A lot of experts correctly note that that college football has undergone a profound sea change in recent years. No f*cking kidding! Before NIL and the transfer portal, the Alabamas of the world could stockpile stellar recruiting classes on top of each other. Such reality meant that the caste system in college football was firmly in place.
Such talent imbalance still happens but the underdog now has more remedies. Recruiting rankings implied that Alabama should have been a huge favorite over Indiana. The Crimoson Tide had no less than 57 players who had been tabbed as 4-star or 5-star recruits. Indiana had only 8. Final score: IU 38, Alabama 3 in a blowout! How is this huanly possible?
IU Coach Curt Cignetti had to be a fantastic talent evaluator in all his transfer portal pickups the past 2 years. Nothing short of breathtaking. The Cignetti mantra: “I take production over potential.”
As brilliant as Cignetti is in all facets, he does not stand alone in the realm of awesome talent evaluation. Whatever one thinks of the mercurial Lane Kiffin, transfer additions have propelled Ole Miss in recent years. Consider their 2 superstars in the backfield, Trinidad Chambliss and Kewan Lacy. Chambliss was recruited out of D-2 Ferris State to be a backup as Oxford local, Austin Simmons, was bequeathed the QB job. Then, Simmons got hurt as he proceeded to become the 21st century version of Wally Pipp. Lacy was an underutilized running back on 2024’s Mizzou squad, being limited to a paltry 24 carries. Missouri had stars in its eyes when they garnered one of the most coveted transfer portal jewels in ULM’s Ahmad Hardy. Impact on Lacy: :Goodbye Columbis, Hello Oxford.
There would be great irony if the two biggest winners in the transfer portal met each other for the national championship. In the upside down, bizarro world of college football, that would be quite fitting!