College football is in a perpetual state of evolution and it can sometimes be hard to understand how those changes will ripple out and impact other aspects of the sport.
For example, the creation of the transfer portal has led to a boom in late-season transferring announcements, with players often skipping out on games or bowls because they’ve decided to find a new school to play for. While NIL is often blamed for the abundance of transfers, it’s also an opportunity for a player to find a new home if a head coach leaves or is fired.
That’s been the case for the Marshall Thundering Herd when head coach Charles Huff left last week to take the Southern Miss head coaching job. Clearly, many of his players were either loyal to him or disinterested in what came next, because when the transfer portal officially opened Thursday, at least 25 Marshal players were in it.
Not only did new Marshall head coach Tony Gibson find himself in the position of recruiting his own players to stay, but the program found itself in a pickle. The 10-3 Herd not only won the Sun Belt Conference but also accepted an invitation to play the Army Black Knights in the Independence Bowl on Dec. 28 on ESPN.
Due to the high number of transfers, Marshall has reportedly now opted out of the game, per Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger.
Marshall has notified officials that it is opting out of the Independence Bowl vs. Army, sources tell @YahooSports.
Absent of 6-6 teams, officials are working to determine a replacement thru a ranking of NCAA APR scores of 5-7 teams. Marshall has lost 25+ players in the portal.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) December 14, 2024
Thanks to the glut of bowls now, there aren’t any 6-6 teams left to take Marshall’s place in the game. That means bowl officials now have to look for a 5-7 opponent with an NCAA APR score that allows them to qualify. They’ll that school will have to decide if they want to commit to the game.
18 FBS teams finished this year at 5 wins. With Marshall pulling out of the Independence Bowl, they would be given the opportunity to play in descending order by Academic Progress Rate. Here is that ranking of those 18 teams. pic.twitter.com/qstFHRrqXk
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) December 14, 2024
Trying to figure out what happens if a bowl game can’t be played, especially when it comes to ESPN’s airwaves and ad revenue, sounds intriguing. However, chances are they’ll find a team that wants the extra practice and exposure that comes with playing in a bowl.
Still, the situation speaks to how the game continues to evolve. As player autonomy grows and non-CFP bowl games lose their luster, it stands to reason that we might see this kind of thing happen more often in the years ahead.
Many will blame the players (please don’t tell Kirk Herbstreit about this…) but the business of college football is different now and players don’t have to set their personal needs aside to keep the wheels of the bowl business moving.
Just as coaches can leave (as Huff did), players should be allowed to as well. As for the fallout from that, it’s better to look forward to solutions rather than figure out how to force players to stay.
UPDATE: Brett McMurphy reports that Louisiana Tech (5-7) will replace Marshall in the bowl game.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.