One of the best and most frequently repeated commercials during the now-completed bowl season is the “Fansville” ad depicting the transfer portal as a vortex powerful enough to suck in entire defenses and force star quarterbacks to hang onto lamp posts for dear life.

It’s not quite that bad in real life.

But it’s close.

More than 2,000 players entered the portal before it officially closed at midnight on Tuesday, with some of the nation’s biggest names among those on the move.

And this is only the beginning, not the end. The portal is scheduled to reopen after spring practice. So hold onto your Dr. Pepper and hope for the best.

Before the vortex begins sucking players in again in April, let’s survey the chaos it has already created.

Boston College

Key losses: RB Patrick Garwo, CB CJ Clinkscales (Charlotte), WR Jaden Williams (Texas State), QB Emmett Morehead, DE Shitta Sillah (Purdue).

Key gains: RB Treshaun Ward (Kansas State), TE Kamari Morales (UNC), WR Jerand Bradley (Texas State), CB Bryquice Brown (Georgia State), WR/KR Jayden McGowan (Vanderbilt), CB Ryan Turner (Ohio State).

Overview: The Eagles ended their 2023 season by beating soon-to-be ACC rival SMU in the Fenway Bowl and finishing with a winning record, and coach Jeff Hafley has carried the momentum into the offseason. Although he lost a few contributors to the portal, they were replaceable. And with a solid haul of incoming transfers, he has significantly upgraded his roster for 2024 – especially when it comes to surrounding emerging star quarterback Thomas Castellanos with additional playmakers. Ward, who started his career at Florida State, will be a major upgrade from Garwo at running back while Bradley, McGowan and especially Morales should help improve a passing attack that ranked just 12th in the ACC this season.

Clemson

Key losses: S Andrew Mukuba (Texas), WR Beaux Collins (Notre Dame), CB Toriano Pride Jr. (Missouri), DE David Ojiegbe (Pittsburgh), OT Michael Mayes (Charlotte).

Key gains: None.

Overview: Even though Dabo Swinney has indicated his willingness to bring in transfers to help fill areas of need, something he has vigorously avoided in the past, he has yet to make any moves to replenish a defensive line losing several key pieces, an offensive line that had a hard time protecting the quarterback and receivers capable of getting open and catching the ball. Of the transfer losses, 2021 ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year Mukuba and the oft-injured Collins are the most impactful departures.

Duke

Key losses: QB Riley Leonard (Notre Dame), DE RJ Oben (Notre Dame), DT Aeneas Peebles (Virginia Tech) RB Jordan Waters (NC State), LB Dorian Mausi (Auburn), S Jaylen Stinson, DE Brandon Johnson.

Key gains: QB Maalik Murphy (Texas), OT Jack Purcell (Penn), DT Will Seiler (Penn).

Overview: There was bound to be a larger-than-usual turnover from a winning team because of the coaching change. And the Blue Devils have lost some good ones. Interestingly, the highest-profile of the outgoing transfers – Leonard – might be the easiest to replace with the emergence of backup Grayson Loftis and the arrival of Texas transfer Murphy. Replacing the likes of Peebles and Waters, both of whom are joining ACC rivals, along with Stinson, Oben and Mausi will be a tougher task for new coach Manny Diaz and his staff.

Florida State

Key losses: LB DJ Lundy (Colorado), OT Bless Harris (TCU), QB Tate Rodemaker, WR Winston Wright (ECU).

Key gains: QB DJ Uiagalelei (Oregon State), DE Marvin Jones Jr. (Georgia).

Overview: Mike Norvell will have to be even more active on the portal than he was last year, when he landed one of the nation’s top transfer classes. He’s already found his replacement for quarterback Jordan Travis by bringing in Uiagalelei, who was much better at Oregon State this year than he was in his first 3 seasons at Clemson. He also replaced All-American edge rusher Jared Verse with Georgia’s Jones. He still has a lot of work left to do. But don’t panic. He did some of his best work last spring, including the addition of top receiver Keon Coleman.

Georgia Tech

Key losses: DE Kyle Kennard (South Carolina), CB Kenan Johnson (Utah), DT D’Quan Douse, DB KJ Wallace.

Key gains: DE Jack Barton (Furman), CB William Burrell (Tennessee), LB EJ Lightsey (Georgia), DB Syeed Gibbs (Rhode Island), OG Keylan Rutledge (Middle Tennessee), DT Ayobami Tifase (Florida State).

Overview: The Yellow Jackets made great strides in Brent Key’s first full season as their coach. Their 7-6 record was achieved primarily on the strength of a high-powered offense fueled by one of last year’s best transfer pickups, QB Haynes King. This year’s focus will be on improving a defense that gave up the most yards and 2nd-most points in the ACC in 2023. The addition by subtraction has already begun with 4 defensive starters having entered the portal. Among those being brought in as replacements are 2nd-team All-Southern Conference pass rusher Barton, former CAA Defensive Rookie of the Year Gibbs and one-time Tennessee starter Burrell.

Louisville

Key losses: WR Amari Huggins-Bruce, S Josh Minkins (West Virginia) LB Kameron Wilson (Cincinnati), DL Jeffrey Clark, LB Jackson Hamilton (Georgia Tech).

Key gains: QB Tyler Shough (Texas Tech), OT Monroe Mills (Texas Tech), CB Jalen Kimber (Florida), WR/KR Ja’Corey Brooks (Alabama), RB Don Chaney (Miami), TE Izayah Cummings (Kentucky), CB Tayon Holloway (UNC) CB Corey Thompson (UCF).

Overview: Jeff Brohm has been by far the most active ACC coach during the early portal period. He has plenty of holes to fill from his surprising 10-4 team and he’s well on the way to addressing a lot of his most immediate needs. He’s already picked up replacements for quarterback Jack Plummer, leading rusher Jahwar Jordan and receiver Jamari Thrash with the pickups of Texas Tech’s Shough, Miami’s Chaney and Alabama’s Brooks. Brom has been particularly active in collecting castoffs from SEC programs, with incoming transfers from Alabama, Florida and Kentucky.

Miami

Key losses: QB Tyler Van Dyke (Wisconsin), WR Colbie Young (Georgia), WR Frank Ladson (UMass), WR/KR Brashard Smith, RB Don Chaney (Louisville), LB Corey Flagg (Missouri), DE Jahfari Harvey (SMU).

Key gains: DT CJ Clark (NC State), C Zach Carpenter (Indiana), DT Marley Cook (Middle Tennessee State), S Savion Riley (Vanderbilt).

Overview: Miami’s current rate of attrition is nowhere near as dramatic as the one that helped Mario Cristobal reshape the roster this time last year. But it has been significant, nonetheless. The Hurricanes have lost 2 of their top 4 receivers, a running back who gained nearly 500 yards, an explosive return man and the linebacker who made the tackle on Clemson’s Cade Klubnik in overtime to secure a win against Clemson. Cristobal has clearly spent more time on assembling a top-5 recruiting class to concentrate on incoming transfers. But while he has yet to make much of a splash, he’s picked up some quality veterans for the interior of both the defensive and offensive lines in NC State nose tackle Clark and Indiana center Carpenter.

North Carolina

Key losses: TE Kamari Morales (Boston College), WR Andre Green Jr. (Virginia), RB Elijah Green, RB George Pettaway, OT Diego Pounds. CB Tayon Holloway (Louisville), S DJ Jones, LB Sebastian Cheeks (Wisconsin).

Key gains: QB Jake Johnson (Texas A&M), TE Max Johnson (Texas A&M), S Jakeen Harris (NC State), OL Austin Blaske (Georgia).

Overview: Mack Brown didn’t waste any time in gobbling up Texas A&M’s Johnson early in the portal period to come to Chapel Hill as the heir apparent to soon-to-be 1st-round NFL draft pick Drake Maye. He also took steps at improving a porous offensive line by signing Georgia’s Blaske. But while former NC State safety Harris is a nice addition, especially for the points it helps UNC score in its rivalry with the Wolfpack, Brown and whoever he picks as his new defensive coordinator will still have plenty of work left to do to improve a unit that has been the Tar Heels’ Achilles heel for the past 2 seasons.

NC State

Key losses: CB Ayden White, DT CJ Clark (Miami), S Jakeen Harris (UNC), QB MJ Morris (Maryland), OL Lyndon Cooper (Pittsburgh), RB Michael Allen (UNLV), RB Jordan Houston, WR Terrell Timmons, WR Anthony Smith (East Carolina), WR Porter Rooks (Eastern Michigan).

Key gains: QB Grayson McCall (Coastal Carolina), RB Jordan Waters (Duke), WR Noah Rogers (Ohio State), C Zeke Correll (Notre Dame), WR Wesley Grimes (Wake Forest), CB Corey Coley Jr. (Maryland), DB Tamarcus Coley (Maryland), DB  Devon Marshall (Villanova), TE Justin Joly Jr. (UConn).

Overview: Dave Doeren got an unexpected shot of bad news when All-ACC cornerback Aydan White, who led the ACC in interceptions 2 seasons ago, entered the portal only hours before it closed. It’s just the latest in a series of key losses that also includes fellow defensive starters Clark and Harris. While the offense has also suffered losses, most of the departing players are much more easily replaced. In fact, Doeren has already filled several of the most important holes by swapping quarterback Morris for the more accomplished McCall from Coastal Carolina while upgrading the running back rotation with the addition of Duke’s Waters, the receiving corps with former 4-star recruit Rogers from Ohio State and Wake Forest’s Grimes, and the offensive line with Notre Dame center Correll.

Pittsburgh

Key losses: LB Bangally Kamara, DL DeAndre Jules, DL Samuel Okunlola (Colorado).

Key gains: DT Nick James (Indiana), DE Nate Matlack (Kansas State), DE Davis Ojegbe (Clemson), C Lyndon Cooper (NC State), RB Desmond Reid (Western Carolina), WR Censere Lee Jr. (Western Carolina), TE Jacke Overman (Oregon State).

Overview: The Panthers won only 3 games in 2023, their worst season since 1998 and took major steps backward on both the defensive line and in the running game – 2 areas that have been traditional strengths during Pat Narduzzi’s tenure. In an effort to strengthen those positions, Narduzzi has already brought in 3 defensive line transfers and a 2-time All-Southern Conference running back with more than 1,700 career rushing yards. It’s yet to be seen whether the veteran coach will take another swing at adding a transfer quarterback after whiffing in each of the past 2 years with Kedon Slovis and Phil Jurkovec.

Syracuse

Key losses: CB Jeremiah Wilson (Houston), LB Stephon Thompson, S Malcolm Folk (Kent State), WR Isaiah Jones.

Key gains: QB Kyle McCord (Ohio State), WR Zeed Haynes (Georgia), WR Jackson Meeks (Georgia), OG Joshua Miller (Georgia) CB Duce Chestnut (LSU), LB Fadil Diggs (Texas A&M), S Devin Grant Jr. (Buffalo).

Overview: New coach Fran Brown earned a reputation for being one of the nation’s top recruiters during his time as an assistant at Georgia. It’s a talent that’s already paying dividends for the Orange. Not only has he successfully landed one of the top quarterbacks in the portal in Ohio State’s McCord, but he has brought in 3 players with national championship experience at his former school. He also convinced cornerback Chestnut to return to Syracuse after spending last season at LSU. And he’s likely just getting started in his pursuit of veteran free agents.

Virginia

Key losses: CB Dave Herard, OG/C Jestus Johnson, TE Joshua Rawlings.

Key gains: WR Chris Tyree (Notre Dame), WR Andre Green Jr. (UNC), TE Tyler Neville (Harvard), C Drake Metcalf (UCF), CB Kendren Smith (Penn), LB Corey Thomas (Akron).

Overview: Tony Elliott scored one of last year’s most underrated transfer portal pickups in record-setting receiver Malik Washington from Northwestern. His pickup of Notre Dame’s Tyree as Washington’s replacement has the potential to be just as impactful, especially if quarterback Anthony Colandrea takes a step forward after a promising freshman season. Elliott also dipped into the Ivy League ranks to get tight end Neville from Harvard and cornerback Smith from Penn, which is only appropriate since UVa likes to think of itself academically as an Ivy League institution without the ivy.

Virginia Tech

Key losses: TE Dae’Quan Wright, WR Da’Wain Lofton, CB Derrick Canteen, C Jack Hollifield.

Key gains: DT Aeneas Peebles (Duke), DT Kelvin Gilliam Jr. (Oklahoma), LB Sam Brumfield (Middle Tennessee State), OL Montavious Cunningham (Georgia State).

Overview: With a major of his key contributors pledging to return in 2024, Brent Pry can afford to prioritize quality rather than quantity on the portal. It’s clear from his early additions that his biggest concerns are up front on both sides of the ball, especially on defense, where former Duke nose tackle Aeneas Peebles was one of the highest-rated available free agents at any position.

Wake Forest

Key losses: RB Justice Ellison (Indiana), WR Wesley Grimes (NC State), WR Jahmal Banks, WR Ke’Shawn Williams (Indiana), QB Mitch Griffis (Marshall), QB Santino Marucci, C Christian Forbes, CB AJ Williams, DE Jaylen Hudson.

Key gains: QB Hank Bachmeier (Louisiana Tech), OT Keagan Trost (Indiana State), CB Capone Blue (Kent State), LB Branson Combs (Southern Illinois).

Overview: When you’re the smallest FBS school in the country with limited NIL resources, you go into the offseason expecting to suffer some personnel losses. But even then, Dave Clawson probably didn’t anticipate how massive this year’s losses would be. Gone are the Deacons’ top 3 receivers, their 2nd leading rusher and 2 quarterbacks that started games this season. Clawson has already filled the void at quarterback with a major upgrade in Bachmeier, who has thrown for 8,653 yards and 51 touchdowns in his career at Louisiana Tech and Boise State. The addition of tackle Trost, with 21 career starts, will also help reinforce an offensive line that allowed an ACC high 49 sacks. It’s a good start. But there’s still a lot of work left to do, especially in replenishing what has become a threadbare receiving corps.