For a couple of years, the talking head of college football has directed their frustration toward the sport as the sport has molded into something hard to understand or even comprehend for old-school college football fans. Conferences are different; the transfer portal combined with NIL has turned the sport into the Wild West, but what we saw on Saturday and have seen all season is the talent gap has closed across the sport, leading to a better product on the field that has created this even playing field across the sport of college football. So long are the days when Alabama and Clemson dominated the sport, and in comes a new age of college football where programs like Vanderbilt, Kentucky, UNLV, and so on have closed the gap, giving every Saturday a thrilling slate of games where the outcome is always uncertain, making it a beautiful and exciting experience for every fan.

Undoubtedly, the transfer portal has brought a myriad of changes to the world of college football, some good, some bad, and some confusing. However, it has significantly redistributed talent across all levels of college football, fundamentally altering the landscape of the sport. This has created an environment that provides fans with more competitive games and a lasting legacy of a better on-the-field product for fans to enjoy.

What we have today is the product of guys who might not have had the chance out of high school go to lower-tier schools and then turn those schools into juggernauts, or a player who might go to a school and something happens, from the coach leaving to the program not being the perfect fit, having the chance for a do-over at another program further etching their name into the folklore of college football.

Like with any change, there will always be people who are loud about the change, but those people need to understand how, having that talent gap bridged, college football adds to the armory of being a better product than the NFL. Through six weeks, the parity in college football is undeniable; on Saturday alone, we saw Alabama, Michigan, Tennessee, and Missouri, among others, fall victim to transfer portal guys that came into programs like Vanderbilt or Arkansas and added their mark on college football folklore for generations to come.

Regarding realignment, with the new additions to the conferences, there is an uptick in better conference games, with the two weeks setting up to be the best two weeks in college football history. It might not be the traditional matchups of yesteryear, but the conference realignment saga has provided some of the best college football matchups of the season, with more to come over the next two weeks.

Overall, college football is experiencing a revival and is in its best position ever. TV numbers are breaking records, attendance records are shattered, and the product on the field has taken over the position of the NFL. College football has embraced the past while navigating a future that embraces the fan experience.