Duke football to play in the Birmingham Bowl Dec. 23 against Troy

Editor's note: This article was published before Duke's bowl announcement was made official, mistakenly asserting that numerous Sunday reports were confirmation of its placement. Previous versions of this article, based on an Action Network report, a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, from the Big 12 and advertisements on the Gasparilla Bowl website, incorrectly reported that Duke would play in the Gasparilla Bowl against UCF. The Chronicle regrets the error.

The Blue Devils are off to Birmingham.

Duke has been selected to play Troy in the Birmingham Bowl at Protective Stadium Dec. 23 at 12 p.m. ET. The Blue Devils are headed to their second bowl game in as many years, and will take on the Trojans for the third time in program history and the first time since 2014. 

"We are absolutely thrilled to accept the invitation to play in the 76th Birmingham Bowl," Duke athletic director Nina King said in a team release. "Our young men, coaches, and staff have earned the opportunity to play a 13th game this season and, led by our seniors, we'll prepare to compete against a terrific Troy University football team."

Duke was originally slated to play UCF in the Gasparilla Bowl, per a report from Brett McMurphy at Action Network. However, McMurphy later clarified that the Blue Devils moved to the Birmingham Bowl to avoid a rematch with the Knights, who they played last year in the Military Bowl.

After starting 4-0, Duke cooled off the rest of the year, due to both injuries and an extremely challenging ACC schedule. The Blue Devils were still able to finish 7-5, and will have a chance to reach eight wins in just a few short weeks. 

"Special thanks to Mark Meadows and the 76th Birmingham Bowl for this opportunity — we are excited to travel to Birmingham and play an excellent Sun Belt champion Troy team," Duke interim head coach Trooper Taylor said.

Duke will have to await the announcement of the new coach to see who is coaching in the bowl, with the players available up in the air. However, Duke fans will likely get to send off captains Ja’Mion Franklin, Jacob Monk and DeWayne Carter before they move on to professional football. 

The Birmingham Bowl bid is Duke’s 16th-ever bowl appearance and seventh since 2012. The Blue Devils’ all-time bowl record is 7-8, but they have won their last four in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2022.