| Game Name: | Birmingham Bowl |
| Subheader: | 17th Birmingham Bowl |
| Title Sponsor: | 76 |
| Date Game Played: | December 23 |
| Year Game Played: | 2023 |
| Football Season: | 2023 |
| Stadium: | Protective Stadium |
| City: | Birmingham, Alabama |
| Visitor School: | Troy University |
| Visitor Name Short: | Troy |
| Visitor Nickname: | Trojans |
| Visitor Record: | 11–2 |
| Visitor Conference: | Sun Belt |
| Visitor Coach: | Greg Gasparato (interim) |
| Visitor 1Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 3 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 7 |
| Home School: | Duke University |
| Home Name Short: | Duke |
| Home Nickname: | Blue Devils |
| Home Record: | 7–5 |
| Home Conference: | ACC |
| Home Coach: | Trooper Taylor (interim) |
| Home 1Q: | 8 |
| Home 2Q: | 6 |
| Home 3Q: | 0 |
| Home 4Q: | 3 |
| Mvp: | Chandler Rivers (CB, Duke)[1] |
| Odds: | Troy by 7.5[2] |
| Referee: | Nolan Dumas (Mountain West)[3] |
| Attendance: | 20,023 |
| Us Network: | ABC |
| Us Announcers: | Tom Hart (play-by-play), Cole Cubelic (analyst), and Dawn Davenport (sideline) |
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.[4] [5] 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.[6]
The game featured Sun Belt Conference champion Troy Trojans and the Duke Blue Devils from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). 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.[7]
See main article: 2023 Troy Trojans football team. The Trojans entered the game with a 11–2 record (7–1 in the Sun Belt). 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.
See main article: 2023 Duke Blue Devils football team. The Blue Devils entered the game with a 7–5 record (4–4 in the ACC), 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.