Blue Devils headed to Birmingham Bowl
Duke headed to pre-Christmas bowl against Troy
Duke is headed to a pre-Christmas bowl, though it's not the one that was initially reported on Sunday.
The Blue Devils will play Troy in the Birmingham Bowl on Dec. 23. Duke was initially reported to be bound for the Gasparilla Bowl on Dec. 22 against UCF.
For the Blue Devils, it means their season will end before Christmas in Birmingham, Ala. — and it will close the chapter on what’s been an emotional rollercoaster of a season.
Duke started the season 5-1 with wins over Clemson, Northwestern and N.C. State — teams that won a combined 24 games this season — before all four ACC road games on the back half of the schedule (at Florida State, Louisville, UNC and Virginia).
After a season-ending win over Pittsburgh, coach Mike Elko left to take the head coaching job at Texas A&M, where he was previously the defensive coordinator for four seasons before going 16-9 at Duke in the last two years.
Running backs coach Trooper Taylor was named Duke’s interim coach last week and is likely to coach Duke in its bowl game.
The Blue Devils’ search for their next coach is motoring along. Stay tuned in on this thread for the latest.
Duke went 7-5 this season, the Blue Devils’ second straight winning season after going 9-4 with the win in the Military Bowl against UCF last year. That was Duke’s first bowl game since 2018.
The Blue Devils will go into their bowl game sans their coach of the past two seasons and a few key starters. Among those who have announced decisions to enter the transfer portal are quarterback Riley Leonard, defensive linemen Aeneas Peebles and R.J. Oben and safety Jaylen Stinson.