Black Saturday Bombshells: Ohio State Dominates, Rivalry Upsets Shakeup CFP Picture

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Saturday was the final, dramatic day of the 2025 college football regular season, delivering seismic results that redefined the College Football Playoff (CFP) landscape and settled the championship picture in the Big Ten and Big 12.

The Game: No. 1 Ohio State Crushes No. 15 Michigan

In the biggest rivalry game of the year, the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes (12-0) ended their losing streak to the Wolverines in emphatic fashion, dominating No. 15 Michigan (9-3) with a decisive 27-9 victory in Ann Arbor.

Quarterback Julian Sayin was stellar for the Buckeyes, throwing for 233 yards and three touchdowns, including a huge fourth-down conversion for a score in the second quarter that shifted the momentum permanently. Ohio State’s defense was suffocating, holding the Wolverines’ offense to just 9 points and controlling the line of scrimmage throughout the afternoon. The victory secured the Buckeyes a perfect 12-0 regular season and clinched their spot in the Big Ten Championship Game against undefeated No. 2 Indiana. The performance validated Ohio State’s claim as the consensus top team in the nation heading into Championship Week.

Lone Star Showdown: Texas Spoils Aggies’ Perfect Season

In a game played Friday night but carrying massive Saturday implications, the No. 16 Texas Longhorns (9-3) delivered a stunning 27-17 upset of the undefeated No. 3 Texas A&M Aggies (11-1) in Austin.

Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning had his best performance of the season, throwing a touchdown and clinching the game late with a decisive 35-yard touchdown run. The Texas rushing attack, led by Quintrevion Wisner’s 155 yards, dominated the second half, scoring 24 points after trailing 10-3 at halftime. The loss ended Texas A&M’s perfect season, knocked them out of the SEC Championship Game, and sent their College Football Playoff seeding tumbling. Texas, meanwhile, finished the season with three wins over opponents ranked in the CFP Top 10, keeping its extremely slim at-large hopes alive.

Big 12 and ACC Upset

The upset bug bit two other ranked teams on Saturday, securing spots in their respective conference championship games:

No. 11 BYU (11-1) Clinches Big 12 Title Appearance: The Cougars secured their first-ever Big 12 Championship Game berth with a 41-21 win over UCF. BYU’s offense was fueled by a huge day from running back LJ Martin, who scored three touchdowns, helping the Cougars rally from a double-digit deficit to keep their impressive one-loss season intact. They will face No. 5 Texas Tech in the Big 12 title game, as the Red Raiders wrapped up their regular season with a dominant 49-0 shutout of West Virginia.
No. 12 Miami Dominates: The Hurricanes, led by a strong offensive outing, crushed No. 22 Pittsburgh 38-7, securing a 10-2 regular season and further complicating the ACC’s chaotic championship picture.

The dramatic final weekend leaves the CFP selection committee with one of the most intriguing and difficult decisions in recent memory as they prepare to seed the 12-team field.