Saturday bowl tracker: Duke beats Troy in Birmingham Bowl

76 Birmingham Bowl - Troy v Duke BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - DECEMBER 23: Grayson Loftis #12 of the Duke Blue Devils throws downfield against the Troy Trojans during the first half of the 76 Birmingham Bowl at Protective Stadium on December 23, 2023 in Birmingham, Alabama. (Photo by Brandon Sumrall/Getty Images) (Brandon Sumrall/Getty Images)

Duke took down Troy 17-10 in a Birmingham Bowl contested by schools with interim coaches.

The Blue Devils jumped out to a 17-3 lead before Troy scored in the fourth quarter to give Duke a scare. But Troy didn’t get any closer than that after QB Gunnar Watson was picked off with 1:22 to go.

Duke (8-5) was coached by Trooper Taylor on Saturday as Mike Elko is now the coach at Texas A&M. The Blue Devils led 14-0 at halftime thanks to a TD run by Jaylen Coleman and two field goals.

Troy (11-3) entered the game without coach Jon Sumrall as he’s now Tulane’s new head coach. The Trojans were 0-of-3 on fourth downs and 3-of-12 on third downs.

The victory is the fifth consecutive bowl win for the Blue Devils. Duke hasn’t lost a bowl game since the 2014 Sun Bowl.

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