In a previous era of college football, the two teams in Monday night's championship game — Ohio State and Notre Dame — wouldn't have been in the playoffs at all.
For most of the history of the top level of college football, a team had to go undefeated in the regular season, or else get very lucky, in order to contend for a title. A single bad regular season loss often would doom those chances.
But college football is changing, every year. A new 12-team playoff format has opened the door for a new kind of champion.
Both Ohio State and Notre Dame have been strong all season long. But they each dropped a confounding loss in the regular season: The Buckeyes in a rivalry game against a mediocre Michigan team, and Notre Dame in a stunning September upset by Northern Illinois.
Under the old system, those L's might have doomed both teams' title hopes. Instead, they're poised to face off on the sport's biggest stage to claim the first-ever championship in the expanded playoff era.
Here's what else to know about the matchup:
Both teams are among college football's most successful programs of all time
In college football, it doesn't get much more iconic than Notre Dame or Ohio State. These two programs are both among the top-five winningest teams of all time: Ohio State is second in total wins, and Notre Dame is tied for fourth.
Ohio State has had more success recently, including titles in 2002 and 2014. During the 10 years that the playoff included four teams, Ohio State qualified half the time, while Notre Dame made it twice. Notre Dame last won a championship in 1988.
Another notable thing in college football's modern era: Both teams are from the Midwest. College football has come to be dominated by teams from the South, which have won all but two of the last 19 title games.
With a Notre Dame win, head coach Marcus Freeman would make history
In the history of college football, no Black or Asian American head coach has ever steered his team to a national title. Freeman, whose father is Black and mother is South Korean, is already the first to coach in the title game — a Notre Dame victory would make him the first to win.
When it comes to the achievement of Black head coaches, college football lags far behind the NFL, and even further behind college basketball and the NBA — even though roughly half of players in the top level of the sport are Black. Today, 16 of 134 head coaches in the Football Bowl Subdivision are Black, a number that has barely budged in a decade.
No matter the game's outcome, this playoff run has already made the 39-year-old head coach a star.
Keep your eye on Ohio State's star wide receiver Jeremiah Smith
The jewel of Ohio State's $20 million roster is the 19-year-old budding superstar wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, a 6-foot-3 true freshman who has lived up to the hype that surrounded his recruitment out of high school.
Smith has racked up 1,227 receiving yards and 15 total touchdowns this season. His biggest game yet came when Ohio State smoked the then-undefeated Oregon Ducks in the quarterfinal. Smith caught 187 yards on seven receptions, two of them for touchdowns — and he did almost all of it in a dominating first half.
His big-play capability has been key to Ohio State's success this season. Some NFL analysts say he would be picked first overall in this year's upcoming NFL draft, were he eligible — but players must play in college for at least three years, so Smith has a chance to dominate college football for a while longer.
The game may come down to which team makes the most explosive plays — or mistakes
Ohio State has the better offense and is favored by more than a touchdown. Notre Dame is the big defensive team — but will it be enough?
Ohio State's 28-14 semifinal win over Texas may look lopsided from the final score. But two of Ohio State's touchdowns came on long plays — a short screen pass that turned into a 75-yard touchdown just before halftime, and the game-clinching 83-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown in the final minutes of the game.
Texas hung around because its defense neutralized Ohio State's ability to make explosive plays. The Longhorns held Smith to just one reception for three yards. But ultimately, the Texas offense couldn't convert when it mattered.
Notre Dame is more of a grind-it-out team. The Irish focus on the run game, dominating the line of scrimmage and limiting costly turnovers.
Quarterback Riley Leonard's legs have been a difference-maker all season long for the Irish. But in the semifinal against Penn State, it was his arm that came through in the game's biggest moments — including a 54-yard touchdown to tie the game late, then a key first down completion with 17 seconds remaining that put them in easy field goal range for the game's final score. Can he come through for the Irish again?
Monday night's game in Atlanta kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET and will be televised on ESPN and streamed on Fubo.
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