No matter which team wins the College Football Playoff national championship on Monday, the discussion inevitably will pivot toward how that team rallied after an embarrassing defeat to win the national championship. If it’s Ohio State, the Buckeyes’ 13-10 loss to Michigan (8-5) will be redeemed in the eyes of most observers unaffiliated those two fan bases. If Notre Dame claims its first title since 1988, all eyes will focus on Northern Illinois (8-5), which shocked the Irish 16-14 in Week 2.

In retrospect, Michigan’s upset of Ohio State classifies as a bad loss, but it would be far from the worst defeat suffered by an eventual national champion, especially after Michigan’s ReliaQuest Bowl upset of Alabama. The Irish’s loss to a Group of 5 program that later lost to 3-9 Ball State — how’s that for the transitive property? — might become the new No. 1, however, topping another infamous Notre Dame loss.

The winner of Monday night’s game will join a list of 18 other teams that won a share of the Associated Press, Football Writers Association of America or UPI/coaches poll title in a year they lost to a team that finished with eight wins or fewer. A few barely merit consideration, like UCLA upsetting Michigan State 14-12 in the 1966 Rose Bowl. But others, including these 10 losses below, were especially surprising.

1. Sept. 17, 1977: Ole Miss 20, Notre Dame 13

Only one national champion has lost to a team that finished with a losing record: Notre Dame in 1977. In the season’s second game, the No. 3 Irish traveled to Jackson, Miss., to face Ole Miss, which was on its way to the second of seven consecutive losing seasons.

On a day in which the temperature reached 88 degrees with humidity to match, Notre Dame led 13-10 with 4:53 left. Ole Miss then inserted backup quarterback Tim Ellis, who guided the Rebels on a five-play, 80-yard drive that ended in the game-winning touchdown. Ole Miss added a field goal one possession later to provide the final tally. Notre Dame quarterback Rusty Lisch completed 11 of 25 passes for 127 yards against the Rebels.

“Coach said anytime we came to the South, it would make a team’s schedule if they could beat Notre Dame,” Notre Dame linebacker Bob Golic told reporters. “I guess it did.”

“Next week we are at Purdue,” Notre Dame coach Dan Devine added. “Our season isn’t over yet.”

The next week, the Irish trailed Purdue and record-setting quarterback Mark Hermann 24-14, seemingly ensured of a second consecutive loss. With 1:40 left in the third quarter, Devine made a career-defining decision. He took out Lisch and inserted junior quarterback Joe Montana, who completed 9 of 14 passes for 154 yards and a touchdown in a 31-24 comeback win. It was the first of many comebacks for Montana, both at Notre Dame and later with the San Francisco 49ers.

Over its final eight games, Notre Dame beat seven opponents by at least 24 points, including No. 1 Texas (38-10) in the Cotton Bowl to secure the national championship. Ole Miss finished a hard-luck 5-6 with its final five losses coming by one score. Officially, however, Ole Miss’ 1977 campaign goes down as 6-5, after Mississippi State forfeited its 18-14 Egg Bowl victory for using an ineligible player.

2. Sept. 6, 2014: Virginia Tech 35, Ohio State 21

The result was surprising in the moment and stunning in retrospect. Before a prime-time audience and what was then the largest crowd in Ohio Stadium history, Virginia Tech harassed freshman quarterback J.T. Barrett all night. The new starter, replacing an injured Braxton Miller, completed just 9 of 29 passes with three interceptions. The Hokies sacked Barrett seven times, including six in the fourth quarter.

Despite the floundering aerial attack, the No. 8 Buckeyes trailed by only a touchdown and still had a chance. Then Virginia Tech cornerback Donovan Riley picked off Barrett and returned it 63 yards with 46 seconds left to seal the upset. It was Virginia Tech’s first road win against a team ranked in the AP top eight, and it was the Buckeyes’ first home loss to an unranked nonconference opponent since 1982.

“Obviously (Barrett was) not good enough, but a quarterback is a product of those around him, and we all have to get better,” Ohio State coach Urban Meyer told reporters afterward.

The loss capped a horrible weekend for the Big Ten, highlighted by defending champion Michigan State losing by 19 points at Oregon and Notre Dame shutting out Michigan 31-0. The Big Ten seemingly was out of CFP consideration in early September. But the Buckeyes coalesced behind Barrett and improved. A shocking 59-0 win against favored Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game allowed Ohio State to sneak into the inaugural four-team CFP. There, the Buckeyes rallied from a 15-point deficit to beat Alabama in a semifinal and then rolled past Oregon for the championship. Virginia Tech squeaked into the Military Bowl and topped Cincinnati 33-17 to finish 7-6.

3. Nov. 8, 1975: Kansas 23, Oklahoma 3

Kansas players arrived in Lawrence a handful of hours after their monumental upset to a large, cheering crowd awaiting them. The Jayhawks thoroughly dominated the Sooners, which had not lost in 37 consecutive games, at sold-out Owen Field. No. 2 Oklahoma committed turnovers on seven consecutive second-half possessions, and quarterback Steve Davis threw more interceptions (four) than completions (three).

“This isn’t just the great victory of my career or our players’ careers. This has got to be the greatest victory in football,” Kansas coach Bud Moore told the Kansas City Star.

It marked Barry Switzer’s first loss as Oklahoma coach, but it didn’t deter the Sooners from embarking on a national championship run. They fell to sixth in the poll but rose to No. 3 entering the postseason after edging Missouri 28-27 and flattening Nebraska 35-10. In the Orange Bowl, the Sooners outfought No. 5 Michigan 14-6. But they needed help in two games to win the title.

No. 2 Texas A&M lost to Arkansas in early December and stumbled to the Liberty Bowl, where it was shut out by USC 20-0. Then at the Rose Bowl, UCLA shocked top-ranked Ohio State 23-10. Oklahoma’s victory led it past unbeaten Arizona State (which still competed in the Western Athletic Conference) in the final AP poll. Kansas finished 7-5 after losing to Pittsburgh 33-19 in the Sun Bowl.

4. Sept. 28, 1957: TCU 18, Ohio State 14

The first season-opening loss for Ohio State coach Woody Hayes came against a team that had tied Kansas in its opener a week earlier. Led by halfback Jimmy Shofner, who ran for a score and returned a punt 89 yards for a touchdown, the Horned Frogs kept pace with the Buckeyes throughout the first half. Then in the third quarter, an Ohio State fumble in its territory led to Shofner’s third touchdown that provided the winning margin. TCU didn’t complete any of its three pass attempts, and Ohio State outrushed the Horned Frogs by 58 yards.

“If Texas Christian proved anything, it was that running attack comes first, and that passing more often than not is a snare and delusion,” wrote John Deitrich of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Hayes called his team “patsies” after the loss, and the Buckeyes improved steadily until facing No. 5 Iowa in a winner-take-all Big Ten clash. The No. 6 Buckeyes scored the game-winning touchdown with 3:53 left to pull out a 17-13 victory. Fans stormed the field and pulled down the goal posts.

“I never saw a better football team in my life, and I never saw two better teams on one field,” Hayes said afterward.

The Buckeyes beat Oregon to win the Rose Bowl and claim a split national title with the FWAA and UPI crowns while Auburn won the AP vote. TCU ended its season 5-4-1 and 2-4 in the Southwest Conference.

5. Sept. 14, 1974: Arkansas 22, USC 7

The No. 5 Trojans traveled to Little Rock for their opener and were rocked in a way few expected, especially USC coach John McKay.

“They just kicked the hell out of us,” McKay quipped to the Los Angeles Times. “We threw poorly, tackled poorly and coached poorly. Otherwise, it was a perfect night.”

USC scored its only touchdown on an Anthony Davis kickoff return, and the No. 20 Razorbacks dominated the contest. It served as a nice wake-up call for the Trojans, which held each of their next nine opponents to 15 points or fewer. After throttling No. 5 Notre Dame 55-24 in the season finale, USC edged Ohio State 18-17 to secure a split national title. The coaches poll and FWAA awarded the 10-1-1 Trojans (who also tied Cal) the national championship because undefeated Oklahoma, which took the AP crown, was ineligible for the coaches poll while on NCAA probation. After the victory, Arkansas flopped the next week, losing to Oklahoma State 26-7, and finished 6-4-1.

6. Sept. 15, 1990: Illinois 23, Colorado 22

At the surface, it wasn’t the worst regular-season loss for an eventual national champion. The game was played at Illinois, which finished the season 8-4 but in a four-way tie atop the Big Ten standings. Illinois’ staunch defense held Colorado to 104 yards in the second half, and the Illini rallied from a two-touchdown deficit to score a game-winning touchdown with 1:18 left. It was Colorado’s only official loss.

But the result fits nicely in a mess of a season that somehow enabled the Buffaloes to claim a split national title. On Oct. 6, both Big Eight officials and the chain gang lost track of downs when Colorado played at Missouri. After spiking the ball on fourth-and-goal at the Mizzou 2-yard line with two seconds left, the Buffaloes received a fifth down. Somehow, quarterback Charles Johnson’s option run was called a touchdown for a 33-31 win. Missouri fans had stormed the field and attempted to tear down the goal posts before they realized the officials not only awarded Colorado a fifth down, but also a touchdown.

After winning the Big Eight title and facing Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl, the Buffaloes held off Notre Dame 10-9 when a controversial holding call negated a last-minute Raghib Ismail punt return for a touchdown. Georgia Tech, which was unbeaten but once tied, earned the coaches’ vote, while Colorado took the AP and FWAA titles.

7. Nov. 12, 1960: Purdue 23, Minnesota 14

One week removed from upsetting top-ranked Iowa in the Big Ten’s first No. 1 vs. No. 2 game, Minnesota suffered a hangover loss in Minneapolis to Purdue, which finished 4-4-1. The top-ranked Gophers trailed 14-0 to start the game, then battled back within 17-14. But they fumbled a punt at their 2-yard line and the ball rolled into the end zone, where the Boilermakers recovered for the final touchdown. Purdue outgained Minnesota 290-158, so it was a complete victory.

True to the mercurial AP voting patterns of 60-plus years ago, the Gophers fell to No. 4 after the loss, then jumped back to No. 1 after beating 4-5 Wisconsin 26-7. At the same time, unbeaten Ole Miss failed to move up despite only one tie, while Iowa crushed No. 2 Ohio State 35-12 and Notre Dame 28-0. In close votes, the Gophers secured the AP and UPI titles (which were awarded before the bowls) and played in the Rose Bowl, where they lost to Washington 17-7. The FWAA awarded Ole Miss the national title.

8. Nov. 12, 2016: Pittsburgh 43, Clemson 42

In a season in which a Clemson-Alabama CFP rematch seemed probable, this shocker temporarily shook up that inevitability. At Death Valley, Pitt quarterback Nathan Peterman threw five touchdowns to counter an ACC-record 580 passing yards from No. 2 Clemson’s Deshaun Watson. The game came down to the final six seconds, when Pitt kicker Chris Blewitt (who missed an earlier extra point) iced all pun-related headlines with a 48-yard field goal for the victory.

Clemson’s loss ultimately did little to keep it from the CFP thanks to two other top-four teams losing that day. The Tigers won the ACC title and earned the No. 3 seed. Clemson shut out Ohio State in a semifinal, then beat Alabama 35-31 in a shootout to win its final national title since 1981. Pittsburgh, which beat eventual Big Ten champion Penn State in Week 2, completed its season at 8-5 after falling 31-24 to Northwestern in the Pinstripe Bowl.

9. Oct. 11, 2003: Florida 19, LSU 7

It’s games like this that college coaches fear more than any other. The Gators lost the previous week to Ole Miss, LSU climbed to No. 6 in the polls and the game was staged in Death Valley. After an 80-yard punt return early in the first quarter gave the Tigers a 7-0 lead, their attention to detail evaporated, and they wound up with more penalty yards (99) than rushing yards (76). The Gators rebounded with 10 points by the end of the first quarter, then dominated the rest of the game.

But LSU coach Nick Saban put the loss behind him and his players responded. Over the last eight games, LSU held all but one opponent to 14 points or less. The Tigers beat Oklahoma 21-14 in the Sugar Bowl to win the BCS championship and earn a share of the final split national title. USC, which was ranked No. 1 by the AP but No. 3 by the BCS computer matrix, won the AP and FWAA vote by knocking off Michigan in the Rose Bowl. Florida finished 8-5 with a 37-17 loss to Iowa in the Outback Bowl.

10. Oct. 9, 1982: Alabama 42, Penn State 21

The final clash between Bear Bryant and Joe Paterno featured a top-five showdown in Birmingham that lived up to the hype for three quarters. Then it all crashed on the Nittany Lions. Trailing 27-21 midway through the fourth quarter, Penn State chose to punt from midfield rather than test Alabama’s defense on fourth down. But Penn State’s punt hit an upback, and the ball bounced all the way to its 12-yard line. Alabama scored two plays later and added a two-point conversion to lead 35-21. On Penn State’s next offensive snap, Alabama linebacker Eddie Lowe intercepted quarterback Todd Blackledge and returned it 31 yards for a touchdown. It remains the second-largest margin of defeat by team that went on to win the national title, after Miami’s 28-3 loss to Florida in the opener the next season.

Penn State bounced back by winning its final six regular-season games, only one by single digits. The Nittany Lions climbed up to No. 2, then topped No. 1 Georgia and Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker 27-23 in the Sugar Bowl. After rising to No. 2, the Tide fell apart, losing four of their last six games, including the final three regular-season contests. In Bryant’s final game as coach, Alabama beat Illinois 21-15 in the Liberty Bowl to finish 8-4.

(Top photo: Jamie Sabau / Getty Images)