Army will play Pac-12 team in Independence Bowl – Times Herald-Record

Ken McMillan|Times Herald-Record

WEST POINT Its been an eventful two days for the Army football team.

On Friday, the team learned it would serve as host of the Dec. 12 Army-Navy football game, being played at West Point for only the fourth time, and first since 1943.

On Saturday, following a 49-3 win over Mercer, head coach Jeff Monken revealed a secret he had been keeping under wraps from his players.

Frank Auer, chairman of the Independence Bowl, made a surprise visit to the locker room and extended an invitation to the late-December bowl contest in Shreveport, La., setting off a wild celebration.

Army became the first team in the nation to receive a postseason bowl berth, even before a number of major conference programs had even played their first contest in a season tossed about by the COVID-19 pandemic.Ironically, Army, with seven games already played, will face a Pac-12 Conference foe, which doesnt even start play until Nov. 7.

I'm just really proud of our team to be at this point in the season and being able to accept a bid to a great bowl game,"Monken said. Thats one of the exciting experiences in college football, being able to play in a bowl game."

Armys players celebrated in the locker room after Auer made a short address to the team.

Just going down to the Independence Bowl, that is amazing,"said senior Sandon McCoy, who had three 1-yard touchdown runs against Mercer. We didnt go to a bowl game last year (with a 5-8 record) and that kind of twisted our stomachs a lot, and we made sure that was not going to happen again."

It will be Armys ninth postseason berth since its first appearance in 1984s Cherry Bowl and a win over Michigan State. It is also the fourth in the past five seasons on Monkens seven-year watch.

"We are absolutely delighted to extend a bowl invitation to the Army West Point Black Knights football team,"Auer said in a prepared release. "The Independence Bowl celebrates the independence and freedoms we enjoy in America, and we are well aware that those freedoms are protected by our Army and the other armed forces. We deeply appreciate the role they play in our national landscape and will roll out the red carpet for them for their trip to Shreveport."

The plans for Army to play in the Independence Bowl were actually made a year ago, with a six-year bowl contract deal signed with ESPN Events. Between 2020 and 2025, Army if it could meet NCAA-mandated wins requirements would play in even-numbered years in the Independence Bowl, and odd-numbered years in another ESPN-owned and -operatedbowl. Army also signed a deal with the Charlotte Sports Foundation to accept an invitation into the Belk Bowl twice within the next six seasons should one be offered.

The minimum requirements used to be posting six wins against Division I-A schools, or Football Bowl Subdivision as it is known today. But with the college football world turned upside down in the year of COVID, the NCAA Division I Council did away with any wins requirements for 2020 two weeks ago, so Army was probably wise to secure the bid.

Four 2020 college bowl games have already been canceled, including a recent decision by the Holiday Bowl.

It will be Armys second appearance in the Independence Bowl. The first was a celebrated 32-29 loss to Auburn on New Years Eve 1996. In that contest, Army roared back with 22 fourth-quarter points but J. Parker pushed a 27-yard field goal try wide right with 30 seconds left that would have tied the contest.

We want to thank the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl,chairman Frank Auer and the entire bowl committeefor this incredible opportunity to play in this outstanding bowl game,"said Army director of athletics Mike Buddie. We are very excited to accept the first bowl invitation of the 2020-21 season and to make our first trip to Shreveport since 1996."

Army had a three-year victorious bowl run from 2016-18, beating North Texas State in the Heart of Dallas Bowl, San Diego State in the Armed Forces Bowl and Houston again in the Armed Forces Bowl.

Notable

Hat tricks: McCoy posted the third three-touchdown performance of his career. He did so against Massachusetts last season and in the 2020 season opener against Middle Tennessee. He has 16 touchdowns for his career.

Four quarterbacks: Monken started Cade Ballard for the second consecutive week and filled in with Tyhier Tyler much the way he did a week ago at Texas-San Antonio. Christian Parrish entered with a minute left in the third quarter and got five snaps. Maurice Bellan got the final snap of the third quarter and all but four during a 17-play, 91-yard scoring drive in the final period.

Injury front: Center Noah Knapp went down midway through the third quarter. He had been splitting time with Connor Bishop. Running back Anthony Adkins hurt himself late in the UTSA contest and did not play. Defensive lineman Kwabena Bonsu returned after missing two contests.

Defensive leaders: Spencer Jones and Jon Rhattigan each posted seven tackles to lead Army. Rhattigan returned an interception 50 yards just before halftime. Cameron Jones made a diving interception to short-circuit Mercers second series. Jabari Moore returned a pick 29 yards, marking the second time hes taken a turnover for a score (he had a TD off a fumble recovery at Cincinnati).

My fault: Brandon Salyers pushed a 39-yard field goal attempt to the left on the final play Monken blamed himself for not centering the ball with one more play and two timeouts available.

kmcmillan@th-record.com

Twitter: @KenMcMillanTHR

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Army will play Pac-12 team in Independence Bowl - Times Herald-Record