Three Things That Need to Change About College Football

Three things that need to change about college football to help improve the product on the field.

Jan 1, 2026; New Orleans, LA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart gestures from the sidelines against the Mississippi Rebels during the first half during the 2026 Sugar Bowl and quarterfinal game of the College Football Playoff at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Three things that need to change about college football to help improve the product on the field.

College football has changed a lot over the years. The transfer portal has been introduced, players are now able to be compensated for playing and the expanded playoff just wrapped up its second year of existence. There are obviously more, but those three things have arguably changed the sport the most over the last five or so years.

Some of those changes have helped the sport in some areas, but there are also issues with the sport in its current state. A much longer list of potential solutions could be compiled, but here are three things that I think need to change in order to improve the long-term well-being of the sport that so many continue to love.

1. A One-Time Transfer Rule

As it currently stands, players have the ability to transfer as many times as they would like throughout their collegiate careers and are able to remain eligible every single season. Some players take advantage of this rule more than others, but it appears that players making multiple stops along their path are becoming more and more common each year.

In my opinion, players should be able to transfer one time and be granted immediate eligibility for the next season. If the player wants to transfer a second time, they must then sit out the next season. This would help rehabilitate loyalty to programs, provide stability in roster reconstruction and dial back the number of players who are searching for the next biggest offer they can find in the portal.

Obviously, some stipulations would have to be in place as well. If a player's head coach is fired, then they should be allowed to transfer without any penalty. But players being able to hop from one roster to another after every season is creating an environment that does not support the roots of what has made college football so great for many years.

2. A Tighter College Football Calendar

during the the national championship celebration at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga., on Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022. | Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In 2026, week zero of college football is on Aug. 29th. The national championship is not played until Jan. 25. The transfer portal will open in 2027 on Jan. 2 and will close on Jan. 16. This is a very elongated process and more distance that is created from the end of the regular season to the national championship game, which provides a greater opportunity for fans to become disengaged from the season.

It's also an issue that the transfer portal opens and closes before the season officially comes to a close. Instead, the season could start at an earlier date, and the season could be over at the beginning of January. This would also help eliminate teams that earn a first-round bye in the college football playoff from having to wait nearly an entire month before they play their next game.

Postseason play in its current form is a very elongated process and the season in general tends to drag on a little too much towards the end. Pushing the start of the season to an earlier date would provide the ability to both tighten up the postseason schedule and allow the transfer portal to open and close after the season has concluded.

3. Five Years No Matter What

A recent rule was voted on by college football coaches that will allow college football players to take a redshirt if they play nine or fewer games. The previous rule was four or fewer games. This rule was passed in hopes of keeping players engaged longer throughout the season and to hopefully prevent players from opting out in the middle of a season.

Players have also been granted extra years of eligibility dating back to the pandemic, where everyone was given an additional season, and some players are even suing the NCAA for extra years of eligibility, whether it be due to them playing JUCO and them arguing those years shouldn't count or because of previous medical issues a player had.

While it's great that athletes are able to maximize their college football careers, it also raises issues within the sport. For every player that is granted a sixth or seventh season in college football, that's one more roster spot that cannot be filled by an incoming high school football player. It's also a bit of a controversial topic because there isn't a hard cap on these rulings. Some players are granted an extra year while others are denied. In most cases, it

In my opinion, every player once they enter college football, should be granted five years of eligibility. No matter what happens in their career or what the circumstances are, they are awarded five seasons of college football. That's how the sport used to operate. Every player could utilize a redshirt season and then four years added on to that. In this scenario, players wouldn't have to redshirt. If you are healthy for five seasons and want to play for five seasons, then that player should have the ability to do so. But athletes having the ability to play college football for seven seasons both distances the age pool of players and eliminates roster spots for future college football athletes.

As I mentioned earlier, there are many other things that could be fixed around college football. Whether it's a spending cap that programs are actually held accountable to, or reworking the targeting rule, or changes to the college football playoff.

At the end of the day, though, I feel these three things would be a good starting point in helping rehabilitate the sport to create a more enjoyable product.