Something changed inside the Ohio State locker room coming out of November's loss to Michigan, a setback that ignited a historic run through the expanded College Football Playoff en route to a national championship.

As it stands, this will be the third different playoff system for college football in the span of three years. For the 10 years leading into last season’s inaugural 12-team playoff, the CFP was a four-team affair. The seeding change was first reported by ESPN, which last year signed a six-year, $7.8 billion deal to televise the expanded playoff.

The Ohio State Buckeyes are coming off a national championship in 2024, but they didn't enter the College Football Playoff as one of the best four teams.

Those seeking parity during college football's 2025 season have come to the right place -- at least glancing at under-the-radar games with the potential of playoff-altering upsets. There's more than a dozen non-conference matchups early this fall that could move the needle nationally depending on the result before league title races commence in October.

I don’t know if Oregon would have beaten Ohio State if their College Football Playoff clash had come in the national championship game instead of in the Rose Bowl. Based on what we saw in Pasadena, I’d say probably not.