#transfer-portal

#transfer-portal

Last year's men's tournament produced only 13 outright underdog wins -- tied for the fewest since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985. The Elite Eight comprised only top-3 seeds, tying it with 2007 as the chalkiest quarterfinal round in tournament history. Additionally, for the first time in modern tournament history, we have witnessed three straight tournaments without multiple double-digit seeds reaching the Sweet 16.

Reigning national champion Indiana doesn't look like it's slowing down anytime soon. After losing multiple key players from the 2025 season, coach Curt Cignetti used the transfer portal to fill in the gaps, but can the Hoosiers defend their title?

College football's lone transfer portal window for the 2026 season has, for all intents and purposes, closed. Thousands of players entered and programs across the country vigorously filled needs -- and in some cases radically overhauled their roster. Even in a condensed two-week window, the movement left behind a wake of change. Some programs prioritized retention and leaned more heavily on traditional recruiting, a path that can still produce winning results.

All-ACC linebacker Cade Uluave, who led the team with 100 tackles this season, will enter the transfer portal, according to ESPN's Pete Thamel. The junior captain has one year of eligibility left and is reportedly open to returning to Cal. Uluave was fourth on the team in tackles as a freshman and second among the Bears last year as a sophomore. His breakout game this season was a two-sack, 19-tackle performance in a double-overtime loss at Virginia Tech in October.

Thursday night's Mississippi-Georgia game was one of those seminally batshit evenings in a sport that generally likes to wallow in its own self-parodic seriousness, and not just because nobody could seem to figure out when it was supposed to end. The stage upon which the Rebels were supposed to receive the Sugar Bowl trophy after outpunching the Bulldogs came to resemble the 1982 Stanford Band in its ability to enter, leave, and then re-enter the field of play-twice-before the game could actually be declared officially over.

As No. 6 Ole Miss celebrated its historic 39-34 victory against No. 3 Georgia in Thursday's CFP quarterfinal at the Sugar Bowl, the shadow of former coach Lane Kiffin continued to hang over the Rebels program. Sources told ESPN on Thursday night that it remains unclear how many Ole Miss assistants, who are joining Kiffin at LSU, will be allowed to remain with the Rebels when they face No. 10 Miami on Jan. 8 in a CFP semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl.

Wisner missed three games early on this season with a leg injury and finished with 597 rushing yards and four total TDs in a Texas run game that ranks No. 101 nationally. But he finished strong with another memorable performance against rival Texas A&M, rushing for 155 yards on 19 carries in a 27-17 upset of the then-undefeated No. 3 Aggies.

Hoover will be one of the most productive and coveted players available, as he projects to have the most passing yards (9,629) and touchdown passes (71) of any player returning to college football next season. Hoover says he will not play in for TCU in the Alamo Bowl. Hoover has been TCU's starting quarterback since midway through the 2023 season, throwing for 439 yards and four touchdowns in his first start against BYU.

Eight of Chesney's assistant coaches at James Madison have spent multiple years working with him, some of the connections going back to Chesney's days at Salve Regina in Division III. Dukes offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy and defensive coordinator Colin Hitschler could offer the Bruins something Chesney doesn't possess - experience at the Power Four conference level. Kennedy once worked in the Southeastern Conference, serving as a graduate assistant at Mississippi State and a graduate assistant, offensive quality control coach and assistant quarterbacks coach at Florida.

Vanderbilt football will be the best program in the country.