How important is it to nail the transfer portal? Just look at the College Football Playoff's final four teams

Utilizing the portal efficiently pays dividends -- all you have to do it look at the teams left standing in the national championship race

There is so much transfer portal news right now it can he hard to keep up. All the players hitting the portal, all the campus visits, all the commitments. It can feel like one big blur as rosters change seemingly overnight. Wait ... he's on that team now?!

But if you ever needed a reason to believe in the importance of the transfer portal, go ahead and look at 247Sports' top five ranked transfer portal classes from last year. No. 1 was LSU, which clearly didn't pan out the way Brian Kelly hoped, although the big additions like Mansoor Delane mostly did.

However, let's have a look at Nos. 2-5 ...

• No. 2 Texas Tech
• No. 3 Miami
• No. 4 Ole Miss
• No. 5 Oregon

Three of those four programs will play in the College Football Playoff semifinals this week. The other, Texas Tech, lost in an Orange Bowl quarterfinal to Oregon.

The other semifinalist not listed, Indiana, added the most impactful transfer of any program in Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza. Notre Dame transfer center Pat Coogan, Maryland running back Roman Hemby, Kent State edger rusher Stephen Daley and Ole Miss safety Louis Moore all played big roles this season. 

When you tell the stories of how those programs made it to this moment, the portal played a big role.

Where would Ole Miss be without the star 1-2 punch of quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and running back Kewan Lacy? Not only have both been revelations in Oxford this season, but both were the results of keen evaluations. Chambliss' story is well-known terrain at this point, arriving as an expected backup from Division-II Ferris State. But Lacy, too, far exceeded expectations after rushing for all of 104 yards on 23 carries for Missouri the prior year. 

It, of course, doesn't end there for Ole Miss -- starting center Patrick Kutas, multiple wide receivers including Trey Wallace and De'Zhaun Stribling, leading sacker Princewell Umanmielen and others all played big roles for the Rebels this season. 

Ole Miss' Fiesta Bowl opponent, Miami, built a star-studded transfer class in 2025, including Georgia quarterback Carson Beck, Houston cornerback Keionte Scott, TCU center James Brockermeyer and Wisconsin defensive back Xavier Lucas. Brockermeyer (first team) and Scott (second team) both made the CBS Sports All-America team for the Hurricanes this season. Interestingly, 11 players in total that were brought in by those top five portal teams this season made our All-America team. 

At Oregon, which plays Indiana in Friday's Peach Bowl, it's a similar story in how transfers have shaped the season. Oregon's leading passer (Dante Moore), rusher (Noah Whittington), receiver (Malik Benson), second-leading tackler (Dillon Thieneman) and multiple starting offensive linemen are all transfers. 

There are certainly risks with putting too much of an emphasis on the transfer portal. Florida State, which landed the No. 6 transfer class a year ago, proves that point. The smartest programs use it as a way to accentuate their talent, to zero in on specific areas that a specific player is better than anyone else on the roster, rather than having to do a massive roster overhaul through the portal every cycle. How teams deploy their financial resources has never been more paramount, especially with the massive costs that come with shopping in the elite aisles of the portal. 

It's still early in the portal cycle, but it does give us clues to which teams could be good again next season. Matt Campbell's Iowa State raid has given Penn State the No. 1 transfer class so far. New Oklahoma State coach Eric Morris kickstarted the Cowboys' rebuilding efforts with quarterback Drew Mestemaker and running back Caleb Hawkins that he brought with him from North Texas.

After 1–11 season, Oklahoma State looks to Indiana's roster-rebuild blueprint

Shehan Jeyarajah

And then there are some familiar names. 

No. 3 Indiana has crushed the early portal period so far. The Hoosiers found their quarterback of the future in TCU's Josh Hoover, one of the most highly desired (and expensive) QBs to hit the market. The Hoosiers then beat out Notre Dame for Michigan State transfer receiver Nick Marsh (No. 25 overall) and multiple big programs for Kansas State edge rusher Tobi Osunsanmi. 

No. 4 Oklahoma, another playoff participant, added key pieces like Virginia transfer receiver Trell Harris.

No. 5 Texas Tech added what is believed to be the most expensive player this cycle thus far in Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby in the neighborhood of $5 million plus incentives to make more. The Red Raiders are committed to spending big to make this year's playoff splash much more than a one-hit wonder. The big spends a year ago like David Bailey worked out wonderfully in Lubbock, making Cody Campbell and Co. even more bullish about the future. 

Then, at No. 6 is Ole Miss. The Rebels don't even get credit in that ranking for the hardest portal work they've done which has been keeping stars like Chambliss (pending an NCAA waiver) and Lacy away from entering the portal and going to LSU. New head coach Pete Golding has done a terrific job of not only holding onto the talent that has Ole Miss a win away from a national championship appearance, but also adding hotly recruited talent like Florida defensive linemen Michai Boireau, Auburn cornerback Jay Crawford and Colorado defensive linemen Jeheim Oatis. If Golding and his staff make this special run sustainable, it'll be because of week's like this one. 

As you watch this week's games, you'll see players all over the field making plays. And as you do so, remember that there's a good chance you'll be doing the same a year from now with the players being acquired this week.