Army, with 9 wins, fights for bowl game: 'They deserve better. Period'

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Army put together a successful 9-2 season seventh-year head coach Jeff Monken and came away with wins over rivals Navy and Air Force to end the season.

The Black Knights were not one of the teams selected to a bowl game despite their record. The bowl system has worked in a way to keep Army, an independent team that does not play in one of the conferences in college football, out and teams like South Carolina and Mississippi State, who have fewer than four wins, in.

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Army could have played in the Independence Bowl, but organizers said in a statement that the "opting-out of possible teams created a lack of teams available to play in bowl games and the 2020 Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl."

Army would have played a Pac-12 team in that game but a number of Pac-12 schools opted out of the bowl season over COVID concerns, including USC, Washington, Utah and Arizona State were among the schools that chose not to play in the college football postseason.

Stadium reported, citing a source, that some Football Bowl Subdivision schools opted out after receiving a game they didn’t want to play in.

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Fourteen bowl games were canceled because of coronavirus concerns or lack of available teams to schedule. The Military Bowl, which pits a team from the American Athletic Conference and the Atlantic Coast Conference against each other, is also reportedly on the chopping block this season.

Army is still hoping for a shot at picking up its 10th win of the season.

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"These young men haven’t quit all year and we surely won’t quit now," athletic director Mike 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. "We want to thank all the constituents at the Independence Bowl for their invitation and hospitality as we were looking forward to our trip to the City of Shreveport."