The new college football landscape is dictated by the transfer portal.
Indiana and Miami have shown they can master the transfer window, and they will now battle for the College Football Playoff national championship on Jan. 19 at Hard Rock Stadium.
24 hours ago, Steve Sarkisian’s Texas program was on the verge of being overrun by angry Longhorns fans demanding a change. Arch Manning had committed to stay for what is likely his last year of college ball, but they’d whiffed on numerous top transfer talents and were bleeding out in terms of roster depth.
But personifying how wacky and wild the transfer portal can be, there might not be a bigger winner of the 15-day transfer window thus far than Sarkisian after Sunday’s bombshells.
Not only did the Longhorns lock down the consensus best wide receiver of the portal, Cam Coleman, formerly of Auburn, but they then went out and pulled off an even greater coup.
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Kalen DeBoer, like Sarkisian, was having a rough transfer portal season. Still, he had recruited top running back Hollywood Smothers from NC State and was seen as a favorite for the wideout Coleman.
Then, on Sunday, not only did Coleman go to Austin, but Smothers, in a crazy move, flipped his recruitment from Alabama to Texas. Over the course of a few hours, Texas landed what could be the best wide receiver and the best running back to pair with Arch Manning going into the 2026 season.
After this move, the Longhorns now possess a significant amount of sway heading into the second week of the 15-day window, with three offensive stars to attract more talent.
In Tuscaloosa, however, the heat is now directly under DeBoer, who is coming off the worst point differential loss Alabama has suffered in a quarter-century while also watching their prized signing flip to an SEC rival.
The transfer portal officially closes on Jan. 16, 2026.
