The Birmingham Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played in Birmingham, Alabama, typically held in late December or early January. It has become a significant part of the postseason college football landscape, offering a matchup between teams from the American Athletic Conference (AAC) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC) or other at-large teams.

First played in 2006, the Birmingham Bowl has evolved from a smaller regional bowl into one that often features competitive teams and thrilling matchups. The game is played at Protective Stadium, a modern venue in downtown Birmingham that replaced Legion Field as the bowl’s home starting in 2021.

The Birmingham Bowl is especially appealing for fans and betting enthusiasts as it typically offers a dynamic clash of styles—combining high-powered offenses with stout defenses. Fans of both participating teams can expect an exciting atmosphere, while bettors have a variety of wagering opportunities on point spreads, over/under totals, moneylines, and prop bets.

Betting on the Birmingham Bowl can be lucrative, as odds tend to fluctuate leading up to game day, giving fans and bettors a chance to analyze key matchups, injuries, and team momentum.

Whether you’re following SEC powerhouses or AAC challengers, there’s no shortage of betting options on the Birmingham Bowl that add an extra layer of excitement to this postseason showdown.

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The 76 Birmingham Bowl will kick off Saturday from Protective stadium in Birmingham Alabama. The Troy Trojans will take on the Duke Blue Devils. Troy comes into the game with an 11-2 record on the season. The Trojans have won 10 straight games, and are winners of the Sun Belt Conference. For Duke, they won their final game of the season against Pittsburgh, and wrapped up a 7-5 record. Troy comes into this game at -7.5. The total for the Birmingham Bowl is listed at 44.5 points.

The Troy Trojans are the favorites in the NCAAF odds in this game. Troy is listed at -8. The total for this affair is set at 44.5 points.

2023 76 Birmingham Bowl Odds: Troy vs Duke | MyBookie Bowl Game Preview

Troy Trojans vs Duke Blue Devils
ATS Odds: Troy -8
Money line Odds: Troy Line -350  / Duke Line +270
Over/Under Odds: 44.5

Saturday, December 23rd at 12:00 pm ET | ABC / ESPN+
Protective Stadium, Birmingham, AL

New Leader for the Trojans

The Trojans of Troy will be led by a new head coach. After the successful season, the Trojans main man Jon Sumrall signed a six year deal to take the job at Tulane. Now, former Notre Dame offensive coordinator Gerad Parker will take over.

Troy was one of the top offensive teams in all of College Football. The Trojans scored 31.2 points per game. The passing offense threw for nearly 270 yards per game. The quarterback Gunnar Watson tossed for nearly 3,400 yards, with 27 touchdowns. On the ground, Kimani Vidal was solid with 1,582 yards and 14 touchdowns. 

This is the second of back to back bowl games for the Troy Trojans. Last season, the Trojans went to the Cure Bowl, and beat the UTSA Roadrunners. The Trojans have won five straight bowl games.

Blue Devils Also Led by New Coach

The Duke Blue Devils are also going to be led by a new head coach. Mike Elko took off to be the head coach at Texas A&M. The Blue Devils then went on to hire Manny Diaz, who was last at Penn State. The Blue Devils will also be with a new quarterback as Riley Leonard went into the transfer portal and will play at Notre Dame next season. It appears Grayson Loftis will get the nod under center.

Duke also will not have the services of Jordan Waters. The top running back went into the transfer portal, and will play next season at South Carolina. Jaquez Moore was the second best running back, and initially went into the transfer portal, but is now expected to stay. He should get the carries in the back field for Duke.

The Duke Blue Devils are also playing their second straight bowl game. Duke beat Central Florida a season ago in the Military Bowl 30-13.  The Blue Devils are looking to win their fifth straight bowl game, after losing five in a row before this streak.

Troy Tops Duke in Birmingham

Look for the Troy Trojans to get the job done in this game. Troy is a team that can score, score early, and score often. The Trojans are not going to have any issue in this game. The Duke Blue Devils just have a tough time, especially with a few of their guys not playing in this game. Troy wants to make sure they finish strong and finish with a bang. The final betting pick for this game is the Troy Trojans -7.5 over Duke.

NCAAF 76 Birmingham Bowl: ATS Troy Trojans -8 | Bet Troy vs Duke Today
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Who is playing in the TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl? | Memphis Tigers at Utah State

On Tuesday in Birmingham, Alabama at Protective Stadium, the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (9-3, 6-2 Sun Belt) take on the East Carolina Pirates (7-4, 4-4 AAC). Two losses in a row, the most recent a 45-26 defeat to Troy in the Sun Belt Conference final, marked the end of Coastal Carolina’s regular season. With a 49-46 victory over the Temple Owls to end the regular season, East Carolina stopped a two-game losing streak to grab their seventh victory of the year. 

East Carolina Pirates

East Carolina (7-5) will play Coastal Carolina in the TicketSmarter Birmingham Postseason on December 27 at Protective Stadium. This will be the team’s first bowl appearance since 2014.

The East Carolina Pirates aim to win their eighth game of the year and their first championship bowl since 2013. They are coming off a 49-46 victory that ended a two-game losing streak when they play in this matchup. East Carolina has a strong offense that plays with great balance, but their defense may use some work.

One of the most seasoned quarterbacks in the nation is senior Holton Ahlers. The only active quarterback with more than 15,000 total yards is Ahlers. Running back Keaton Mitchell recently played one of his best games of the season, scoring four touchdowns and rushing for 222 yards. In addition, the offense has gone six games without an offensive turnover making them one of the most reliable offenses in the nation.

On the other hand, the Pirates’ defense has occasionally been disappointing. In addition to giving up more than 40 points in back-to-back contests, they also let Temple gain 575 yards in their most recent meeting. The pass defense has been questionable, ranking 132nd, but the running defense ranks 19th in the country.

Can Coastal Carolina Upset the Pirates?

Coastal Carolina has struggled mightily late in the season after getting destroyed by a combined 59 points over their last two contests. The Chanticleers biggest problem has been their passing defense. They’re giving up a whopping 281 yards through the air each game putting them at 124th in the country. Coastal Carolina has been inconsistent this year, and they have really struggled their last two games, giving up 47 points to James Madison and 45 points to Troy. They are also surrendering over 30 points per game, placing them 101st in the FBS. 

One big threat to East Carolina will be Grayson McCall, who has had a  fantastic year. This season, the junior quarterback has amassed 2633 yards while maintaining a 26-touchdown to-only-two-interception ratio. Be that as it may, his status to play is up in the air, with his name being added to the transfer portal. To make matters worse for the Chants, their Head Coach Jamey Chadwell will not be coaching in this game after taking the Head Coaching job at Liberty. 

Why the Pirates will Win their Bowl Game

East Carolina has a very good passing game under quarterback Holton Ahlers, averaging 288.5 yards per game, which was 16th best in the nation. Coastal Carolina has a mediocre defensive secondary that surrenders an average of 281.7 yards per game in the air, ranking 124th in the country. By the same token, Coastal Carolina loves to run the football, and they will be at a disadvantage when they face an East Carolina rush defense that ranks 19th in the country.

While East Carolina will face a strong quarterback in McCall, Coastal Carolina has struggled to cover the spread this season. The Chants have failed to cover the spread in eight out of their last ten contests when facing an opponent with a winning record. In addition, Coastal Carolina has failed to cover their last three games and six of their last eight overall. 

Expect East Carolina to win the TicketSmart Bowl game thanks to Holton Ahlers’ outstanding performance against a woeful Coastal Carolina defense.

Previous Betting News

Who is Playing in the Birmingham Bowl? | Costal Carolina Chanticleers vs East Carolina Pirates Betting Preview

While I try to spread things around when wagering during the regular season in college football, when it comes to actually watching games, I usually focus on the Power 5. The best chance to get a look at teams from smaller conferences comes during bowl season, when those teams are often the only ones on TV at any given time. It is also cool to see matchups that would ordinarily never happen during the course of a regular season, so while some bowl games are routinely ignored, I think there is something intriguing about all of them. With the 2022 Birmingham Bowl, we have a matchup that promises to be a high-scoring game and one that I definitely have on my must watch list. The East Carolina Pirates and the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers will be locking horns on December 27 at 6:45 PM EST. East Carolina are currently pretty firm favorites, with the bookies having them in at -8. The point total for this one is at 61 ½, which tells you that some serious offense is expected here. With all that in mind, it’s time to look at both teams and how they stack up against each other so you can make your bets on the NCAA Football Bowl Odds.

East Carolina Pirates

Other than a stretch in the second half of the season where they reeled off 3 straight wins, the East Carolina Pirates had some difficulty staying consistent. Even in conference play, they struggled to get anything going, finishing down the American Conference standings at 4-4 and finishing 7-5 overall. They were, though, perhaps a little unfortunate not to finish the season with a better record, as 3 of their 5 losses were decided by 3 points or fewer. The offense certainly did their part in the regular season, averaging over 30 PPG, but the defense wasn’t quite as stout, surrendering 27 PPH, which tells the whole story of why so many of their games were tight at the end. The Pirates were a bit of a coin flip against the spread, going 7-5, while the O/U was at 6-6. 

Coastal Carolina Chanticleers

It’s tough to know what sort of mindset teams head into their respective bowl games with, but I have the feeling that Coastal Carolina are going into this one with a bit of a chip on their shoulder. They ended the season at a very respectable 9-3, but they were soundly beaten by Troy in the Sun Belt Conference Championship Game. That is something that is sure to sting, which is why I think the Chanticleers want to close out the season on a more positive note, not to mention as double-digit winners on the year. It should be noted that they played one game fewer than most after their game against Virginia was canceled after tragedy struck the Cavaliers. Coastal Carolina lost both games after that. Overall, they went 4-7-1 ATS and 7-5 O/U.

Betting and Prediction

Like I mentioned earlier in this piece, I think there is a very good chance that we get a ton of offense in this one, so I like the OVER even though that number is on the higher end of the scale. While I think the Chanticleers can certainly hang in there for a long stretch, I think we will see the Pirates pull away in the 4th quarter, doing enough to win and cover.