There’s good reason to believe Ohio State would have still won the national championship if the College Football Playoff’s new format for 2025 was in place last season, but the Buckeyes’ run to a title would have looked a little different.
With seeding now determined fully by the final CFP rankings rather than the top four seeds being reserved for conference champions – though the five highest-ranked conference champs will still be guaranteed berths in the 12-team field – Ohio State would have still hosted a first-round game in 2024, but would have played 11-seed Arizona State as the No.