‘Everyone Has Hope Now,’ ‘Chaos Era’ — CFB World Divided Over Role of Transfer Portal, NIL in Current Success Stories

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Stewart Mandel, editor-in-chief of college football coverage for The Athletic, wrote Saturday on X that every program has hope now, no matter how bad its previous season was.

His examples were Oklahoma State, UCLA and Kentucky, and his formula was the right coach plus the right transfer portal additions. All three schools have first-year coaches and had losing records in 2025. However, his enthusiasm wasn’t shared by the whole college football world.

UCLA, Oklahoma State, and Kentucky Rebound Under New Coaches

“Everyone has hope now,” Mandel wrote. “Doesn’t matter how bad you were the year before. Ok State, UCLA, Kentucky. The right coach + the right portal guys.”

UCLA hired coach Bob Chesney on Dec. 6, 2025, after he led James Madison to a 12-2 record and a College Football Playoff berth. The Bruins he inherited had won three games that season.

On Saturday, UCLA won at Autzen Stadium for the first time since 2004 as Oregon turned the ball over seven times, five on lost fumbles. Pro Football Network’s College Football Playoff Meter gives the Bruins a 46.8% chance to make the playoff as of Saturday.

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Wayne Knight, a James Madison transfer, ran for 103 yards and a 35-yard touchdown, then caught a 9-yard scoring pass from backup Ty Dieffenbach after starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava was sidelined by a leg injury. Knight’s PFN Impact grade of 95.9 entering Saturday made him the top-ranked running back of 369 graded and qualified in the FBS this season.

“This is not the normal UCLA,” Chesney said in a CBS postgame interview.

“The transfer portal giveth and it taketh but right now it giveth,” one fan replied to Mandel.

According to On3, Chesney signed 42 transfers while keeping Iamaleava, and Oklahoma State coach Eric Morris brought a core of players with him from North Texas, including quarterback Drew Mestemaker and running back Caleb Hawkins. Morris inherited a team that went 1-11 in 2025.

Mestemaker went 19 of 28 for 304 yards and two touchdowns against UCF and ran for another score. The Cowboys, who lost at Tulsa in their opener, beat then-No. 6 Oregon 39-31 on Sept. 12. “We’re finding ways to win, a lot to clean up though,” Morris said.

Kentucky went 5-7 in 2025, and coach Will Stein rebuilt the roster largely through the portal. The Wildcats won 35-34 in overtime at South Carolina a week ago, making Stein the first Kentucky coach to win his first two SEC road games.

“I think because of me, to be honest,” Stein said at SEC media days in July when asked why he believed he could win at Kentucky.

“I can’t believe people argue this ruins college sports,” another fan wrote.

Critics Question Quick Turnarounds as Indiana Keeps Winning

Others argued exactly that. “I hate to break it to you, but that’s also the end of the sport,” one critic replied, pointing to schools seeking new staffs in October and fans who feel detached from schools and players.

On3’s Pete Nakos made a related point Tuesday, writing that the ability to win quickly has reframed the timelines coaches get and that first-year coaches who aren’t winning may not get four seasons to catch up.

By On3’s count, 13 of 17 first-year coaches at Power Four schools were above .500 heading into Week 6. Florida, under first-year coach Jon Sumrall, started 4-0 but has since lost two straight, including a 38-19 home loss to South Carolina on Saturday.

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One college football fan referred to the current college football landscape as being in its “chaos era.”

“The trick is doing it more than once — after the year ends the kids graduate or transfer and the assistants get poached and then you’re Indiana wondering if you can beat Nebraska,” another critic wrote.

Indiana is a familiar reference point. Curt Cignetti led the Hoosiers to 11 wins and a playoff berth in his first season, then to a perfect season and a national title in 2025. Oregon coach Dan Lanning said before Saturday’s game that UCLA reminded him of last year’s Indiana.

No. 7 Indiana beat Nebraska 20-17 in Lincoln on Saturday to move to 6-0.

UCLA opens a three-game homestand Oct. 17 against Wisconsin at the Rose Bowl, and PFN’s College Football Playoff Meter gives the Bruins a 67.1% chance to win that game.

Oklahoma State visits Houston the same day, and Morris said his team has to be ready for a long stretch. “There’s no more bye weeks, you know, here we go with seven straight, and we gotta be tough enough to handle those situations.”

This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.

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