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

Army, which went 9-2 this season, has been unable to secure a partner to participate in a bowl game, sources told ESPN.

Army had a primary agreement to play in the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl, but the game was cancelled on 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."

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

Army has not found another opening, a source told ESPN, confirming a report from Stadium.

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 others conferences chose to restrict out-of-conference games.

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