Marshall opts out of bowl game after dozens of players enter transfer portal: report

The NCAA is reportedly hunting for a replacement in the Independence Bowl.

The Army Black Knights won’t be affected much – they’re quite focused on their big game against Navy later Saturday.

However, it appears they will have a new opponent in the match on Dec. 28.

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General view of the Marshall Thundering Herd helmet during national team practice for the Reese’s Senior Bowl on January 31, 2024 at Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile, Alabama. (Michael Wade/Sportswire Icon via Getty Images)

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Yahoo Sports reports that Marshall, one of more than 25 players who entered the transfer portal, will be off the game.

There are no 6-6 teams remaining (six wins automatically qualify a team for a bowl game), so the NCAA is working to find replacement teams through Academic Progress Score rankings from 5-7 teams.

Marshall is 10-3 as a member of the Sun Belt Conference this season and is 7-1 against conference opponents.

General view of the main grandstand during the first quarter of a college football game between the Appalachian State Mountaineers and Marshall Thundering Herd on September 19, 2020 at Joan C. Edwards Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia. (Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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The portal opened earlier this week and 29 members of the Thundering Herd are looking elsewhere to play in 2025. This comes after head coach Charles Huff left for the same job at Southern Mississippi and hired Tony Gibson to replace him.

The Independence Bowl will be Marshall’s 21st bowl game, having played in one in each of the past seven seasons and 19 since 1997.

Marshall Thundering Herd head coach Charles Huff talks with his players during the game against the Marshall Thundering Herd and the Ohio State Buckeyes on September 21, 2024 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. (Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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The Thundering Herd have lost four of their last five games after winning the previous seven. Their last win came in the 2022 Myrtle Beach Bowl against UConn. They lost 35-17 in last year’s Frisco Bowl to UTSA.

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