troy Trojans
The Trojans entered the game with a 11–2 record. 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, 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.