# 2023 Military Bowl

The 2023 Military Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 27, 2023, at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland. The 14th annual Military Bowl featured Tulane from the American Athletic Conference (The American) and Virginia Tech from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The game began at approximately 2:00 p.m. EST and was aired on ESPN. The Military Bowl was one of the 2023–24 bowl games concluding the 2023 FBS football season. The game was sponsored by bowling consumer website GoBowling.com and was officially known as the Military Bowl presented by GoBowling.com.

## Teams

The game featured the Virginia Tech Hokies of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and the Tulane Green Wave of the American Athletic Conference (The American).
This was the 10th meeting between Virginia Tech and Tulane; entering the game, the Hokies led the Green Wave in their all-time series, 5–4.

### Virginia Tech Hokies

The Hokies entered the game with a 6–6 record (5–3 in the ACC), tied for fourth place in their conference.
This was Virginia Tech's third Military Bowl, tying Navy and Temple for the most appearances in the game. The Hokies previously won the 2014 edition and lost the 2018 edition.

### Tulane Green Wave

The Green Wave entered the game ranked 23rd in the AP poll, with an 11–2 record (8–0 in The American). Hosting the 2023 American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game, the Green Wave lost to SMU, 26–14.
This was Tulane's first Military Bowl.

## Game summary

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Virginia Tech | 10 | 7 | 10 | 14 | 41 |
| Tulane | 7 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 20 |
at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, Maryland
* Date: Wednesday, December 27, 2023
* Game time: 2:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: Rain • Temperature: 54 °F (12 °C) • Wind: 10 mph (16 km/h) W
* Game attendance: 35,849
* Referee: Trennis Livingston
* TV announcers (ESPN): Jay Alter (play-by-play), Rene Ingoglia (analyst), and Alex Chappell (sideline)
* Box score
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | VT | TUL |
| 1 | 12:01 | 6 | 1 | 1:55 | TUL | Tyler Grubbs (TUL) 21 Yd Fumble Return | 0 | 7 |
| 1 | 5:33 | 14 | 57 | 6:28 | VT | 35-yard field goal by John Love | 3 | 7 |
| 1 | 2:20 | 1 | 11 | 0:09 | VT | Kyron Drones 11-yard touchdown run, John Love kick good | 10 | 7 |
| 2 | 5:33 | 7 | 23 | 3:58 | TUL | 49-yard field goal by Valentino Ambrosio | 10 | 10 |
| 2 | 0:09 | 11 | 75 | 4:32 | VT | Harrison Saint Germain 1-yard touchdown reception from Kyron Drones, John Love kick good | 17 | 10 |
| 3 | 12:52 | 3 | 17 | 1:23 | TUL | Kai Horton 6-yard touchdown run, Valentino Ambrosio kick good | 17 | 17 |
| 3 | 10:31 | 5 | 73 | 2:21 | VT | Bhayshul Tuten 9-yard touchdown run, John Love kick good | 24 | 17 |
| 3 | 5:28 | 6 | 58 | 3:01 | VT | 35-yard field goal by John Love | 27 | 17 |
| 4 | 14:56 | 11 | 73 | 5:32 | TUL | 20-yard field goal by Valentino Ambrosio | 27 | 20 |
| 4 | 12:38 | 5 | 75 | 2:18 | VT | Benji Gosnell 10-yard touchdown reception from Kyron Drones, John Love kick good | 34 | 20 |
| 4 | 9:33 | 6 | 44 | 2:32 | VT | Bhayshul Tuten 12-yard touchdown run, John Love kick good | 41 | 20 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 41 | 20 |

### Statistics

| Statistics | VT | TUL |
| First downs | 24 | 15 |
| Plays–yards | 71–453 | 54–252 |
| Rushes–yards | 50–362 | 33–133 |
| Passing yards | 91 | 119 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 13–21–0 | 13–21–0 |
| Time of possession | 33:09 | 26:51 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Virginia Tech | Passing | Kyron Drones | 13/21, 91 yards, 2 TD |
| Virginia Tech | Rushing | Kyron Drones | 20 carries, 176 yards, TD |
| Virginia Tech | Receiving | Benji Gosnell | 2 receptions, 21 yards, TD |
| Tulane | Passing | Kai Horton | 13/20, 119 yards |
| Tulane | Rushing | Makhi Hughes | 15 carries, 88 yards |
| Tulane | Receiving | Yulkeith Brown | 63 yards |