Troy Falls to Duke in 76 Birmingham Bowl

Saturday, December 23

Birmingham, Ala.

11 a.m.

Troy University

11-3 , 8-1

Duke

8-5 , 4-4

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Troy

Duke

12/23/2023 4:22:00 PM | Football

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Photo Gallery Photo Gallery 2 Photo Gallery 3 Photo Gallery 4 Photo Gallery 5

By: Troy Athletics Communications

**Note – The box score incorrectly reflects a touchdown run for Troy's Derrick Graham instead of a 2-yard touchdown pass from Watson to Graham**

BIRMINGHAM – Troy saw its 10-game winning streak come to an end Saturday with a 17-10 loss to Duke in the 76 Birmingham Bowl at Protective Stadium in Birmingham. The loss also snapped Troy's five-game bowl winning streak, which ranked as the second-longest active streak in the country.

Troy (11-3) pulled within the final touchdown margin with 5:54 to play in the game on a 2-yard touchdown pass from Gunnar Watson to left tackle Derrick Graham. The Trojans got the ball back with 1:46 to play and no timeouts, but Watson was forced into a quick throw that was intercepted to end the Trojans' comeback bid.

Duke (8-5) struck first on a 1-yard touchdown run by Jaquez Moore late in the first quarter after a 16-yard Kimani Vidal touchdown was pulled off their board on Troy's second drive of the game.

The Blue Devils took a 14-0 lead into the locker room after a pair of short field goals by Todd Pelino, the first aided by one of multiple questionable calls by the Mountain West Conference officiating crew. Duke led 17-3 after Pellino and Troy's Scott Taylor Renfore traded field goals around the third and fourth quarter break.

Vidal rushed for 79 yards on 17 carries to surpass the 4,000-yard mark for his career and move into the top spot nationally this season with 1,661 yards. Gunnar Watson, who didn't practice all week after being one of more than 20 Trojans affected by illness, completed 21-of-36 passes for 230 yards and the one touchdown. He finished his Troy career with 10,275 yards and 66 touchdown passes.

T.J. Jackson and Damaje Yancy came up with turnovers for the Troy defense, with Jackson forcing a fumble on his second sack of the season, and Yancy intercepted his first career pass to set up Troy's lone touchdown.

Jabre Barber tied a career-high with 10 receptions for 107 yards, his sixth career 100-yard receiving game to lead Troy. Peyton Higgins added a career-best four catches for 63 yards, while Ethan Conner and Devonte Ross finished with three and two catches, respectively.

The teams posted identical 330-yard totals on the offensive front, but the difference came on third down, where the Blue Devils converted 5-of-12 opportunities (0-of-4 in the second half) compared to just 2-of-12 for Troy. The Trojans limited the Blue Devils to just 122 yards and six first downs in the second half.

Grayson Loftis completed 19-of-29 passes for 183 yards for Duke, while Moore rushed 14 times for 73 yards.