Why did Marshall opt out of bowl games? Explains teams to meet the army

On December 29, 2024By Littum

Army football will face Louisiana Tech in the Independence Bowl on Saturday night. It’s the other team Black Knights has been scheduled to play this bowl season.

No. 18 Army (11-2) was originally scheduled to play Marshall after winning the American Athletic Conference, but Thundering Flock opted out of the bowl game, allowing the Bulldogs (5-7) to reach the postseason despite falling short of the typical 6-win threshold.

Army, coming off a loss to archrival Navy, is looking to reach 12 wins for the first time in program history. Quarterback Bryson Daily, who finished sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting, had one of the best seasons ever for the Black Knights, scoring 38 total touchdowns with a team-leading 1,532 rushing yards.

There are many reasons why Army won’t take on Marshall, which went 10-3 this season and won the Sun Belt championship.

Here’s an explanation of Army’s opponent in the Independence Bowl on Saturday:

Why does Army play Louisiana Tech instead of Marshall?

Marshall backed out of the Independence Bowl in the wake of coach Charles Huff leaving for the Southern Miss job, which resulted in several Thundering Herd players entering the transfer portal.

Marshall was simply left with almost no roster and no head coach, resulting in the opt-out.

Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger reported that Louisiana Tech was chosen as the replacement because of its academic progress rate despite not meeting the threshold for 6-win bowl eligibility. Dellenger added that several 5-win teams had better APRs than Louisiana Tech, but they weren’t able to commit to the game based on the short turnaround of the matchup after Marshall’s opt-out.

Why did Marshall opt out of bowl games?

Marshall opted out of the game due to having a significant number of players enter the transfer portal following Huff’s departure to Southern Miss.

The Thundering Herd had over 25 players enter the transfer portal, including all three of their scholarship quarterbacks.

“It is unfortunate that Marshall decided they will not be able to compete in the bowl in a few weeks,” Independence Bowl executive director Missy Setters said in a statement. “Our goal was to create the best possible matchup for our local fans and college football fans across the country, and we believe we did that with two conference champions. Going forward, we are very excited to host Louisiana Tech and are excited for we found an adversary for the army.”

According to On3’s transfer portal database, Marshall has lost 45 players to the transfer portal this offseason.

Why is Louisiana Tech in the Independence Bowl?

Louisiana Tech was the replacement for Marshall, who opted out of the Independence Bowl due to losing a large group of players to the transfer portal.

Louisiana Tech was then chosen because of its academic progress rate, despite not having the highest among 5-win teams. The Bulldogs (5-7) did not meet the 6-win bowl threshold, but were selected when there were no 6-win teams left to choose from.

Louisiana Tech’s APR wasn’t the highest among 5-win teams either, but was picked after several teams ahead of it in the pecking order couldn’t commit to the short turnaround game after Marshall’s opt-out.