Ohio State ’s Ryan Day, Texas’ Steve Sarkisian, Notre Dame ’s Marcus Freeman and Penn State ’s James Franklin are the final four. None has won a national championship as a head coach, making this season the third out of the last four in which the title will go to a head coach who has never won one.

Two Ohio State Buckeyes football players are hitting the NCAA's transfer portal, days before the College Football Playoff semifinals against No. 5 Texas. Ohio State, the No. 8 seed in the College Football Playoff,

That pair, and others like it, became part of notable trend in the 2024-25 bowl season: 21 of the 30 non-Playoff bowls that aired on an ESPN network through Jan. 2 saw year-over-year viewership increases, the majority of them by 20 percent or more.

John Mateer, Darian Mensah, Eric Singleton Jr. and Fernando Mendoza are among the best players who have entered the transfer portal. Here are our rankings.

The latest NCAA transfer portal period, fueled by NIL opportunities, has brought unprecedented movement in college football. Between December 9 and December 28, over 2,000 players switched teams, according to CBS Sports.