College football’s version of the Final Four is here and there are no signs of Alabama, Ohio State, Georgia, Michigan, LSU, Texas, Penn State, Notre Dame or Oklahoma. Instead, the last group still standing consists of Ole Miss, Indiana, Oregon and Miami and three of the four teams didn’t even qualify for their conference championship games.
What’s going on here?
As it turns out, NIL and the transfer portal, that some contend are destroying the game, have only created more contenders. There is more parity than ever before. Programs without much of a football history are on the brink of making some.
Indiana is a renowned basketball school, but with access to the transfer portal and the ability to invest in players, the Hoosiers are winning in football. No. 1 Indiana not only beat No. 2 Ohio State to win its first outright Big Ten championship since 1945, but they also routed No. 9 Alabama in the Rose Bowl for their first bowl victory in 34 years. Quarterback Fernando Mendoza also became the first Hoosier in history to win the Heisman Trophy.
When have you ever heard of a top football target saying ‘No’ to Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State and ‘Yes’ to Indiana? It’s happening right before our eyes.
Ole Miss is still without an SEC title since 1963, but empowered by today’s new rules, the Rebels amassed enough talent to eliminate league heavyweight Georgia from the playoffs — even while their former head coach Lane Kiffin watched from his new job at LSU.
Oregon, with its rich banker — Phil Knight, founder of Nike, has never won a football national championship. Miami has won five national titles, but none since 2001 and they haven’t won a conference championship since 2003.
With rosters constructed around NIL and the transfer portal, all four programs are not only playing for a shot to be No. 1 this month, but they are fortified to hang around for a while. The blue bloods no longer have a monopoly on the nation’s best players.
For other examples of how the rule changes have leveled the playing field, just look at No. 4 Texas Tech, No. 14 Vanderbilt and No. 12 BYU. The Red Raiders may have bought their way out of obscurity, but in short time and with an excellent head coach, Texas Tech is likely to finish the season ranked higher than No. 13 Texas and No. 7 Texas A&M and begin next year the same way.
Vanderbilt lost its bowl game to Iowa, but before that, the Commodores (10-2) went to Knoxville and blew out Tennessee 45-24. They beat the Vols with better players — something unseen around the Volunteer State before NIL and the transfer portal. It’s not just football. Vandy is the only program in the nation that is still undefeated in both men’s and women’s basketball.
BYU was playing as a football independent when both the transfer portal (2018) and NIL (2021) were approved by the NCAA. At the time, the fear was whether the Cougars could or would even try to survive.
Two major developments followed. First, BYU was invited to join the Big 12 beginning in the 2023 season. Second, school leaders and its fan base committed to do what was necessary to be competitive, and the Board of Trustees concurred so long as athletics remained self-funded and true to the university’s core values.
How is that working out?
Men’s basketball is currently 14-1, ranked No. 9 in the country and showcasing freshman AJ Dybantsa — the projected top pick in next year’s NBA draft. Last season, BYU reached the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011. To keep it going, the Cougars quickly extended head coach Kevin Young’s contract.
Football is a combined 22-4 over the last two seasons with victories over ranked P4 opponents in both the Alamo Bowl and Pop-Tarts Bowl. More people watched the Cougars on television in those two games than any previous BYU broadcast in the modern era.
The Cougars extended head coach Kalani Sitake’s contract to 10 years and the following day, Sitake signed the program’s highest-rated recruiting class in history.
Truth be told, NIL and the transfer portal aren’t stumbling blocks for BYU at all. In fact, they are just the opposite — more like fertilizer for what the Cougars are growing. The ability to attract talent to the embedded culture, with the resources to support them, gives every team on campus a chance to succeed.
BYU doesn’t get or keep every player or coach, but they get enough and their all-important investor — Cougar Nation is all-in. Wherever BYU goes, the loyal crowds follow.
NIL and the transfer portal don’t function perfectly and still need some national oversight, but when it comes to the Cougars, they are tailor-made to keep them competitive just as they have helped Indiana, Miami, Oregon and Ole Miss, who are about to give college football a refreshingly new national champion.
Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.com