In a wild turn of events, the 2024 Independence Bowl will now feature a new matchup after the Marshall Thundering Herd elected to withdraw from the game.
The decision comes from Marshall losing 25 different athletes to the transfer portal, which put the team in jeopardy of not having a full team to take on Army.
“Marshall has withdrawn from playing Army in Independence Bowl because of a number of players in the transfer portal,” ActionNetwork’s Brett McMurphy wrote. “The game is Dec 28. Because most players have left campus, it may be tough to find a 5-7 team to replace Marshall.”
While the move caused some chaos among college football bowl representatives, members of the Independence Bowl committee moved quickly and selected Louisiana Tech as a replacement for the Thundering Herd.
Lousiana Tech, currently sitting at 5-7, was selected as the replacement for Marshall vs. Army. Unless due to bowl obligations to specific leagues, the move was a bit of a head-scratcher as the country featured numerous 5-7 teams that appeared to draw bigger excitement for the game.
Teams like Kansas, Cincinnati, Auburn, Wisconsin, and even Air Force would have made much more sense than the Bulldogs in hopes of drawing a larger fanbase.
Regardless, the matchup is set, and the Big 12 Conference will remain at nine bowl-bound teams in 2024.
