| Game Name: | Birmingham Bowl |
| Subheader: | 12th Birmingham Bowl |
| Date Game Played: | December 23 |
| Year Game Played: | 2017 |
| Football Season: | 2017 |
| Stadium: | Legion Field |
| City: | Birmingham, Alabama |
| Visitor School: | Texas Tech University |
| Visitor Name Short: | Texas Tech |
| Visitor Nickname: | Red Raiders |
| Visitor Record: | 6–6 |
| Visitor Conference: | Big 12 |
| Visitor Coach: | Kliff Kingsbury |
| Visitor 1Q: | 10 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 14 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 10 |
| Home School: | University of South Florida |
| Home Name Short: | South Florida |
| Home Nickname: | Bulls |
| Home Record: | 9–2 |
| Home Conference: | The American |
| Home Rank Ap: | 23 |
| Home Rank Coaches: | 24 |
| Home Coach: | Charlie Strong |
| Home 1Q: | 3 |
| Home 2Q: | 7 |
| Home 3Q: | 7 |
| Home 4Q: | 21 |
| Mvp: | Quinton Flowers |
| Referee: | Ron Hudson (MAC) |
| Attendance: | 28,623[1] |
| Payout: | 2,025,000[2] |
| Us Network: | ESPN |
| Us Announcers: | Tom Hart, Gene Chizik, Lauren Sisler |
The 2017 Birmingham Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 23, 2017, at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. The twelfth edition of the Birmingham Bowl featured the Texas Tech Red Raiders of the Big 12 Conference against the South Florida Bulls of the American Athletic Conference. Kickoff was scheduled for 11:00 a.m. CST and the game aired on ESPN. It was one of the 2017–18 bowl games concluding the 2017 FBS football season.[3]
The game featured the Texas Tech Red Raiders against the South Florida Bulls and was the first-ever meeting between the two schools.[4]
See also: 2017 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team and 2017 Big 12 Conference football season.
This was the Red Raiders' first Birmingham Bowl.
See also: 2017 South Florida Bulls football team and 2017 American Athletic Conference football season.
South Florida entered the game as the defending Birmingham Bowl champion, their 2016 team having defeated the South Carolina Gamecocks, 46–39 in overtime. This was the Bulls' third Birmingham Bowl; in addition to their 2016 victory, the 2006 Bulls defeated the East Carolina Pirates, 24–7 in the inaugural game when it was known as the PapaJohns.com Bowl.
| Statistics | TTU | USF |
|---|---|---|
| First Downs | 28 | 27 |
| Total offense, plays-yards | 94–549 | 82–561 |
| Rushes-yards (net) | 35–133 | 48–250 |
| Passing yards (net) | 416 | 311 |
| Passes, Comp-Att-Int | 32–59–2 | 17–34–0 |
| Time of Possession | 35:21 | 24:39 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas Tech | Passing | Nic Shimonek | 32/59, 416 yds, 3 TD, 2 INT |
| Rushing | Justin Stockton | 18 car, 103 yds | |
| Receiving | 11 rec, 187 yds, 1 TD | ||
| South Florida | Passing | 17/34, 311 yds, 4 TD | |
| Rushing | Quinton Flowers | 14 car, 106 yds, 1 TD | |
| Receiving | 3 rec, 133 yds, 1 TD |