Troy football had a friendly crowd of 20,023 for Saturday’s Birmingham Bowl at Protective Stadium. Unfortunately for the Trojans, they couldn’t capitalize on the atmosphere, dropping to 11-3 to end the 2023 season.

The game featured strong defensive showings for both teams, finishing 17-10 in Duke’s favor. Here are three takeaways from the game.

Temporarily in charge

When the Birmingham Bowl matchup was announced, the Trojans were coached by Jon Sumrall, while Mike Elko was leading the Blue Devils. Then, Sumrall headed off to take the Tulane job, while Elko got the call from Texas A&M.

For Saturday, Trooper Taylor got the nod as Duke’s interim coach. He’d had extensive experience coaching in the state of Alabama, as an assistant at Auburn from 2009 to 2012, during which time he won a national title with the Tigers.

On the other sideline, Greg Gasparato held the reigns for the Trojans. The players were different too, with bowl opt-outs including Duke quarterback Riley Leonard, who headed to Notre Dame through the transfer portal.

“It’s not this way, and I don’t want it to be misconstrued, but it almost feels like a betrayal a little bit,” Gasparato said after the game. “It’s not that, but when somebody has the option to leave and they do, you realize it’s in the best interest of them and their family and it hurts a little bit.”

The matchup was a one-off for both coaches as well. Manny Diaz is set to take over the Blue Devils after the 2023 season comes to an end, while Gerad Parker was announced as the new head coach at Troy.

Both rose to the occasion, with Taylor especially earning rave reviews from players for his role in the Duke victory.

“He’s meant absolutely the world to us,” running back Jaylen Coleman said. “He’s been my coach, running back coach, for the two years, and anytime we go in the room, it’s something special. He always keeps us up, keeps us high-energy, motivated to play.”

Shutdown defense

The Trojans had serious issues moving the ball all game. The Duke defense came out prepared and put Troy behind the eight-ball early on in Saturday’s game.

On third down, the Trojan offense struggled mightily, converting just 2 of 12 attempts. On fourth down it was an even worse 0-for-3.

It wasn’t that Troy couldn’t move the ball at all, it finished with 330 yards of total offense, but the Blue Devils didn’t break until it was too late. The Trojans didn’t score until a third quarter field goal turned a two-score Duke lead into a two-score Duke lead.

“It was contagious,” Taylor said. “Chandler (Rivers) makes a big play and then you look up and (Al) Blades makes a big play. We talk about this: The team that makes the fewest mistakes is going to (win). Those guys made mistakes and we capitalized on them.”

The Trojans got a late touchdown, but it wasn’t enough. Rivers earned the game’s MVP award, finishing with five tackles, including two for loss.

‘300 pounds is gonna get in’

The Trojans couldn’t score a touchdown. All game long, the Blue Devils held them at bay, forcing field goal attempts and punts.

Finally, in the fourth quarter, the Trojans marched down the field. The game was already out of reach, but on third-and-goal from the Duke two-yard line, quarterback Gunnar Watson faded back to his right side.

“We practice it a good bit,” Gasparato said of the risk his team was taking. “This week especially.”

Watson was under duress, but was able to pass the ball backward to an unexpected target. Standing at the 10-yard line on the left hashmark, left tackle Derrick Graham, who was uncovered at the line of scrimmage and an eligible receiver on the play, made a catch.

While his quarterback got plowed by a hit that would lead to a Blue Devil ejection for targeting, Graham started his journey to the end zone. The 6-foot-4, 304-pound sophomore had nobody around as he ambled in that direction, and wasn’t going to stop.

“As he started running, they started closing down quickly,” Gasparato said. “The best thing he did, instead of trying to outrun the pylon, he got north-and-south and said ‘300 pounds is gonna get in this goal line, whether you want me to or not.”

Graham barreled into the end zone to make it a one-score game. The Trojans couldn’t capitalize late, with Duke running out the clock to win the game and move to 8-5 on the season, but it provided a memorable moment in defeat.