Duke Wins Birmingham Bowl for Fifth Straight Postseason Win

Saturday, December 23

Birmingham, Ala.

11 a.m. CT / 12 Noon ET

Duke University

8-5 , 4-4

Troy

11-3 , 8-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Troy

Duke

Duke Wins Birmingham Bowl for Fifth Straight Postseason Win

12/23/2023 6:51:00 PM | Football

Box Score Box Score Postgame Notes Postgame Quotes Photo Gallery Birmingham Bowl Postgame Press Conference

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Graduate student safety Jeremiah Lewis intercepted Troy's Gunnar Watson at midfield to secure Duke's 17-10 victory on Saturday afternoon at the 76® Birmingham Bowl at Protective Stadium.

The win marked Duke's fifth consecutive postseason victory and eighth overall win of the year. The Blue Devils (8-5) finished with eight-plus wins in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2014-15. Additionally, Duke remains undefeated against Troy, who concludes its season at 11-3.

Sophomore cornerback Chandler Rivers garnered Birmingham Bowl MVP honors after finishing with five tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, three pass breakups and one quarterback hurry. His three pass breakups rank second all-time in Duke's bowl records.

Junior linebacker Tre Freeman led the team with nine tackles to amass 100-plus tackles on the year. He becomes the first player since Koby Quansah in 2019 to register 100-plus tackles in a single-season.

Freshman quarterback Grayson Loftis concluded the day 19-of-29 passing for 183 yards with one interception. Junior Jaquez Moore and graduate Jordan Waters led the rushing game with 73 and 66 yards, respectively. Graduate student running back Jaylen Coleman found paydirt in the game, for Duke's lone touchdown.

How It Happened

Duke opened the scoring with a one-yard touchdown rush by Coleman late in the opening quarter.
Two Todd Pelino field goals of 34- and 37-yards increased Duke's edge to 14-0 at the break.
Troy finally broke through late in the third quarter when Scott Renfroe converted on a 44-yard field goal to cut into the advantage at 14-3.
Pelino added a 45-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter to create a 17-3 gap between the teams.
The Trojans recorded one final score, a two-yard receiving touchdown, with 5:54 remaining in the game, to pull within seven and keep their hopes alive at a comeback.
Troy then halted the Blue Devils on their ensuing drive and were moving the ball down the field, but Lewis' interception secured the win for Duke with 1:22 remaining.

Notables

Duke improves to 8-8 all-time in bowl games.
With the victory, the Blue Devils ended Troy's 10-game winning streak and halted its bowl winning streak at five consecutive.
Coleman posted his first rushing score of the year.
After registering two receptions for 24 yards, senior wide receiver Jalon Calhoun moved into a tie with T.J. Rahming for third all-time in program history with 253 career catches.
The Blue Devils finished with 10 pass breakups, marking the most in program history for a bowl game.
Senior defensive tackle Aeneas Peebles posted four tackles, 1.0 tackles for loss, 1.0 sack, and a team-high two quarterback pressures
Lewis concludes his collegiate career with five interceptions after posting one on Saturday.
Pelino converted on three field goals (34-, 37- and 45-yards) to tie for the most all-time on Duke's bowl records chart.
Pelino matches his total from the 2022 Military Bowl as well as Ross Martin's mark from the 2015 New Era Pinstripe Bowl.
Punter Porter Wilson registered four punts for 188 yards to conclude the year with the best single-season punting average in program history (46.64)