BIRMINGHAM – The Sun Belt champion Troy Trojans close out their season Saturday against Duke in the 76 Birmingham Bowl at Protective Stadium in Birmingham. Kickoff is slated for 11 a.m., and the game will be broadcast on ABC.

Troy (11-2) enters the Birmingham Bowl riding a 10-game winning streak, and a victory over Duke (7-5) would give the Trojans their first back-to-back 12-win seasons in program history. Troy’s matchup with Duke is the first-ever between a Sun Belt Conference school and a Power Five opponent in a bowl game.

The last time the Trojans took the field was a 49-23 victory over App State in the Sun Belt Championship Game on Dec. 2 at The Vet. It was Troy’s second straight victory in the SBC title game and the Trojans’ eighth league title, the most in conference history.

Running back Kimani Vidal, Troy’s first Associate Press All-American in 23 years, has a chance to break one more record as he is 220 yards shy of becoming the Sun Belt’s single-season rushing leader. He has topped the 220-yard mark three times this season and enters the Birmingham Bowl as the nation’s second-leading rusher, just 32 yards behind Oklahoma State’s Ollie Gordon II for the nation’s lead.

Troy has won its last five bowl games dating back to 2010, the second-longest active streak in the country behind Minnesota and tied with Georgia. The Trojans’ 23 wins since the start of the 2022 season are the fourth most in the country, and their 69 wins since 2016 rank as the 15^th most nationally.

Defensively, Troy enters the Birmingham Bowl tied with James Madison for the most sacks in a season in Sun Belt history with 45; the Dukes play Air Force on Saturday, while Javon Solomon’s 16 sacks lead the country and already sit atop the Sun Belt record book.

Duke raced out to a 5-1 start to its season before stumbling down the stretch as the Blue Devils lost four its final six games. Duke’s lone loss during its hot start to the season came at the hands of Troy’s new head coach Gerad Parker and Notre Dame.

Notable
• Troy is 22-2 since losing on a Hail Mary at App State in 2022.

• Troy ranks third nationally, averaging 11.23 points per game in the fourth quarter this season.

• Javon Solomon’s seven career games with multiple sacks are the most in Troy’s DI history, second-most in Sun Belt history and the 19^th most at the FBS level since 2000.

• Troy has held eight of its 13 opponents to fewer than 300 yards this season, the third most in the country.

• Troy has won 18 straight games when rushing for 100-plus yards.

• Troy’s defense has recorded 25 sacks in the last four games, five more than any other team in the country (Florida State is second with 20).

• Troy has won 23 games the last two seasons, tied for the fourth most in the country.

• Troy’s five straight bowl victories are tied with Georgia for the second longest active streak in the country (Minnesota – 6).

• Kimani Vidal was named to the Associated Press All-America Third team; he is Troy’s first AP All-American since 2000 (Lawrence Tynes, Tim Betts).

• Troy has won 14 of its last 15 games played in the state of Alabama; the Trojans have won six straight games in the state not played in The Vet.

• Troy won 10 games during the regular season in consecutive years for the first time since 1999 and 2000, when the Trojans were FCS members.

• Troy has won 11 games in consecutive seasons for just the second time in program history (1995, 1996) … a bowl win would mark the first time in 103 years of Troy football the program has won 12 games in consecutive seasons.

• Gunnar Watson and Kimani Vidal are just the third Troy duo to pass for 3,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in a season in program history.

• Troy is 13-1 when Kimani Vidal rushes for 100-plus yards and 26-3 when he rushes for 50-plus yards. The Trojans are 7-11 when Vidal rushes for fewer than 50 yards.

• Kimani Vidal’s Troy records set this season – single-season yards, single-game yards, career
yards, single-season 100-yard games, career 100-yard games and single-game rushing touchdowns.

• Troy’s eight conference titles since 2006 are tied with Clemson for the fifth most over that period.

• Senior safety Dell Pettus has started 60 straight games, the longest active streak in the country.

• Gunnar Watson is one of 43 sixth-year quarterbacks at the FBS level; he is the only one
who hasn’t transferred.

• Troy has the nation’s top two active leaders in career sacks — Javon Solomon (1st, 33.0)and
Richard Jibunor (2nd, 31.5.)

• O’shai Fletcher has played 65 career games, the fourth most among active FBS players and eighth most across all divisions … Grant Betts’ 64 games are the second-most among all FBS offensive linemen.