After originally being scheduled to play Sun Belt Conference champion Marshall in the Independence Bowl, Army will have a new opponent for the December 28th tilt.
The Knights will now take on Louisiana Tech after it was reported that Marshall had opted out of the game.
Marshall’s decision came after more than 30 players on the roster entered the transfer portal following the departure of head coach Charles Huff. A day after leading the Thundering Herd to their conference title win over Louisiana, Huff was named the head coach at Southern Miss, the team that finished last in the same conference.
Huff had been at Marshall since 2022 winning six or more games in each of his seasons there. The Thundering Herd were 10-3 this season, winning seven straight games to close out the year.
Southern Miss on the other hand went 1-11 this season.
“It is unfortunate that Marshall determined they won’t be able to compete in the bowl in a couple of weeks,” Independence Bowl executive director Missy Setters said in a statement. “Our goal was to create the best matchup possible for our local fans and college football fans throughout the country, and we think we did that with two conference champions. Moving forward we are very excited to host Louisiana Tech and are thrilled we found an opponent for Army.”
As of Saturday morning, 36 players from Marshall’s roster had entered the transfer portal. That group included 29 scholarship players, 17 players who were on their two-deep heading into the bowl game.
Marshall wasn’t just down players after Huff’s departure. Several members of the Thundering Herd’s coaching staff also left with Huff.
A few of the players who played for Huff at Marshall are expected to follow him to Southern Miss.
Sam Sklar of the Mississippi Clarion Ledger reported that Huff and the Golden Eagles are set to host a recruiting unlike anything the school has seen before.
“There will be a recruiting weekend next weekend like you’ve never seen before,” Huff said in Sklar’s article. “I mean, there’s going to be fireworks, there’s going to be helicopters, hot air balloons, there’s going to be everything like you’ve never seen before. Not because all that stuff matters, but because those kids are that important to what we’re trying to build.”
According to 247Sports, Southern Miss’ 2025 class ranks No. 117 signee with five signees and four other players who have yet to sign.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY High School Sports Wire: Marshall opts out of Independence Bowl due to roster turnover
