Army Could Be Without Opponent After Marshall Opts Out of Independence Bowl

After Marshall has decided to opt out of the Independence Bowl, Army could be without an opponent.

Nov 30, 2024; West Point, New York, USA; Army Black Knights head coach Jeff Monken watches his players against the UTSA Roadrunners during the first half at Michie Stadium / Danny Wild-Imagn Images

It has been an incredible season for Army this year.

Entering the always incredible Army-Navy game on Saturday, they are coming into this showdown with a number next to their name. That's only the third time under head coach Jeff Monken the Black Knights have been nationally ranked, with the last coming during the 2020 campaign.

Army's lone loss is against Notre Dame, and with a win against their archrivals, they will secure the best record they've ever had as a program, beating the 11-win mark the 2018 team had when they secured their final victory in the Independence Bowl.

If the Black Knights were to lose to Navy on Saturday, they would also have an opportunity to make history by competing in the Independence Bowl this year against Marshall.

Unfortunately, a wrench has been thrown into the works.

According to Ross Dellinger of Yahoo Sports, Marshall has decided to opt out of the bowl game with 25-plus players entering the transfer portal after their head coach Charles Huff took the open job at Southern Miss.

There's a chance Army could be without an opponent because of this.

The NCAA doesn't have another team with six wins to fill the void, but thankfully they're looking at 5-7 teams to stand in.

"Absent of 6-6 teams, officials are working to determine a replacement thru a ranking of NCAA APR scores of 5-7 teams," Dellinger added in his X post.

Hopefully something can get figured out quickly.

Army shouldn't be punished by not playing in a bowl game because their scheduled opponent opted out.

Bringing in another qualified team to face the Black Knights on Dec. 28 is something that needs to happen.