NEW ORLEANS — A fourth-quarter comeback bid for Sun Belt champion Troy fell just short in a 17-10 loss to Duke in the 76 Birmingham Bowl, halting a five-bowl winning streak for the Trojans. 
 
Troy, which was one of an FBS-leading 12 Sun Belt football programs to compete in Bowl Season, is 6-4 in 10 all-time bowl appearances and was the first Sun Belt program to square off against an autonomy five foe in a bowl game. 
 
Duke held the Trojans scoreless in the first half and carried a 14-0 advantage into the break. 
 
A 44-yard field goal from sophomore kicker Scott Taylor Renfroe got Troy on the board late in the third quarter, but the Blue Devils answered with a 45-yard field goal of their own to extend their lead to 17-3. 
 
An interception by junior cornerback Damaje Yancey set up a 10-play, 87-yard scoring drive for the Trojans—capped with a swing pass to sophomore offensive lineman Derrick Graham, who powered in for a two-yard touchdown to pull Troy within a score with 5:54 to play. 
 
The Troy defense forced a Duke punt with 1:46 remaining—giving senior quarterback Gunnar Watson and the Trojans offense one last shot at a game-tying drive. On the second play of the ensuing drive, Watson’s pass up the middle was intercepted by Duke graduate student safety Jeremiah Lewis to end the Troy scoring threat. 
 
Watson completed 21-of-36 passes for 230 yards—including 10 completions for 107 yards to junior wide receiver Jabre Barber. Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year junior running back Kimani Vidal paced the Trojans with 79 rushing yards on 17 attempts. Senior bandit Richard Jibunor tallied six tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack, while junior defensive end T.J. Jackson added three tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, a sack and a forced fumble. 

With the loss, Troy finishes its second-straight Sun Belt championship season at 11-3 overall.