Transfer Portal Winners and Losers: Which Programs Actually Won the Offseason
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The 2026 college football season will kick off on August 29, and several teams believe they will win the national championship in January.
The college football offseason has become massively important due to the transfer portal, as teams can become true title contenders by landing the right players.
Ahead of the 2026 college football season, here are the winners and losers from the transfer portal.
Transfer Portal Winners
Miami Hurricanes Rebuilt Its Entire Defense and Found Its Next Quarterback
The Miami Hurricanes lost in the national championship a year ago, and head coach Mario Cristobal did a fantastic job of recouping talent in the transfer portal.
Miami lost several impact players to the NFL, like QB Carson Beck, pass rushers Rueben Bain Jr., and Akheem Mesidor, star nickelback Keionte Scott, and safety Jakobe Thomas. Yet, the Hurricanes did a good job replacing them.
Miami landed one of the top returning quarterbacks in Darian Mensah from Duke. Along with Mensah, his No. 1 receiver, Cooper Barkate, also committed to the Hurricanes to form a dominant one-two punch with Malachi Toney.
Lane Kiffin Turned LSU's Transfer Portal Into a Weapon Before Coaching a Single Game
The LSU Tigers were able to land Lane Kiffin as their head coach from Ole Miss, and he did wonders in the transfer portal.
Kiffin and the Tigers landed 40 players from the portal, headlined by eight starters from Power 4 programs and another four from the Group of 6 ranks. The biggest was getting Arizona State Sun Devils starting quarterback Sam Leavitt, who was arguably the top quarterback available in the portal.
Kiffin and LSU also got a commitment from USC QB Husan Longstreet to add depth and competition to the position.
The Tigers also brought in Jordan Seaton (Colorado), who should start at left tackle and likely be the top left tackle in the country. Some other notable players the Tigers were able to land are DL Malik Blocton (Auburn), DL Stephiylan Green (Clemson), LB TJ Dottery (Ole Miss), and S Ty Benefield (Boise State). Pass rushers Princewill Umanmielen (Ole Miss) and Jordan Ross (Tennessee) also joined LSU from the portal to bolster the defense.
Defending Champs Lost Their QB1 to the Draft and Found One Anyway
The Indiana Hoosiers won the national championship a year ago and saw quarterback Fernando Mendoza be selected first overall in the 2026 NFL Draft.
However, Curt Cignetti and the Hoosiers did a great job in the transfer portal. Indiana landed quarterback Josh Hoover from TCU to stabilize the position. The Hoosiers also landed former Boston College running back Turbo Richard.
Nick Marsh (Michigan State) and Shazz Preston (Tulane) will bolster the wide receiver position.
On defense, Indiana landed notable commitments from edge rushers Chiddi Obiazor (Kansas State) and Joshua Burnham (Notre Dame), cornerback A.J. Harris (Penn State), and safety Jiquan Sanks (Cincinnati).
Transfer Portal Losers
Texas Tech Portal Win Turned Into a Nightmare Before a Single Snap
The Texas Tech Red Raiders appeared to be in the winners' category as the school once again flashed its massive budget and brought in several impact players.
At the time, none was bigger than quarterback Brendan Sorsby, who was one of the top quarterbacks available. Texas Tech seemed to be a good quarterback away from being a true title contender last year, and Sorsby was set to be the answer.
However, Sorsby was involved in a gambling scandal, as he checked himself into rehab, and admitted he bet on games while he was redshirting at Indiana. He was deemed ineligible by the NCAA, and now the Red Raiders have a major question mark at quarterback.
Auburn Tigers House Got Emptied and the Rebuild Starts From Scratch
The Auburn Tigers hired Alex Golesh as their head coach, and his first year in the transfer portal didn't go his way.
Auburn lost star wide receiver Cam Coleman, along with former five-star quarterback Deuce Knight, after Golesh brought in Byrum Brown.
Overall, the Tigers lost 36 players, including wide receivers Eric Singleton Jr. (Florida), Malcolm Williams (Texas Tech), linebacker Robert Woodyard (Missouri), cornerbacks Kayin Lee (Tennessee), Jay Crawford (Ole Miss), edge Amaris Williams (Georgia), and D-lineman Malik Blocton (LSU).
Auburn will be in tough in the very deep SEC.
This story was originally published by Lindys Sports on Jun 26, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add Lindys Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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