Marshall Opts-Out Of Independence Bowl Against Army After Mass Exodus Of Players To Transfer Portal

The Marshall football program won the Sun Belt conference championship just a week ago, but will reportedly no longer play in the Independence Bowl against Army due to not being able to put a competitive team on the field. Too many players are leaving via the transfer portal. 

It’s been one wild week for the athletic department at Marshall. First, it was head coach Charles Huff leaving for Southern Miss, with a lot of it having to do with the Thundering Herd deciding to move in a separate direction after the season ended. I don’t think the folks making the decisions thought that the team would go on to win the Sun Belt championship, but it did, and its coach left right after. 

Ross Dellenger was first to report the news. 

Second, it was the mass exodus of current players into the transfer portal following the announcement that Charles Huff had taken the Southern Miss job. More than 25 players entered the portal this week, with more to possibly come. So, this put the football program in a very bad spot, without much of a football team to participate in the postseason bowl game. 

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Former Head coach Charles Huff of the Marshall Thundering Herd runs onto the field prior to the game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium on September 21, 2024. (Photo by Jason Mowry/Getty Images)

Sure, Marshall went out and hired Tony Gibson, but that did no good in the short term, especially with a bowl game upcoming on December 28 against Army. 

Because there were so many players who decided to find a new home, with a good amount of them most likely following Charles Huff to Southern Miss, this forced the university’s hand. While the decision was not easy for the players who decided to stay, it forced the school to make a decision based on the safety of current players. 

You can call this an uprising. Usually, after a team wins a conference championship, it would want to play in the bowl game that follows. In this case, players were worried about finding a new home, and I can’t blame them for that. Even with a new coach hired, players on the roster weren’t recruited by Gibson, even though he’s spent the last few days trying to recruit them to stay. 

So, the school had to make the very tough decision to opt-out of the bowl game. 

Finding A Replacement For Marshall? Army Deserved Another Game

After putting together a fantastic season, Army deserved the opportunity to play in a bowl game. While it would’ve most likely run for more than 600 yards against a Marshall defense lacking enough talented players, it still deserved a postseason game. 

Now, it’s going to be tough to find another team for the Independence Bowl. Most teams that finished 6-6 but weren’t invited to a bowl have gone home after final exams. Once the regular season ends, football programs close up shop from a players’ perspective. The coaching staff is worried about building towards the future, with no game to prepare for.

So, getting a team that would be ready to play in just two weeks is going to be difficult to find. The only way I can see this happening is if you have a group that is willing to return in the next few days, and maybe the bowl game moves the date back. 

If not, Army’s season will come to an end against Navy today.