As cancellations and opt-outs swirl, 9-2 Army left without bowl game, opponent

Army, which went 9-2 this season, was unable to secure a partner to participate in a bowl game.

Army had a primary agreement to play in the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl, but the game was canceled Sunday after the bowl said in a statement that "the opting out of possible teams created a lack of teams available to play in bowl games."

Army athletic director Mike Buddie said the team will continue to look for an opponent.  

"These young men haven't quit all year and we surely won't quit now," Buddie said in a statement. "They deserve better. Period. They have earned an opportunity to get 10 wins and, as we have all year, we will continue to fight to get them that opportunity."

At least 20 teams have opted out of postseason play, including prominent programs such as Stanford, Florida State, Penn State, USC and UCLA.

One of the few independent programs in college football, Army doesn't have the benefit of the wide range of bowl game tie-ins afforded to many top conferences.

Like other independents, Army had to almost entirely revamp its schedule this offseason when COVID-19 prompted some conferences to postpone playing until the spring while other leagues chose to restrict out-of-conference games.

Despite losing games against Oklahoma, Princeton and others, Army was able to secure a 12-game schedule. Only a Sept. 19 game against BYU had to be canceled because of COVID-19.