5 biggest winners from college football offseason

The college football season has been eventful. From the transfer portal, and recruiting, to the coaching cycle, there have been a lot of big things happening.

Jim Harbaugh left Michigan for the NFL, leaving the national champions without their head coach, as well as without double-digit starters. Nick Saban retired and Alabama stole away Kalen DeBoer from Washington, meaning three of the four College Football Playoff teams will have a new head coach.

Alabama and Washington also lost a bunch of players to the transfer portal. Michigan hasn't suffered that fate yet, but there is still time in their 30-day window, plus there will be another transfer portal window in college football this spring.

But with all things considered, here are the five biggest winners from the college football offseason.

Ohio State

Being an offseason champion isn't that great, but the Buckeyes certainly have had a productive offseason. Lots of fans were probably happy about Kyle McCord entering the transfer portal. Will Howard should be a comparable quarterback plus he has two seasons of at least 350 yards on the ground.

Ohio State also flipped former No. 1 overall quarterback in the 2024 class, Julian Sayin, from Alabama, as well as landing former five-star defensive back Caleb Downs. The hire of Bill O'Brien was interesting. It might be a sign that the Buckeyes are more willing to run the football, but with Quinshon Judkins from Ole Miss and Howard, it seems like Ohio State is making a commitment to running the football.

The defense should be outstanding and with Jim Harbaugh leaving Michigan fooball, the door is open for the Buckeyes to reclaim the Big Ten. Yet, the pressure is on Ryan Day, its national title or bust for the Buckeyes. At the very least, Day has to beat Michigan.