How Ohio State’s Notre Dame Used the Transfer Portal to Reach the 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship

There are many ways to approach the transfer portal in college football. Ultimately, though, they generally go one of two ways: Transfers are either fundamental to roster construction or accentuate what’s already in place.

Ohio State And Notre Dame undoubtedly fall into this latter category before the 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship Gamewhich begins next Monday in Atlanta at 7:30 p.m. ET.

During a 2024 transfer cycle in which 53 of 68 Power Four teams (77.9%) — plus Notre Dame — have made double-digit transfers, the Buckeyes (seven) and Fighting Irish (nine) have been much more selective than most.

They can afford it, given that they are both in the top 10 in the league. 247Composite of sports team talents; The Buckeyes and Irish have combined for seven top 10 classes between 2021 and 2024.

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Yet what Ohio State and Notre Dame lacked in volume, both sides made up for in quality with transfers playing vital roles on both of their depth charts.