These Group of Five teams boosted College Football Playoff hopes with strong transfer portal hauls

The NCAA transfer portal both gives and takes away from Group of Five programs. While schools at that level are liable to lose their top players to Power Four programs every year, the portal also allows those same schools to fill the holes by snagging athletes that may not have panned out at other programs or rising stars from the FCS level. 

This ability to rebuild a roster with experienced players is especially important in a 12-team College Football Playoff era where the Group of Five is guaranteed at least one automatic bid. Last season, Boise State rode star running back Ashton Jeanty to a Mountain West championship and a first-round bye in the playoff. 

While the increased opportunity is great, especially since the Group of Five was largely excluded from the previous playoff format, it still means that 65 teams are all essentially vying for one postseason spot. That makes proper utilization of the portal, where a team can immediately upgrade its roster, even more important.

With that in mind, here’s a look at four Group of Five programs that boosted their College Football Playoff stock with strong transfer portal hauls entering the 2025 season. 

James Madison coach Bob Chesney is no stranger to the postseason — he led Holy Cross to four FCS Playoff appearances and guided the Dukes to their first bowl win in program history last season — and JMU’s outlook should only improve as Chesney continues to build the roster in his image. His squad looks like a real…

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Author : Will Backus

Publish date : 2025-05-01 16:01:00

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