Army West Point Projected to Head to Louisiana for Bowl Game

With one game left, the Army West Point Black Knights are projected to play in a bowl game in the state of Louisiana.

Nov 30, 2024; West Point, New York, USA; Army Black Knights defensive back Casey Larkin (20) celebrates after a 29-24 win against the UTSA Roadrunners at Michie Stadium. The victory clinched home field advantage for the American Athletic Conference championship game against Tulane. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-Imagn Images / Danny Wild-Imagn Images

It’s been a historic season for the Army West Point Black Knights. It could mean a return to a bowl game they played in nearly 30 years ago.

Recently, CBS Sports projected the College Football Playoff field and the bowl game field, which will be released on Dec. 8.

Army (10-1, 8-0) can continue to enhance its case for a bowl game as it prepares to face Tulane (9-3, 7-1) on Friday in the American Athletic Conference championship game. The game is set for 8 p.m. eastern with the game to be broadcast on ABC.

If Army wins that game, it could boost their bowl chances. But, if bowl season began right now the Black Knights would project to play NC State in the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La.

That game is set for 9:15 p.m. eastern on Saturday, Dec. 28.

The first time the Black Knights won 10 games in a season was in 1996 under Bob Sutton. With that season Army drew an invitation to the Independence Bowl, where it lost to Auburn.

Based on the American’s bowl game pecking order, this would indicate that the Independence Bowl may have first or second choice of which team comes to the game.

The American has four primary bowl tie-ins — the Military Bowl in Annapolis, Md.; the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas; the Fenway Bowl in Boston; and the Independence Bowl.

Army has played five of its last six bowl games in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, dating back to 2010. That includes four appearances in the Armed Forces Bowl and another in the Heart of Dallas Bowl (now the First Responder Bowl). The only other bowl game in that span was the Liberty Bowl.

Army is heading for a bowl game for the first time since 2021. The Black Knights have been bowl-eligible for the past two seasons at 6-6 but did not participate in a game.

The Black Knights are in the midst of a historic season, even with the loss to Notre Dame last weekend.

Army hasn’t won 10 or more games in a season since 2018 and has never won 12 games in a season. That is still in play as Army has three games left — the American title game, the annual Army-Navy game and a bowl game.

If, for some reason, the committees for the four primary American bowl tie-ins pass on the Black Knights, there is a large group of bowl games to which the conference can send their remaining teams.

That list includes the Birmingham Bowl in Birmingham, Ala.; the Frisco Bowl in Frisco, Texas; the Cure Bowl in Orlando, Fla.; the Boca Raton Bowl in Boca Raton, Fla.; the Gasparilla Bowl in Tampa, Fla.; the First Responder Bowl in Dallas, Texas; the Myrtle Beach Bowl in Myrtle Beach, Fla.; and the New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque, N.M.