Is Notre Dame the new Portal King? Whats going on at Texas A&M? Plus, bowl rankings
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Is your team getting what it needs in the transfer portal? We’ll check in with Max Olson today on the portal’s highs and lows.
Portal Daily Board
Texas QB on the move
Newest entries:
Movement and commitments:
Notre Dame up, Texas A&M down
Could Notre Dame be the new Portal King? I asked Max for answers.
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Who’s winning portal season?
Olson: I’ve been impressed by Notre Dame so far. The Fighting Irish went out and got the QB they wanted in Leonard, have picked up two quality receivers in FIU’s Kris Mitchell and Clemson’s Beaux Collins, added one of the most experienced DBs in the portal in Arizona State’s Jordan Clark and just landed Oben on Wednesday. Oklahoma, Texas Tech, South Carolina and Kentucky are four more programs whose early transfer hauls have stood out, and Colorado deserves credit for how rapidly it has addressed its glaring need on the offensive line with five newcomers.
Who’s losing portal season?
Olson: For programs going through coaching changes, the start of the portal season can be painful. Texas A&M has lost some key young players (DL Walter Nolen, DL LT Overton, OL Chase Bisontis) among its 14 scholarship players in the portal. Michigan State has 21 scholarship players currently in the portal, and Indiana has 25. All three programs probably will need to seriously invest in portal recruiting in the months ahead to replace what they’re losing.
Ranking the Bowls
Pick your favorites
Our game rankings expert, Justin Williams, took the liberty of ranking every 2023 bowl game from 1 through 41 today. Check out the full rankings here, but in the meantime, I picked out a couple of contenders that could shine above their ranking.
- Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl: Ranked No. 32 on Justin’s list, this is a matchup of former Big East foes in Rutgers (6-6) and Miami (7-5). The Scarlet Knights got a huge boost when tailback Kyle Monangai, the Big Ten’s leading rusher in 2023, announced he will play in this game and return next season. And we still can’t get over Miami’s kneel-gate this season. Who knows what the Canes could pull to try to wash that from our 2023 season memory.
- Starco Brands LA Bowl: Ranked No. 24 on Justin’s list, UCLA (7-5) vs. Boise State (8-5) could cap new Broncos coach Spencer Danielson’s year in the best way possible. Danielson was elevated to full-time coach after leading the Broncos to three consecutive wins and the Mountain West championship (the first interim coach in FBS history to win a conference title). The Bruins will be without starting QB Dante Moore, who entered the portal. How about some more history, Coach Danielson?
In today’s Until Saturday poll, it’s time for bowl superlatives. Vote for your favorites here. What’s the best name? The best food tradition? And more.
Quick Snaps
Speaking of bowls, will they be able to reinvent themselves in the College Football Playoff era? With expansion looming, Scott Dochterman investigates what’s next for the postseason tradition … and why the Duke’s Mayo Bowl may be ahead of the curve.
On today’s Until Saturday podcast, the crew breaks down the recruiting drama that is brewing at Nebraska and Georgia. Could five-star Dawgs commit Dylan Raiola actually flip to the Huskers?
Miami hosted transfer QBs Will Howard and Cam Ward (Washington State) this week. Manny Navarro takes a deep dive into the Hurricanes’ roster with the portal season in full swing and the early signing period less than a week away.
Notre Dame’s Joe Alt officially opted out of the Sun Bowl against Oregon State and declared for the NFL Draft (following his QB, Sam Hartman). According to The Athletic’s Dane Brugler, Alt is the most well-rounded OL in the draft class and recently was projected to be picked fourth by the Chicago Bears.
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(Photo of Maalik Murphy: Chris Leduc / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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