Teams
The bowl was slated to invite teams from the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and the American Athletic Conference (The American). However, with four SEC teams selected for New Year's Six games, the Birmingham Bowl matchup announced on December 2 featured Wake Forest from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), rather than an SEC team, to face Memphis from The American.[4] The two programs previously met four times, each team winning twice, between 1964 and 1967.[5]
Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Wake Forest received and accepted a bid to the Birmingham Bowl on December 2.[4] The Demon Deacons entered the bowl with a 6–6 record (3–5 in conference).
Game summary
Scoring summary
| Scoring summary |
| Quarter |
Time |
Drive |
Team |
Scoring information |
Score |
| Plays |
Yards |
TOP |
MEM |
WF |
| 1 |
12:28 |
10 |
75 |
2:32 |
WF |
Sage Surratt 9-yard touchdown reception from Jamie Newman, Nick Sciba kick good |
0 |
7 |
| 1 |
10:06 |
6 |
76 |
2:22 |
MEM |
Tony Pollard 41-yard touchdown run, Riley Patterson kick good |
7 |
7 |
| 1 |
3:28 |
16 |
98 |
5:29 |
MEM |
Patrick Taylor Jr. 1-yard touchdown reception from Brady White, Nick Sciba kick good |
14 |
7 |
| 2 |
14:49 |
|
|
|
MEM |
Interception returned 37 yards for touchdown by Chris Claybrooks, Riley Patterson kick good |
21 |
7 |
| 2 |
11:16 |
13 |
57 |
3:33 |
WF |
36-yard field goal by Nick Sciba |
21 |
10 |
| 2 |
11:04 |
|
|
|
MEM |
Kickoff returned 97 yards for touchdown by Tony Pollard, Nick Sciba kick good |
28 |
10 |
| 2 |
7:09 |
12 |
75 |
3:55 |
WF |
Jamie Newman 1-yard touchdown run, Nick Sciba kick good |
28 |
17 |
| 2 |
5:33 |
3 |
56 |
0:26 |
WF |
Jamie Newman 17-yard touchdown run, Nick Sciba kick good |
28 |
24 |
| 3 |
7:41 |
5 |
48 |
1:40 |
WF |
49-yard field goal by Nick Sciba |
28 |
27 |
| 3 |
3:49 |
12 |
47 |
2:31 |
WF |
39-yard field goal by Nick Sciba |
28 |
30 |
| 4 |
1:15 |
14 |
88 |
4:36 |
MEM |
Patrick Taylor Jr. 9-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass failed (intercepted) |
34 |
30 |
| 4 |
0:34 |
6 |
75 |
0:41 |
WF |
Jamie Newman 1-yard touchdown run, Nick Sciba kick good |
34 |
37 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. |
34 |
37 |
|
Statistics
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| Tigers |
14 |
14 |
0 |
6 |
34 |
| Demon Deacons |
7 |
17 |
6 |
7 |
37 |
| Statistics | MEM | WF |
| First downs | 22 | 26 |
| Plays–yards | 82–378 | 90–529 |
| Rushes–yards | 53–207 | 50–201 |
| Passing yards | 171 | 328 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 15–29–1 | 22–40–1 |
| Time of possession | 30:38 | 29:22 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Memphis | Passing | Brady White | 15/27, 171 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT |
| Rushing | Patrick Taylor | 30 car, 110 yds, 1 TD |
| Receiving | Damonte Coxie | 6 rec, 70 yds |
| Wake Forest | Passing | Jamie Newman | 22/40, 328 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT |
| Rushing | Jamie Newman | 23 car, 91 yds, 3 TD |
| Receiving | Alex Bachman | 7 rec, 171 yds |
External links
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Formerly known as the PapaJohns.com / BBVA Compass Bowl |
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- Birmingham previously hosted the All-American Bowl.
- There was a Birmingham Bowl in January and December of 2015, and none in 2009 or 2019. The game in January 2021 was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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