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College football‘s new transfer portal window officially opened Monday, and while some players announced their plans to leave their schools prior to that, things are really off and running now.

Last year, more than 3,000 FBS players entered the portal, which was open year-round. Quarterbacks Caleb Williams (USC), Bo Nix (Oregon) and Spencer Rattler (South Carolina) were among the prominent transfers who made an immediate impact at their new schools. After just one day of the portal being open this year, there were nearly 1,000 FBS players listed.

This time around, the NCAA adopted dates for when players can enter the portal and not lose a year of eligibility, though they can sign with their new school at any time. The first window is open for 45 days from Dec. 5 until Jan. 18, and the second runs in the spring from May 1-15.

After an extremely busy college football transfer cycle a year ago, what will the next two months bring? We’re tracking notable players entering (and exiting) the portal, with the latest news and updates on how the 2023 season could be transformed. The most recent moves are at the top.

coverage:
Ranking the best players in portal
Best fits for transfer QB D.J. Uiagalelei

TUESDAY, DEC. 6

The current numbers on the transfer portal

Defensive end Trace Ford, who had 4.5 sacks in 2020, and Kanion Williams, who had 36 tackles over five seasons, are grad transfers. The Cowboys finished 7-5, and starting quarterback Spencer Sanders entered the portal on Monday.

MONDAY, DEC. 5

Oregon, Alabama, Texas A&M among teams with double-digit portal entries

As of 10 p.m. ET, there were nine schools that had 10 or more players enter the transfer portal, with Colorado State and Louisiana Tech leading the way with 15 players each. Oregon and Arkansas each had 13 portal entries, with Alabama, Maryland and Virginia Tech each having 11. Texas A&M and Kent State each had 10.

Bell becomes second South Carolina tight end in portal

South Carolina tight end Jaheim Bell is entering the portal. Bell had 25 receptions for 231 yards and two touchdowns as a junior this season. The former four-star recruit became the second Gamecocks tight end to enter the portal today, joining Austin Stogner.

Five more from Alabama enter portal

Five more players from Alabama, all offensive players, entered the transfer portal Monday. Offensive linemen Tommy Brockermeyer, Amari Kight and Damieon George and receivers Christian Leary and JoJo Earle all put their names in the portal. Brockermeyer was ESPN’s No. 2 overall recruit in 2021. Earle, No. 73 in the 2021 ESPN 300, had 12 receptions for 155 yards and a pair of touchdowns for the Tide this season. Leary had one catch for 6 yards. Earlier Monday, six other Crimson Tide players, including receiver Traeshon Holden and OL Javion Cohen, entered the portal, bringing Alabama’s total to 11.

ESPN college football reporter Tom VanHaaren has ranked the top 30 players in the portal, which includes four quarterbacks in the top 10, an under-the-radar Division II tight end to watch and wide receivers who could make an impact in 2023. View the full top 30 here.

OL Braun headed to Arkansas

Offensive lineman Josh Braun (6-6, 342 pounds), announced on social media he will continue his education and football career at Arkansas. Braun played three seasons at Florida before entering the transfer portal.

Canes DT Jackson intends to transfer

Miami defensive tackle Darrell Jackson Jr. announced he has entered the transfer portal. Jackson started 12 games for the Hurricanes and had 27 tackles (11 solo) and three sacks.

Defensive back Tony Grimes recorded 36 total tackles, one forced fumble and seven pass breakups during the 2022 season. He has 97 tackles, one interception and one sack over three seasons with the Tar Heels.

Safety Thomas Harper had 30 tackles, one interception and two pass breakups this season for Oklahoma State. He earned second-team All-Big 12 honors in 2020. He has 93 career tackles in four seasons.

Ohio State LB enters the portal

Linebacker Teradja Mitchell had 62 total tackles over three seasons in Columbus. He was the No. 24 prospect in the 2018 recruiting class.

Virginia Tech defensive back enters as grad transfer

Armani Chatman had 22 total tackles, one interception and five pass breakups this season for the Hokies.

Clemson linebacker in portal

LaVonta Bentley had 20 total tackles, 12 solo tackles and one sack this season. He was a multiyear starter for the Tigers and was a ranked prospect in the 2019 ESPN 300.

USC linebacker is in the portal

Ralen Goforth had 43 total tackles and 35 solo tackles for the Trojans this season.

Former Cal LB chooses UCLA

Linebacker Oluwafemi Oladejo, who played two seasons at Cal, announced his transfer to UCLA. After announcing his intention to enter the portal earlier on Monday, Oladejo made the move to the Bruins quickly. He had 36 tackles and one interception in his two seasons with Cal.

Oklahoma State quarterback adds name to portal

Spencer Sanders, who was the No. 121 prospect in the 2018 ESPN 300, has entered the transfer portal. He was a multiyear starter for the Cowboys and has one year of eligibility remaining.

He threw for 2,642 yards and 17 touchdowns this season.

Oregon linebacker enters portal

Justin Flowe, who was the No. 10 overall recruit in the 2020 ESPN 300, appeared in 10 games this season. He had 35 total tackles and 14 solo tackles for the Ducks.

Updating a busy first day of the transfer portal being open

Uiagalelei to move on from Clemson

Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei is officially in the transfer portal as a grad transfer. Uiagalelei was benched after leading two series, both three-and-outs, in the ACC championship game.

He finished the season completing 62.1% of his passes for 2,521 yards, 22 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also ran for 545 yards and seven TDs.

Second Texas A&M QB enters portal

Eli Stowers, who was an ESPN 300 prospect in the 2021 class, played in only two games this season. He’s the second Aggies QB to enter the portal, joining Haynes King.

QB Jurkovec moving from BC to Pitt

Transfer quarterback Phil Jurkovec told ESPN’s Pete Thamel that he’s committed to transfer to Pitt. Jurkovec both returns home and reunites with his former offensive coordinator at Boston College, Frank Cignetti Jr. Jurkovec has one year of eligibility remaining.

Michigan tight end enters mix

Erick All, who missed most of this season with injury, was second on the Wolverines with 437 receiving yards in 2021 and had two touchdowns.

Arizona receiver Singer adds name to portal

Dorian Singer, who led the Pac-12 with 1,105 receiving yards on 66 catches, has entered the portal. The 6-foot-1 sophomore scored six times and averaged 16.7 yards per reception.

Kent State receiver looks to catch on elsewhere

Dante Cephas was second on the Golden Flashes with 744 receiving yards and had three touchdowns this season. In 2021, Cephas had 1,240 yards on 82 catches.

Cam’Ron Kelly had 49 tackles, one interception and one pass breakup for the Tar Heels.

UCF starting corner puts name in

Davonte Brown, a 6-foot-2 corner, started every game the past two seasons for UCF. The junior had 30 tackles, two interceptions and four pass breakups in 2022 and has two years of eligibility remaining.

Seminoles linebacker enters as grad transfer

Amari Gainer entered the season as Florida State’s active leader with 193 tackles, but was limited this season (17 tackles, 1 sack).

Tight end Austin Stogner, who had 20 catches for the Gamecocks this season, entered the portal as a grad transfer. He came to South Carolina after transferring from Oklahoma.

UCF‘s No. 2 receiver enters portal

Ryan O’Keefe was second on the Knights in receiving yards this season with 725 and had five touchdown catches.

Quarterback Austin Reed ranked No. 2 in the FBS with 4,247 passing yards this season. He completed 64.4% of his attempts with 36 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. The grad transfer has one season of eligibility left.

Cincinnati kicker enters portal

The Bearcats’ Ryan Coe made 19 of 23 field goals, including a 52-yarder, in his only season with Cincy. He had transferred from Delaware.

Three-year starting OL at Arizona State enters

Offensive lineman LaDarius Henderson, a three-year starter, has one year of eligibility remaining. He made 29 starts for the Sun Devils.

Huge UTEP offensive lineman is in

Multiyear starter Jeremiah Byers, a 6-foot-4, 331-pound sophomore, should draw a lot of interest.

Starting quarterback Mike Wright passed for 974 yards with 12 touchdowns and four interceptions and ran for 517 yards with five scores.

Leading rusher Ray Davis also entered the portal. Davis, who was fourth in the SEC with 1,042 rushing yards, transferred to Vandy from Temple. The Commodores were 5-7 this season, 2-6 in the SEC.

Kaleb Smith had 37 catches for 674 yards with three touchdowns and ranked fourth in the ACC with an 18.2-yard average. He is a graduate transfer.

Sources: Pitt QB Slovis on move again

Kedon Slovis, who played one season at Pittsburgh after transferring from USC, intends to enter the portal, sources tell ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

Slovis struggled to find consistency with the Panthers (8-4), completing 58.4% of his passes for 2,397 yards, with 10 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He has one year of eligibility remaining.

Three-year starting guard at Purdue is in

Spencer Holstege, a 6-foot-5, 310-pound junior, started three seasons for the Boilermakers. He has two years of eligibility remaining.

One of UCF‘s top tacklers in portal

Linebacker Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste was second on the Knights with 52 total tackles this season. Also had five tackles for loss, one sack and four pass breakups.

Raneiria Dillworth, who ranked 87th in the 2021 recruiting class, appeared in seven games for the Heels this season, recording 14 tackles.

Virginia cornerback in portal

Fentrell Cypress II has started 14 games over the past two seasons, and he broke up 11 passes in 2022. He had 46 tackles over the past two seasons.

Wake Forest running back in portal

Christian Turner rushed for 516 yards this season and 506 yards last season, with 12 total touchdowns. He originally transferred from Michigan in 2020.

Washington State has two of its top three receivers in the portal. De’Zhaun Stribling caught 95 passes for 1,073 yards and 10 touchdowns over the past two seasons, averaging 11.3 yards per catch. Donovan Ollie, a 6-foot-3, 212-pound sophomore, had 43 catches for 491 yards with three scores this season.

Kent State offensive tackle in portal

Savion Washington is a 6-foot-8 tackle who started 11 games for the Golden Flashes this season. He allowed just four pressures in 774 snaps at right tackle.

Source: NC State quarterback Devin Leary intends to enter portal

Leary will have one year of eligibility remaining at his new school, as he’s spent five years at NC State. His production over the past four years — 6,807 and 62 touchdowns — will make him one of the most productive portal quarterbacks available. Leary’s 2022 season got cut short when he tore his right (throwing) pec against Florida State on Oct. 8.

A source told ESPN’s Pete Thamel that Leary is expected to be able to cleared to throw by early March, if not sooner. He could be ready for spring football at his new destination.

Ball State running back entering portal

Running back Carson Steele put up 1,556 rushing yards with 15 total touchdowns this season. He had 891 rushing yards and seven total scores as a true freshman in 2021.

Ball State went 5-7 and isn’t eligible for a bowl game.

Five Miami players enter portal

Running back Thaddius Franklin Jr., wide receiver Josh Murillo, safety Keshawn Washington and defensive linemen Elijah Roberts and Allan Haye Jr. are all in the transfer portal.

The most notable is Franklin, who had five rushing touchdowns this season. Roberts had nine total tackles.

SUNDAY, DEC. 4

Wisconsin’s three-year starting QB to enter portal

Graham Mertz has started 32 games over the past three seasons for the Badgers, throwing for 5,405 yards, 38 touchdowns and 26 interceptions in his four-year career.

Mertz, who will have two years of eligibility remaining, went 19-13 as Wisconsin’s starter, however the Badgers went from 9-4 in 2021 to 6-6 in 2022, firing coach Paul Chryst in October. They hired Luke Fickell on Nov. 27.

While Mertz’s 52.5 Total QBR ranked ninth among 12 qualified Big Ten quarterbacks in 2022, his 9.82 air yards per attempt ranked third in the conference and 21st among 124 qualified passers.

Indiana freshman LB to enter portal

Dasan McCullough, the highest-ranked prospect in Indiana’s 2022 recruiting class (No. 43 overall), recorded 49 total tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and four sacks as a freshman in 2022.

The 6-foot-5, 230-pound McCullough started four of the Hoosiers’ 12 games, and his 15 defensive pressures ranked seventh among all Big Ten linebackers. He is the son of Notre Dame running backs coach Deland McCullough.

Alabama starting OL to enter portal

Javion Cohen started 25 games over the past two years at left guard, surrendering just one sack on 922 pass-blocking snaps.

The 6-foot-4, 305-pound Cohen, a junior who will have two more years of eligibility, opened up about mental health awareness in July, saying, “[I] don’t want to focus on the bad though, [I] want to shed light on the good that has come of this.”

Vanderbilt’s leading rusher to enter portal

Fourth-year senior Ray Davis ran for 1,042 yards, which ranked fourth in the SEC in 2022, and his five rushing touchdowns were tied for the team lead.

The 5-foot-9, 205-pound Davis spent his first two seasons at Temple before transferring to Vanderbilt prior to the 2021 season. In his career, he has 2,497 rushing yards, 439 receiving yards and 20 total touchdowns (15 rushing, five receiving).

Arizona’s leading tackler to enter portal

Safety Jaxen Turner recorded 79 total tackles, two interceptions, two forced fumbles and one sack for the Wildcats in 2022.

Turner, a fourth-year junior, has recorded 159 total tackles and defended seven passes in his career.

Former Clemson starting DB to enter portal

Cornerback Fred Davis II started the first four games of the 2022 season and appeared in seven games, totaling 15 tackles and defending two passes before injuring his ankle.

Davis, who is being sued over a 2021 car accident, has recorded 34 total tackles and four passes defensed in 28 games in three seasons at Clemson.

UCF QB to enter portal

Mikey Keene has thrown for 2,377 yards, 23 touchdown passes and seven interceptions in 15 career games (11 starts) with the Knights. He went 7-3 as a starter last year in place of Dillon Gabriel, but he played behind John Rhys Plumlee for most of the 2022 season.

Keene, a 5-foot-11, 180-pound quarterback with three years of eligibility remaining, completed 72.3% of his passes this season, throwing for 647 yards, six touchdowns and one interception in four games.

Charlotte’s leading WR to enter portal

Charlotte wideout Elijah Spencer, who led the 49ers with 943 receiving yards and nine touchdowns this season, will enter the transfer portal, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

His 381-yard, six-touchdown season in 2021 led him to being named Conference USA freshman of the year.

SATURDAY, DEC. 3

Oklahoma backup QB to enter portal

Oklahoma freshman QB Nick Evers was the No. 166 overall recruit in the 2022 class. He flipped from Florida to Oklahoma late in the recruiting process.

A 6-foot-3, 186-pound freshman, Evers backed up Dillon Gabriel this season. Oklahoma has five-star QB Jackson Arnold committed for the 2023 class.

BYU OL to enter portal

Campbell Barrington, the younger brother of fellow offensive lineman Clark Barrington, announced he will enter the portal when it opens.

The younger Barrington, who was part of ESPN’s true freshman All-America team in 2021, primarily played at right tackle. He went from playing 468 total snaps in eight games (six starts) in 2021 to 111 snaps in nine games without a start in 2022.

Oklahoma State‘s leading tackler to enter portal

Mason Cobb, who led the Cowboys with 96 total tackles, will have two years of eligibility remaining. Cobb, a 6-foot, 230-pound junior, also forced 1 fumble, intercepted 1 pass and recorded 2 sacks in 2022.

Leading MAC rusher to enter portal

Ball State sophomore running back Carson Steele ranked sixth in FBS with 1,556 yards entering conference championship weekend. He had nine 100-yard games and 14 touchdowns for the 5-7 Cardinals.

In two seasons, he racked up 2,447 yards and 20 touchdowns.

FRIDAY, DEC. 2

Texas A&M QB, cornerback entering the portal

Haynes King is in the portal after throwing for 1,220 yards and seven touchdowns for the Aggies in the 2022 season. Signing in 2020, King entered the Texas A&M program as the No. 46 recruit in the nation.

The Aggies (5-7) were 1-5 in games King played in this season.

In addition to King, cornerback Denver Harris is now in the portal. The former 5-star recruit (No. 25 class of 2022) played in five games this season for the Aggies before an indefinite suspension ended his season. He has three years of eligibility left.

Three Stanford players entering portal

Starting Stanford right tackle Myles Hinton joins teammates Drake Nugent and Levani Damuni in putting their names in the transfer portal. Hinton was one of Stanford’s top recruits in recent years. He was ESPN’s No. 14 overall recruit in 2020.

Nugent, a center, was on the Rimington Trophy and Outland Trophy watch lists coming into this season and was named All-Pac-12 honorable mention by the coaches in 2021. He started 22 games over the past two seasons. Damuni, a linebacker, was a team captain in 2022.

Coach David Shaw resigned earlier this week.

Oklahoma receiver enters the portal

Theo Wease Jr. has entered the transfer portal after recording 378 yards and four touchdowns for the Sooners this season. The former 4-star recruit (No. 33 in the 2019 class) had 10 total touchdown receptions over three seasons at Oklahoma. The Sooners went 6-6 in Brent Venables’ first year as head coach.

Washington State linebacker Travion Brown, a graduate student, is in the transfer portal. Brown had 49 tackles, five for loss, 1.5 sacks and a fumble recovery for the 7-5 Cougars this season.

Braden Fiske is in the portal as a grad transfer. Fiske had 30 tackles and 4.5 sacks this season for the Broncos (5-7, 4-4 MAC). Coach Tim Lester was fired Nov. 28.

Several high major schools are expected to show interest in Fiske, who has 12 career sacks.

Rara Thomas announced Friday that he plans to enter the transfer portal with two years of eligibility remaining. A 6-foot-2 former three-star recruit from Eufaula, Alabama, Thomas saw his production skyrocket after catching 18 passes and five touchdowns as a freshman in 2021.

As a sophomore this season, he led Mississippi State with 626 receiving yards. He ranked second on the team in receiving touchdowns (7) and fourth in receptions (44).

Pyne is a third-year player who will have three years of eligibility at his next destination. He started 10 games for Notre Dame this season, leading it to an 8-2 record and finishing No. 20 nationally in individual quarterback efficiency. Pyne threw 22 touchdowns, six interceptions and rushed for 108 yards and two more touchdowns. He completed 64.6% of his passes.

He had a 4-1 record against top-25 teams, which was the most wins against top-25 competition at Notre Dame in the last decade.

Jurkovec will enter as a graduate transfer and will have one season remaining of eligibility. He has been Boston College’s starting quarterback the past three seasons after transferring from Notre Dame. He’s been productive when healthy, as he’ll be one of the more seasoned quarterbacks to enter the transfer portal this offseason. Jurkovec started 24 games during his three seasons at Boston College and flashed with promise when healthy.

Jurkovec hasn’t played since getting knocked out of BC’s 13-3 loss at UConn on Oct. 29. He suffered minor knee and rib injuries that are expected to be healed soon. He’d be available at full health for spring practice wherever he transfers, according to sources.

THURSDAY, DEC. 1

McNamara, who helped the Wolverines to a Big Ten title and College Football Playoff berth in 2021, is set to transfer to Iowa, sources told ESPN on Thursday.

McNamara, who has two seasons of eligibility left, entered the transfer portal as a graduate on Monday. He has not played for Michigan since suffering a leg injury in Week 3 that required surgery.

In 2021, McNamara threw for 2,576 yards and 15 touchdowns and six interceptions in 14 games as Michigan won its first outright Big Ten title since 2004 and made its first CFP appearance. He emerged as the Wolverines’ starter in 2020, passing for 425 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions in a season that was interrupted by COVID-19 restrictions.

Chance Nolan threw for 939 yards, seven touchdowns and eight interceptions while starting the Beavers’ five games this season.

He suffered a neck strain during a lopsided loss at Utah on Oct. 1 and remained sidelined for the rest of the regular season. Nolan has started 17 games in his career over three seasons in Corvallis, Ore., throwing for 4,153 yards with 32 touchdowns and 20 interceptions.

Nebraska wide receiver entering portal

Decoldest Crawford, who made offseason headlines after his NIL deal with a local HVAC company went viral, is entering the portal after one season with the Cornhuskers.

Crawford did not play during his freshman season, as he suffered a season-ending injury during a team scrimmage in August. His decision to transfer comes days after former Carolina Panthers coach Matt Rhule was hired as Nebraska’s next head coach.

Virginia quarterback enters the portal as grad transfer

Brennan Armstrong is in the portal.

He threw for 2,210 yards, seven touchdowns and 12 interceptions for the Cavaliers (3-7, 1-6 ACC) in 2022. Armstrong has 9,034 passing yards, 58 touchdown passes and 20 rushing TDs in his career. He ranked 4th in all of FBS with 4,449 passing yards in 2021.

Rhode Island offensive lineman to enter portal

Right tackle Ajani Cornelius has decided to enter the portal.

He started 22 games during his first two years with the Rams, and he’s reportedly already received offers from Nebraska, West Virginia, Cincinnati, Louisville, Syracuse, Penn State, Minnesota, Oregon, Auburn and South Carolina, among others.

Rhode Island went 7-4 overall (5-3 CAA) this season.

Texas A&M defensive end to portal

Edge rusher Tunmise Adeleye will enter the portal when it opens on Dec. 5.

He played sparingly this season for the Aggies and recorded tackles in only two games.

Adeleye was No. 42 overall in the 2021 ESPN 300 and had offers from Alabama, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Miami, Michigan and Ohio State, among others.

Cincinnati center entering portal

Center Jake Renfro, a first-team All-AAC selection in 2021, entered the transfer portal on Thursday.

He sustained a knee injury in preseason camp that prevented him from playing this fall. The 6-foot-3, 308-pound Renfro has started 19 games in the past two seasons. A third-year player, Renfro was allowed to enter the portal before Dec. 5 because Cincinnati’s coach Luke Fickell left for the Wisconsin job earlier this week.

Iowa wide receiver to enter portal

Keagan Johnson, who missed most of the 2022 season due to injury, has announced that he will enter the transfer portal.

In 2021, Johnson led all Iowa receivers with 352 yards as a freshman. He also contributed with two touchdowns and 18 receptions. This season, he appeared in two games and had two receptions for 11 yards against Nevada.

Maryland linebacker in portal as grad transfer

Ahmad McCullough had 45 tackles and two fumble recoveries in two starts for the Terrapins this season. In total, he started six games over four seasons, with 92 total tackles, one sack, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries.

Lineman Austin Fontaine also is in the portal. He played both defense and offense, starting six games at guard in 2019.

Kentucky running back enters portal

Kavosiey Smoke had 291 carries for 1,583 yards and 13 touchdowns over five seasons at Kentucky. He had 58 rushes for 277 yards this season. His best year was 2019, when he had 616 rushing yards and six touchdowns.

Wide receiver Rahsaan Lewis also will transfer. He had eight catches for 69 yards over the past two seasons. He is the son of Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Lewis. He previously attended UCF and FAU.

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 30

Stanford loses two more to portal

Defensive end Stephen Herron, who had led the Cardinal with 5.5 sacks in 2022, and guard Jake Hornibrook, who started 16 games over the past two seasons, are in the transfer portal. Herron had nine total sacks in three seasons.

They follow safety Jonathan McGill, who announced earlier this week he was transferring, following the resignation of coach David Shaw.

Alabama wide receivers decide to enter portal

Alabama wide receivers Traeshon Holden and Christian Leary are going to enter the portal when it opens next week. Holden was second on the team in touchdowns receptions (6) and fourth in receiving yards (331) this season as the Crimson Tide went 10-2.

Leary, who was No. 77 in the 2021 ESPN 300, was used on special teams for the most part during his two years in Tuscaloosa.

Second Tulsa quarterback to enter the portal

Braylon Braxton became the second Tulsa quarterback in three days to enter the portal, joining Davis Brin.

Braxton, a second-year player, started three of Tulsa’s final four games this season, throwing for 1,133 yards, 10 touchdowns and two interceptions.

The news comes in light of the Golden Hurricane dismissing coach Phillip Montgomery after a 5-7 season.

Oklahoma wide receiver entering portal

Theo Wease has entered the portal as a grad transfer and will have two years of eligibility remaining. He caught 19 passes for 378 yards and four touchdowns in seven games for the Sooners (6-6) this season. He established a new career high in receiving yards (123) during the final game of the season, a 51-48 overtime loss at Texas Tech.

Wease had 64 receptions for 1,044 yards and 10 touchdowns in his career. He was ranked as the No. 33 overall recruit in the 2019 ESPN 300.

Florida State freshman defensive back enters portal

Sam McCall announced his plans to enter the transfer portal. In his first season with the Seminoles, he recorded five total tackles, three solo tackles and one forced fumble.

McCall was ranked No. 55 overall in the 2022 ESPN 300.

Sean Tyler, who rushed for 1,027 yards this season and 1,150 yards in 2021, is in the portal. Tyler had 2,830 rushing yards, 338 receiving yards and 26 touchdowns in four seasons for the Broncos.

Western Michigan went 5-7 this season and fired coach Tim Lester earlier this week.

Colorado safety enters portal

Isaiah Lewis is a two-time Pac-12 honorable mention who played in only four games this season because of injury. In 42 career games since 2018, he has broken up five passes and recorded 128 total tackles and three interceptions.

Lewis, a 6-foot, 205-pound defensive back from Granite Bay, California, was originally a three-star prospect in the 2017 recruiting cycle.

TUESDAY, NOV. 29

Northwestern wide receiver to go into portal

Malik Washington will enter the portal as a graduate transfer. Washington led Northwestern, which went 1-11 in 2022, with 65 catches for 694 receiving yards. He hit his career high in receiving yards (97) twice this season — against Nebraska in Dublin on Aug. 27 and against Minnesota on Nov. 12.

He had 120 receptions for 1,348 yards and three touchdowns during his four seasons in Evanston.

Texas backup quarterback to enter portal

Hudson Card, who lost the Longhorns’ quarterback competition to Quinn Ewers but filled in when Ewers was hurt, is going to enter the portal. Card threw for 928 yards with six touchdowns this season for Texas, which went 8-4.

Card, who was ranked No. 40 overall and was the second-best dual-threat quarterback in the 2020 ESPN 300, has 1,523 passing yards, 11 touchdowns and two interceptions during his career.

Three Syracuse WRs to enter portal

Courtney Jackson, who led the Orange in receiving yards in 2021 and has totaled 662 yards and four touchdowns in four seasons, entered the portal as a grad transfer with two years of eligibility remaining.

Anthony Queeley, who had 52 catches for 600 yards and four touchdowns over his first two seasons but totaled just one catch for 12 yards in 2022, announced his intentions to enter the portal, as did Dom Foster, a freshman who was recruited as an athlete but converted to receiver.

FIU‘s top TE to enter portal

FIU tight end Rivaldo Fairweather has 54 catches for 838 yards and five touchdown in his three-year career with the Panthers thus far.

A 6-foot-5, 245-pound target, Fairweather ranked 18th among all FBS tight ends in receiving yards (426) and third in yards per reception (15.21) in 2022.

Three Duke players enter portal

Linebacker Rocky Shelton II, defensive back Tony Davis and wide receiver Darrell Harding Jr. all entered the portal as grad transfers. Shelton started eight games in 2020 and totaled 1.5 sacks and 35 total tackles, however he didn’t play in 2021 and recorded 10 total tackles in 12 games in 2022.

Harding caught 35 passes for 452 yards in 24 games over the past four years. Davis, a 6-foot-2, 195-pound cornerback, recorded 13 total tackles and one pass breakup in four seasons.

Indiana loses second quarterback to portal

Indiana starting quarterback Connor Bazelak announced he plans to enter the portal as a grad transfer. Bazelak transferred to Indiana from Missouri before the 2022 season. He threw for 2,312 yards and 13 touchdowns this season as Indiana went 4-8.

Bazelak, who has thrown for 7,370 yards, 36 touchdowns and 27 interceptions in his career, is the second Hoosiers quarterback to enter the portal. Fourth-year signal-caller Jack Tuttle announced in October he planned to enter the portal when it opened, but ultimately started Indiana’s 45-14 loss to Penn State in November amid injury woes.

Iowa backup quarterback to enter portal

Alex Padilla served as a backup to Spencer Petras, a three-year starter. He saw action in two games this season for the Hawkeyes — losses to Ohio State and Nebraska — and played in eight games in 2021, starting two.

Padilla threw for 821 yards with three touchdowns and four interceptions during his three seasons at Iowa.

MONDAY, NOV. 28

McNamara led Michigan to the Big Ten title and a College Football Playoff appearance in 2021, throwing for 2,576 yards, 15 touchdowns and six interceptions in 14 games.

He started the 2022 season with a 136-yard, one-touchdown performance against Colorado State in the opener but ultimately lost the Wolverines’ quarterback competition to second-year QB J.J. McCarthy.

McNamara suffered a leg injury in the second half against UConn on Sept. 17 that required surgery, and he didn’t appear in a game the rest of the season.

As a sophomore, Thornton caught 17 passes for 366 yards and a touchdown. He had a career-high 151 receiving yards in a 20-17 victory over Utah on Nov. 19.

He was the fourth-leading receiver for the Ducks, who went 9-3 in the regular season. Thornton has 26 catches for 541 yards and three touchdowns in his career.

Stanford safety to portal after coach David Shaw’s resignation

In response to Shaw’s resignation at Stanford, safety Jonathan McGill will enter the portal as a grad transfer.

McGill was second on the team in total tackles (51), had 5.5 tackles-for-loss, seven PBUs and an interception for the Cardinal this season. Stanford went 3-9 for a second consecutive year.

Tulsa quarterback to enter the portal

Tulsa quarterback Davis Brin, who started nine games this year, decided to transfer in light of coach Philip Montgomery’s firing.

Brin had 2,138 passing yards with 17 touchdowns with eight interceptions, but he didn’t start three of the Golden Hurricane’s last four games of the season.

In his career, he has 5,660 passing yards with 37 touchdowns and 24 interceptions.

LJ Johnson Jr. was the No. 86 overall recruit (No. 5 running back) in the 2021 ESPN 300 and chose Texas A&M over Alabama, LSU, Michigan, Texas and Oklahoma, among others.

In six games for the Aggies this season, he had 10 carries for 39 yards and two touchdowns but didn’t receive any carries after Oct. 22.

Texas A&M defensive linemen Elijah Jeudy and Donell Harris Jr. also plan to enter the portal.

SUNDAY, NOV. 27

Sophomore wide receiver Dominic Lovett ranked sixth in the SEC in receptions (56) and third in the conference in receiving yards (846).

Of the 12 passing touchdowns quarterback Brady Cook threw this year, three went to Lovett.

Jeff Sims was a three-year starter for the Yellow Jackets, who fired coach Geoff Collins in September.

Sims, a former ESPN 300 recruit ranked No. 88 in the 2020 class, started the first seven games of the 2022 season before hurting his foot during a loss to Virginia on Oct. 20.

In his career, Sims has 4,464 passing yards, 30 touchdowns and 23 interceptions.

PREVIOUSLY

Alabama DB and former top juco prospect enters portal

Khyree Jackson, who was the top recruit in ESPN’s 2021 junior college rankings, entered the portal Nov. 23.

Jackson saw action in nine games, starting one, for the Crimson Tide in 2022 and recorded seven tackles. He chose Alabama over offers from Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Oklahoma and Oregon, among others.

Several FCS prospects enter portal

With the conclusion of some FCS seasons across the country, several players hit the portal the week of Nov. 21. Notables include:

Wisconsin‘s former top-15 recruit enters after dismissal

Wisconsin offensive tackle Logan Brown was dismissed from the team because of an “internal incident” on Oct. 13, interim coach Jim Leonhard said.

Upon his dismissal, Brown, the No. 15 recruit and No. 7 offensive tackle in the 2019 recruiting class, tweeted he would enter the portal.

Boise State starting QB enters portal

Boise State quarterback Hank Bachmeier entered the portal on Sept. 27. Bachmeier, a four-year starter, had totaled 6,605 passing yards, 41 touchdowns and 19 interceptions.

Bachmeier had thrown for 497 yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions in four games this season. By leaving prior to playing in his fifth game of the season, he will have two years of eligibility remaining, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

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Cal Raleigh, Aaron Judge and the best power half-seasons in MLB history

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June 27, 2025

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Cal Raleigh, Aaron Judge and the best power half-seasons in MLB history

  • David SchoenfieldJun 27, 2025, 07:00 AM ET

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    • Covers MLB for ESPN.com
    • Former deputy editor of Page 2
    • Been with ESPN.com since 1995

In a season when offense has often been hard to find — when 20 qualified pitchers have an ERA under 3.00 and 27 relievers with at least 20 innings have an ERA under 2.00 — New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge and Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh have produced history-crunching numbers that would stand out in any era, but especially in 2025.

Judge’s season isn’t unexpected. He hit 62 home runs in 2022 and 58 in 2024, when he became the first player to slug .700 since Barry Bonds, but he is putting up numbers that exceed the lofty totals of those seasons. He’s hitting .364/.464/.724 with 28 home runs and is on pace for 11.9 bWAR — a figure only five position players have achieved or surpassed. And he has done all this despite a six-game slump in mid-June when he went 2-for-22.

Raleigh’s season, on the other hand, is one of the most unexpected MVP-level campaigns in recent memory. The 28-year-old is hitting .275/.380/.651 and leads all of MLB with 69 RBIs and 32 home runs, just the 24th time a player has at least 30 homers through 81 team games. And though he has hit 30 home runs before — he’s just the fourth catcher with at least three 30-homer seasons — he’s already two from his career high … and we’re still in June. It, of course, feels impossible that he’ll continue his current 65-home run pace, but he’s in a position to finish with one of the greatest offensive seasons by a catcher. His 4.3 bWAR puts him on pace for 8.9, which would top Mike Piazza’s 8.7 in 1997 as the highest for a catcher.

With the Yankees and Mariners playing their 81st games Friday — the halfway point of the season — let’s dig into some of the greatest power seasons from past first halves to put into perspective what Judge and Raleigh are doing.

Note: All stats will be through 81 team games rather than the more traditional first-half totals listed on Baseball-Reference, which vary in terms of games played based on when the All-Star Game took place.

Greatest power half-seasons ever

Most home runs through 81 games

Here are the top six sluggers on the list — and the number of home runs they finished with:

  1. Barry Bonds, 2001 Giants: 39 (73)

  2. Mark McGwire, 1998 Cardinals: 37 (70)

  3. Babe Ruth, 1921 Yankees: 35 (59)

  4. Reggie Jackson, 1969 A’s: 34 (47)

  5. Babe Ruth, 1928 Yankees: 33 (54)

  6. Jimmie Foxx, 1932 A’s: 33 (58)

Ruth and Foxx played when the schedule was 154 games, so they didn’t have those eight extra games the others did. A 23-year-old Jackson, in just his second full season in the majors, was on pace to break Roger Maris’ then-record of 61, but he tired down the stretch, hitting just five home runs in August and two in September.

Raleigh is part of a group that includes five others with 32 home runs — Ruth (1930), Maris (1961), Ken Griffey Jr. (1994), Sammy Sosa (1998 and 1999) and Luis Gonzalez (2001). Ruth tailed off and finished with 49 home runs, and the strike interrupted Griffey’s season in August, leaving him with 40 home runs with 50 games to go (a 58-homer pace).

The last player with at least 30 home runs through 81 games: Shohei Ohtani … but in 2021, not 2024. That was the season he had that amazing stretch of 16 home runs in 21 games before the All-Star break, but he tailed off in the second half and finished with 46.

Can Raleigh avoid the fate so many others with high early home run totals have met? As you would expect, that group of players who hit at least 30 home runs in the first half tailed off, averaging 32 home runs in their first 81 games but 19 the rest of the way, for a season average of 51. But four of those 23 seasons came in the 154-game era, three others came in the strike-shortened 1994 season (Griffey, Frank Thomas and Matt Williams) and two came from players who suffered injuries that limited their playing time in the second half (Jose Canseco in 1999 and McGwire in 2000).

None of them were catchers, though.

Best power/average totals through 81 games

Let’s start by looking at a list of the highest OPS figures through 81 games:

  1. Barry Bonds, 2004 Giants: 1.414

  2. Babe Ruth, 1921 Yankees: 1.374

  3. Barry Bonds, 2001 Giants: 1.357

  4. Barry Bonds, 2002 Giants: 1.342

  5. Babe Ruth, 1930 Yankees: 1.338

OK, you get the idea. In terms of raw OPS, Ruth also owns three of the next five spots. He and Bonds dominate all these leaderboards, whether it’s over half a season or a full season. Judge ranks 25th with his 1.202 OPS.

However, Judge is doing this in a lower-scoring era — that’s why his adjusted stats such as wRC+ or OPS+ rank among the best ever. His wRC+ of 221 would rank seventh all time — behind three Bonds seasons, two Ruth seasons and one from Ted Williams, and just ahead of Judge’s 2024 season. His OPS+ of 226 ranks 10th, behind seasons from those same three players, who are widely considered the greatest hitters.

Still, Judge’s combination of power with a high batting average is unique for any era. He is one of just nine players hitting .360 or higher with at least 28 home runs through 81 team games (assuming he remains above .360 after the Yankees play on Friday night):

  • Babe Ruth, 1921 Yankees: .372, 35 HRs

  • Jimmie Foxx, 1932 A’s: .383, 33 HRs

  • Babe Ruth, 1930 Yankees: .374, 32 HRs

  • Mickey Mantle, 1956 Yankees: .371, 30 HRs

  • Frank Thomas, 1994 White Sox: .373, 30 HRs

  • Babe Ruth, 1927 Yankees: .366, 29 HRs

  • Lou Gehrig, 1927 Yankees: .397, 28 HRs

  • Tony Perez, 1970 Reds: .363, 28 HRs

  • Aaron Judge, 2025 Yankees: .364, 28 HRs

These are some of the greatest hitting seasons of all time. Ruth set the record for total bases in 1921. Foxx hit .364 with 58 home runs and 169 RBIs in 1932. Mantle won the Triple Crown in 1956 when he hit .353 with 52 home runs and 130 RBIs. Yes, that’s Ruth and Gehrig from the same season when Ruth blasted 60 home runs and Gehrig hit 47, with Ruth’s total topping every other American League team … You get the gist.

Judge’s average is remarkable given the overall AL average is just .243. When Ruth and Gehrig tore apart the AL in 1927, for example, the league average was .286. The lowest average from this list was Mantle’s 1956 season, when the non-pitcher average was still .264. Looking at Judge’s season from this perspective makes his power/average combo one of the most impressive 81-game first halves we’ve seen, even aside from the era-adjusted analytics.

What it means for Judge and Raleigh

Is this the greatest season from a catcher we’ve seen?

Raleigh has hit 29 of his 32 home runs as a catcher (he has a 1.116 OPS while catching compared with .659 in 17 games as a DH). There are a couple of ways to look at the single-season home run record for catchers. The list for primary catchers — at least 50% of their games behind the plate — looks like this:

  1. Salvador Perez, 2021 Royals: 48

  2. Johnny Bench, 1970 Reds: 45

  3. Javy Lopez, 2003 Braves: 43

  4. Roy Campanella, 1953 Dodgers: 41

  5. Todd Hundley, 1996 Mets: 41

Bench added another 40-homer season in 1972 while Piazza had two 40-homer seasons. Perez hit just 33 as a catcher in 2021, with his other 15 coming as a DH. Lopez is the leader for home runs hit while playing the catcher position with 42.

Raleigh has been a low-average power hitter in his first three-plus seasons in the majors — he hit .220 with 34 home runs last year — but now he’s hitting for more power and a higher average. Sifting through his Statcast metrics, there aren’t obvious changes in his approach or swing patterns. Like Bryce Harper, he has always combined an above-average walk rate with a below-average chase rate, although he hasn’t been as extreme in his chase rate as Harper (although he has had higher strikeout rates than Harper).

There have been a few slight improvements across the board from 2024: His chase rate has improved 3 percentage points; his strikeout rate is down 3 percentage points; his fly ball rate is up about 4 percentage points; but his pulled fly ball rate, however, is up over 11 percentage points.

That last one is the big number. That has helped Raleigh to a few more wall scrapers. He is tied with Michael Busch and Paul Goldschmidt with 12 “doubters” — home runs that would be out of just one to seven parks based on distance.

But there’s another reason for Raleigh’s improvement: As a switch-hitter, he has always been much better from the left side, but this season, he’s mashing from the right side, hitting .319 with 11 home runs against left-handers after hitting .183 with 13 home runs against them last season. His “fast swing” percentage (swings of 75-plus mph) from the right side has gone way up, from 39.3% to 48.5%.

Raleigh is also not missing mistakes. Check his results on middle-middle pitches (ones thrown over the center of the plate, both horizontally and vertically) that he puts in play:

2024: .315 average, .795 slugging, 11 HR in 73 AB
2025: .515 average, 1.576 slugging, 11 HR in 33 AB

Can he keep it going? The big question might be how he’ll hold up in the long run. Raleigh has started 78 of Seattle’s first 80 games and pinch hit one other time (he hit a game-tying, two-run single in the ninth inning). He played 153 games last season and has the luxury of some DH games, but this is still a huge workload for a catcher. Last Saturday, he caught all nine innings of a three-hour game in 94-degree heat at Wrigley Field. He was in the lineup Sunday as the DH and back behind the plate the next two nights.

He’s obviously vital to the Mariners — although Seattle’s often maligned lineup is second in the majors in road OPS (but 25th at home). For now, with the Mariners fighting for a wild-card spot after being overtaken by the Houston Astros atop the AL West, manager Dan Wilson has to ride his hot hand; given the Mariners’ unexpected rotation issues, they need all the runs they can get.

Can Judge stay this dominant?

In one sense, we already know the answer to this: No. When Judge was hitting .432 on May 3, his BABIP was .512. Since then, it’s a still-lofty .383, but that is more in line with the .367 mark he had last season, when he finished with a .322 average. He has also avoided prolonged droughts; even when he homered just once in a 20-game stretch in April, he still hit .425. Indeed, it feels about time for Judge to launch into another of his patented home run tears. Yankees manager Aaron Boone, like Wilson with Raleigh, is riding the momentum of his star player: Judge hasn’t missed a game, although Boone has started him 18 times at DH.

As for the MVP race between these two AL sluggers, we’ll leave that for deeper into the season. Both players have a higher WAR figure on FanGraphs — where it looks like a tighter race: 6.1 for Judge, 5.6 for Raleigh — than Baseball-Reference. (FanGraphs incorporates catcher framing into its evaluation, a plus for Raleigh, who won the AL’s Platinum Glove last season as best overall defender.) It would be quite the debate: an all-time great season for a hitter against maybe the greatest power season from a catcher (and a good defensive one at that).

For now, sit back and enjoy the slugging.

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What’s ahead in 2025 for Notre Dame, UConn and the Pac-2?

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June 27, 2025

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What's ahead in 2025 for Notre Dame, UConn and the Pac-2?

  • Bill ConnellyJun 27, 2025, 07:07 AM ET

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      Bill Connelly is a writer for ESPN. He covers college football, soccer and tennis. He has been at ESPN since 2019.

Army and Navy are in the AAC. Liberty and New Mexico State landed in Conference USA. UMass decided to head back to the MAC. Sacramento State’s efforts to become an FBS independent aren’t working out. In a year, Oregon State and Washington State will be members of a fully stocked Pac-12 again. (They aren’t really indies now, either, but I’m putting them in here because I didn’t want to write a two-team conference preview.)

The indie party has thinned out significantly in recent years. It looks like we’ll be down to Notre Dame and UConn by next year, and, one of these years maybe those perpetual “UConn to the Big 12?” rumors will actually bear fruit, too. Regardless, these four teams bring loads of storylines to the table. Notre Dame might be more loaded this season than it was during last year’s earlier-than-expected run to the national title game. UConn has restocked after last year’s thrilling (and rather out of nowhere) nine-win campaign. Oregon State’s roster has stabilized after a tumultuous 2024, and Washington State is attempting a complete culture transplant.

Let’s preview 2025’s independents (and the final two-team Pac-12)!

Every week through the summer, Bill Connelly will preview another FBS conference, ultimately including all 136 FBS teams. The previews will include 2024 breakdowns, 2025 previews and team-by-team capsules. Here are the MAC, Conference USA, Mountain West, Sun Belt and AAC previews.

2024 recap

We had a lot of plot lines running here despite a small number of teams. In their first season after watching 10 conference mates (and a bunch of players) depart the Pac-12, Wazzu and Oregon State started strong and collapsed; the former started 8-1 and finished 0-4, while the latter started 4-1 and finished 1-6. Wazzu then lost its head coach and most of its stars as well.

Meanwhile, out East, Jim Mora was engineering UConn’s best season in 14 years while fending off all sorts of transfer portal vultures. Per SP+, the Huskies fielded their best defense since 2015 and their best offense since 2009, and after a pretty clear regular-season split — 0-4 against power conference teams, 8-0 against the Group of 5 — they capped a nine-win campaign with a 27-14 Fenway Bowl thumping of North Carolina.

Oh yeah, and Notre Dame reached the national title game. The Fighting Irish had their line depth tested significantly — only one offensive or defensive lineman started all 16 games — and passed with flying colors. After a shocking loss to NIU in Week 2, they had to win out to reach the CFP and did so, and then they beat Indiana, Georgia and Penn State before a midgame lull in the finals resulted in a 34-23 loss to Ohio State. It’s hard to find new firsts to accomplish in South Bend, but Marcus Freeman got to check the “Notre Dame’s first 14-win season” box.

Continuity table

The continuity table looks at each team’s returning production levels (offense, defense and overall), the number of 2024 FBS starts from returning and incoming players and the approximate number of redshirt freshmen on the roster heading into 2025. (Why “approximate”? Because schools sometimes make it very difficult to ascertain who redshirted and who didn’t.) Continuity is an increasingly difficult art in roster management, but some teams pull it off better than others.

For a title-game finalist, Notre Dame’s continuity is pretty impressive. Freeman didn’t have to do a ton of portal work because his Irish return 10 starters from 2024, plus loads of part-timers and some key injury returnees (namely, left tackle Charles Jagusah and defensive end Jordan Botelho). He plumped up depth at receiver (a necessity) and in the defensive line and secondary, but he stayed in-house to find a replacement for quarterback Riley Leonard. If that proves to be the right call, the Irish will contend again.

Elsewhere, UConn managed to avoid getting completely plucked apart by the aforementioned vultures, and while Wazzu is starting almost completely from scratch, Oregon State has encouraging continuity heading toward the fall.

2025 projections

Notre Dame’s schedule is a strange one: The Irish play projected top-15 teams in each of the first two weeks (at Miami in Week 1, then Texas A&M in Week 2) but don’t play another projected Top 25 team for the rest of the year. If they’re genuinely a title-caliber squad again, the Irish could roll, but all sorts of land mines await — at Arkansas, Boise State, USC, Navy, at Pitt — if their attention drifts.

Out West, OSU and Wazzu did something I enjoy: They arranged a home-and-home. They’ll face off in Corvallis on Nov. 1, then again in Pullman on Nov. 29. (Personally, I think they should make it a best-of-three and play on a neutral site over Championship Week if they split the first two games. Put it in Las Vegas. Call it the “Pac-12 Championship.”)

Notre Dame’s schedule strength will be impacted greatly by how good teams like Arkansas and Boise State turn out to be, but at this moment the Irish are one of the surest playoff contenders on the board. Start 1-1, and you’re in great shape from there. And while UConn does have some roster holes to fill, a schedule featuring nine opponents projected 91st or lower in SP+ should make a third bowl trip in four seasons pretty likely.

Five best games of 2025

Here are the five games involving independents that feature (a) the highest combined SP+ ratings for both teams and (b) a projected scoring margin under 10 points.

Cal at Oregon State (Aug. 30). With seven games projected within a touchdown or less, Oregon State’s season could go in quite a few different directions; the Beavers start out with two of those games, both at home. If they’re 2-0 when they head to Texas Tech in Week 3, they could be on their way to a lovely campaign. If they’re 0-2, well…

Notre Dame at Miami (Aug. 31). The single-digit requirement means that only one Notre Dame game shows up on this list. Even against Texas A&M in Week 2, the Irish are favored by 10.2. But this Week 1 battle is enormous. With a new quarterback and new defense, Miami is going to be a talented mystery right out of the gate. If the Irish survive this challenge, their CFP odds skyrocket.

Washington at Washington State (Sept. 20). With former South Dakota State head coach Jimmy Rogers taking over (and bringing lots of former Jackrabbits with him), Wazzu will be fascinating to follow. The Cougs will have a couple of decent tests before this Week 4 matchup, but the Apple Cup will be Rogers’ first big test to prove his physical identity is taking hold.

Houston at Oregon State (Sept. 27). Trips to Texas Tech and Oregon are likely to produce two OSU losses, which means that this one will represent the official start to Act II of the Beavers’ season. They could be 3-2 after the Houston game, but they could also theoretically be 0-5.

Duke at UConn (Nov. 8). Even if UConn struggles with an almost entirely new starting defense, the schedule is kind enough that the Huskies are never projected double-digit underdogs. Even Duke, the third of three ACC opponents and the best projected team on the schedule, will visit East Hartford as only about an eight-point favorite here.

CFP contenders

Head coach: Marcus Freeman (fourth year, 33-10 overall)

2025 projection: sixth in SP+, 10.5 average wins

Of the top seven teams in the current SP+ projections, only one, No. 3 Penn State, returns its starting quarterback. For that matter, only three of the top 13 teams do. This is part of the reason for what I feel is the relative offseason overhyping of Clemson — quarterback Cade Klubnik is the proverbial bird in hand even though he’s never ranked higher than 13th in Total QBR.

It’s worth remembering, however, that six of the top seven in Total QBR last year (and 10 of the top 12) were first-year starters at their schools of choice. The bird in hand is only preferable until we know which of the new guys is awesome.

CJ Carr might be awesome. The Saline, Michigan, product — and grandson of former Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr — was a top-40 recruit and the No. 2 pocket passer in the class of 2024. He is by most accounts super-smart with a super-strong arm, and he was solid enough this spring that a) Marcus Freeman didn’t feel the need to make any sort of desperate post-spring portal QB acquisition and b) 2024 backup Steve Angeli read the writing on the wall and transferred to Syracuse.

Carr (or, theoretically, sophomore Kenny Minchey) is one of the most important players of the 2025 season in that, if he’s good, Notre Dame might not have a single weakness. For starters, the Irish will have Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price (combined: 1,871 rushing yards, 24 TDs) back at running back. Love is the best returning yards-after-contact back in FBS; only Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty and Miami’s Damien Martinez topped him in 2024, and they’re both now in the NFL.

At receiver, CFP semifinal hero Jaden Greathouse is back in the slot, and while Freeman added fewer transfers than most, he did nab Malachi Fields (Virginia) and Will Pauling (Wisconsin), each of whom averaged more yards per route run than any Notre Dame receiver not named Greathouse. The offensive line overcame rampant injuries and extreme inexperience to play at a high level late last season; it lost two starters to the portal, but that was in part because others, like Charles Jagusah and center Ashton Craig, were likely to start over them. The defense, meanwhile, returns 12 of the 20 players who saw 200-plus snaps last season and welcomes 2023 starting end Jordan Botelho and potentially high-value transfers like tackle Jared Dawson (Louisville) and nickel DeVonta Smith (Alabama).

In a way, Notre Dame’s charge to the 2024 title game came ahead of schedule, as evidenced by the massive number of key returnees who are either juniors (Love, Price, Greathouse, Craig, right tackle Aamil Wagner, defensive end Joshua Burnham, defensive tackle Donovan Hinish, linebackers Drayk Bowen and Jaylen Sneed, cornerback Christian Gray) or sophomores (Jagusah, left tackle Anthonie Knapp, defensive ends Bryce Young and Boubacar Traore, linebackers Jaiden Ausberry and Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, cornerback Leonard Moore, safety Adon Shuler). The passing game produced almost no big plays of note, and the Irish had to rely on long strings of error-free plays to score points, and despite all the youth around Leonard, they got it. And despite having to start 20 different guys at least once on defense, they consistently delivered, especially against the pass.

It was a seasonlong endorsement of what Freeman is building — right down to how this inexperienced Irish team responded to probably the single most shocking result of the season. And now, in theory, this team could continue growing and developing moving forward. As long as it has a QB.

Well, a QB and a defensive coordinator. With Al Golden moving on to the NFL, Freeman replaced him with former Rutgers head coach and Texas (among others) defensive coordinator Chris Ash. Ash and Golden are awfully similar from a résumé perspective — once up-and-comers, they were both relative failures as head coaches who spent time in the pros before landing in South Bend. But Golden’s overall track record as a head coach and coordinator was a little bit stronger, and the last time Ash was part of either a top-10 NFL defense or a top-40 college defense was 2015. Freeman’s presence assures a pretty high floor, Ash will have lots of fun toys to play with, and Freeman has quickly earned the benefit of the doubt. But it was hard to love this hire.

The schedule does present one extra obstacle: Not only will the Irish obviously need good quarterback play from an inexperienced player, but thanks to the two best projected opponents showing up in the first two weeks of the season, they’ll need it immediately. This roster positively screams “major national title contender in 2026,” but the Irish’s status as a 2025 contender will be determined by how quickly Carr (or Minchey!) looks the part and whether or not Ash can immediately thrive.

Everyone else

Head coach: Jim Mora (fourth year, 18-20 overall)

2025 projection: 84th in SP+, 7.4 average wins

You’re forgiven if you didn’t see this coming. Lord knows I didn’t. Jim Mora’s UConn tenure began with a massive surge from 1-11 to 6-7 in 2022, but the underlying stats suggested it was awfully fluky, and the Huskies crashed to 3-9 in 2023, then began 2024 with a 50-7 faceplant against Maryland.

Following that terrible trip to College Park, however, they ignited, winning nine of their final 12 games, losing to three ACC teams (Duke, Wake Forest and Syracuse) by a combined 15 points and beating everyone else on the docket. The offense dealt with ups and downs but got over 2,200 rushing yards and 18 TDs from a trio of backs — one of whom, Cam Edwards (830 yards, 5.7 per carry), returns — and random big plays from receiver Skyler Bell (who also returns). Under first-year coordinator Matt Brock, meanwhile, the defense basically started and ended drives brilliantly: The Huskies ranked first nationally in three-and-out rate (42.4%), fourth in third-down conversion rate allowed (29.1%) and eighth in red zone touchdown rate allowed (46.5%).

A lot of key components return in 2025: Mora, Brock, Edwards, Bell, quarterbacks Joe Fagnano and Nick Evers, four part- or full-time starting offensive linemen and a pair of excellent DBs in nickel D’Mon Brinson and sophomore corner Cam Chadwick. But when a mid-major team surprises in the mid-2020s, the vultures quickly start hovering. UConn lost four starters to power conference transfers, including three from the dynamite D. In all, of the 13 defenders who started at least four games, Brinson and Chadwick are the only returnees.

Mora tried to strike back the best he could in the portal. He landed 26 transfers in all, including smaller school standouts like running back MJ Flowers (Eastern Illinois), 6-foot-7 offensive lineman Hayden Bozich (Brown), defensive linemen Marquis Black (Gardner-Webb) and Stephon Wright (Texas Southern) and corners Kolubah Pewee Jr. (Georgetown) and Sammy Anderson Jr. (Austin Peay). He also might have identified a potential inefficiency by searching for either guys who were semi-proven but injured in 2024 — receivers Naiem Simmons (USF) and Caleb Burton III (Auburn) — or players like receiver Reymello Murphy (Arizona/ODU), receiver Thai Chiaokhiao-Bowman (Rice/Florida) and linebacker Bryun Parham (Washington/SJSU), multitime transfers who have fallen off of other teams’ radars after nondescript 2024 campaigns.

Mora has been pretty open and interesting regarding his thoughts on the transfer portal, the loyalty of players and whatnot, and in this increasingly transient college football environment, he’s made a lot of astute moves. The defense lost enough players that regression is conceivable, but a more experienced offense (and replenished receiving corps) could pick up the slack, and there are lots of potential wins on the schedule. The outlook for this program flipped quickly.

Head coach: Trent Bray (second year, 5-7 overall)

2025 projection: 73rd in SP+, 6.6 average wins

There are always going to be haves and have-nots in college football, but for a lot of us, it doesn’t seem like too much to ask for some semblance of fairness. If a program invests and hires smartly and puts a strong product on the field, it should be rewarded with more or better opportunities to prove itself, whether it is a historic powerhouse or not.

What happened to Oregon State and Washington State, then, will never sit particularly well. Jonathan Smith returned to his alma mater at a low point — OSU was 1-11 and 120th in SP+ the year before he arrived — and slowly built it into a top-30 program. The Beavers won 18 games with an average SP+ ranking of 23.5 in 2022-23. They beat Oregon and walloped Florida to finish 2022 and beat Utah (which then left for the Big 12), Cal (ACC), UCLA (Big Ten), Colorado (Big 12) and Stanford (ACC) in 2023. And they were rewarded for this turnaround by losing their power conference status … and eventually their head coach and 19 starters, too. With former defensive coordinator Trent Bray taking over in 2024, the Beavers flashed offensive potential and ran the ball well, but a decimated defense allowed at least 31 points seven times and plummeted from 35th to 107th in defensive SP+. The Beavers’ record fell accordingly.

While I can whine about fairness — and boy, do I! — Bray doesn’t have that luxury. He’s tasked with winning games no matter the situation, and he might have crafted a team that can do so in 2025. He held onto the offense’s two best players (running back Anthony Hankerson and wideout Trent Walker) and added former blue-chippers in quarterback Maalik Murphy (Duke) and tight ends Riley Williams (Miami) and Jackson Bowers (BYU), plus a number of offensive line transfers. On defense, he added six transfers to a lineup that returns 14 of the 21 players who started at least once. Edge rusher Nikko Taylor (nine TFLs) is excellent, 345-pound senior tackle Jacob Schuster is a keeper and sophomores like tackles Thomas Collins and Jojo Johnson, edge rusher Zakaih Saez, nickel Sailasa Vadrawale III and corner Exodus Ayers posted decent numbers in small samples. There aren’t any no-brainer successes among the incoming transfers, but edge rusher Walker Harris (Southern Utah) has the size to succeed.

As mentioned above, the schedule offers lots of win opportunities but few guarantees. The Beavers are projected to win 6.6 games on average, but thanks to the high number of close games, they have both a 7% chance of going 4-8 or worse and a 10% chance of going 9-3 or better. If Murphy and Walker form a strong rapport early on, and OSU gets past Cal and Fresno State to start the season, this could be a pretty fun fall in Corvallis. Of course, the opposite is also on the table.

Head coach: Jimmy Rogers (first year)

2025 projection: 82nd in SP+, 5.6 average wins

Wazzu’s 2024 season didn’t go off the rails the same way that OSU’s did. Despite losing quarterback Cam Ward and most of his skill corps — and despite watching Ward damn near win the Heisman and become the No. 1 pick while at Miami — Jake Dickert’s Cougars actually jumped to 22nd in offensive SP+ thanks to a new set of stars like quarterback John Mateer and freshman running back Wayshawn Parker. They beat back-to-back power conference foes, including Apple Cup rival Washington, during an 8-1 start, too. Defense and special teams were both pretty dire, which became particularly costly during four late losses, but they still improved by three wins. It could have been worse.

Of course, it then got worse. Dickert left for Wake Forest, and a whopping 60 Cougars eventually entered the transfer portal, including Mateer (Oklahoma) and Parker (Utah). Only three returning Cougs started more than two games last season; this roster has been stripped to the studs.

It’s been rebuilt with Jackrabbits. Former South Dakota State head man Jimmy Rogers took over and eventually brought 16 SDSU transfers with him. The success of the SDSU program and the volume of incoming Jacks made Wazzu one of the sport’s more interesting teams to me this spring: “Running backs Angel Johnson, Kirby Vorhees and Maxwell Woods combined to rush for 1,403 yards at 7.2 per carry at SDSU last year; they’re all Cougs now. So are defensive backs Tucker Large, Caleb Francl, Matthew Durrance and Colby Humphrey, who combined for 215 tackles, 14 TFLs, 7 interceptions and 20 breakups. This sort of culture transplant has produced both immediate brilliance (Curt Cignetti’s incredible Indiana turnaround in 2024) and the exact opposite (Jay Norvell went just 5-16 in his first two seasons at Colorado State after bringing double-digit transfers from Nevada). A good player culture is finicky and unpredictable, but if Pullman can become Brookings West in that regard, success will follow.”

Walking through the new Wazzu roster, position by position, there’s plenty to like. Quarterback Zevi Eckhaus looked good in relief of Mateer last season, the SDSU running back trio is absolutely dynamite, slot receiver Josh Meredith is a keeper, the offensive line returns two starters and maybe New Mexico State’s best player (guard AJ Vaipulu), the defensive line welcomes eight new transfers (including maybe NMSU’s second-best player, end Buddha Peleti), linebacker Keith Brown was a small-sample box-score filler last year, and the SDSU transplants in the secondary should hold up nicely. But there’s so much turnover that SP+ isn’t really keeping the faith: The Cougs are projected to fall to 82nd. That obviously comes with some massive potential variance, though, and it wouldn’t take much overachievement to flip a lot of games from toss-ups to wins. This is going to be a fascinating experiment.

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Sources: Texas State closing on move to Pac-12

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June 27, 2025

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Sources: Texas State closing on move to Pac-12

Texas State is in the final steps of accepting an invitation to the Pac-12, as it has initiated the process of calling a board of regents meeting for Monday to complete the move, sources confirmed to ESPN.

Texas State officials began alerting Sun Belt officials of its formal offer to the Pac-12 and plans to accept, sources said. The Pac-12 and Texas State are expected to finalize the process soon, and the move will happen for the 2026-27 school year for all sports, according to sources. An announcement of the move isn’t expected before Monday.

It takes 72 hours to call a board of regents meeting in the Texas system, according to the state of Texas open meeting laws. By calling the meeting officially Friday, it allows Texas State to have the final meeting Monday.

This will mark the final steps in the courtship of Texas State to the Pac-12. The Bobcats have loomed as the heavy favorite to join the league for months as the eighth football-playing member. (Gonzaga is the league’s ninth member but doesn’t have football.)

The move came down to the final days of a key pressure point for Texas State, as the school’s exit fee to join the Pac-12 for 2026 doubles from $5 million to $10 million on July 1. With formal board approval needed to pay the exit fee and avoid the increase, Texas State’s invitation needed to come at some point this week.

The Pac-12 needed an eighth football member to operate as an FBS conference in 2026. The Bobcats will join Oregon State, Washington State, Boise State, San Diego State, Colorado State, Utah State and Fresno State.

Texas State’s addition hints at the school’s athletic potential and also gives the Pac-12 a niche in the football-rich state of Texas. The school has more than 40,000 students and is situated between Austin and San Antonio.

The Bobcats are coming off back-to-back 8-5 football seasons, which included two bowl wins under head coach G.J. Kinne. Texas State opens the 2025 season against Eastern Michigan, and its first game as a Pac-12 member will be at Texas in 2026.

The Austin Sports Journal was first to report the news of Texas State initiating the final steps for its move to the Pac-12.

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