SMU coach Rhett Lashlee took a moment while preparing his team for the College Football Playoff to address the ever-growing concern over the open transfer portal window.

His problem isn’t with players wanting to transfer.

Rather, Lashlee’s issue, one shared with other coaches, is the timing for those with teams still playing, whether in the 12-team playoff like the Mustangs or in one of the many bowls into early January.

“I hate it for our players,” Lashlee said Tuesday. “I told them ... I hate it that you guys, you get a chance to play in the College football Playoff, yet you are either forced to decide do I go in the portal or not. Or let’s call it like it is, people are bombarding our roster trying to pick people off our roster, and we’re trying to focus on the playoff.”

Not to mention, it’s also time for final exams at SMU and many other schools.Players looking to transfer must enter the portal by Dec. 28, or have to wait until April 16. That timeframe was approved in October — a window reduced by 15 days after earlier complaints from coaches.

Lashlee understands that players want the ability to transfer for more playing time elsewhere, or an opportunity to capitalize on name, image and likeness. But he insists that even players don’t like the parameters in which they now have to make those decisions.

“We talk about making a system that is all great for them, but we haven’t. I mean, that’s part of your job as adults is to do what’s best for young people, not what they want necessarily. They don’t want this,” he said. “There’s no other sport at all that has free agency in the season. It’s sad, it’s terrible.”

SMU (11-2) plays at Penn State (11-2) on Saturday in a first-round CFP game. The primary backup quarterbacks for both teams are in the transfer portal.

Preston Stone, who was 13-3 as SMU’s starter before getting replaced by Kevin Jennings in the fourth game this year, is still staying with the Mustangs in the playoffs. Penn State sophomore Beau Pribula won’t be with the Nittany Lions.

“You hear the story about their backup quarterback saying, I don’t have a choice. ... That’s wrong, that’s unacceptable. That’s not okay,” Lashlee said.