How CFP contenders compare to recent playoff hopefuls

— -- College football has the uncanny ability to surprise us every weekend and yet at the same time provide a little sense of d?j? vu.

For those who have been paying close attention to the College Football Playoff the past two years, some parallels can be drawn early. Take a look at how some previous playoff storylines have the potential to resurface under the guise of different programs:

Then: The undefeated 2014 Seminoles never reached the No. 1 spot in the committee's top four in large part because they won in unconvincing fashion. "Everybody says 'game control,'" FSU coach Jimbo Fisher said after beating Boston College 20-17. "That's something made up. As a coach, you talk about one thing: Finish. Get it done. This team wins in every way, shape and form you can win." It was good enough for No. 3.

Now: Clemson has beaten its past two unranked opponents -- Auburn and Troy -- by six points each. The Tigers dropped three spots to No. 5 in this week's AP poll. So far, the ACC's other Atlantic Division heavyweight is following the Noles' 2014 blueprint: finding a way to win the close ones, albeit in unimpressive fashion. "I don't know about other people," Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said last week, "but I think that with our schedule, if we win every game by one point and we're 13-0, I think we'll be just fine." Fine, yes. No. 1? Probably not.

Then: Marshall was 10-0, ranked No. 18 in the AP poll, and still unranked by the selection committee because of its weak strength of schedule. It wasn't until Week 14 that the undefeated Herd snuck into the committee's top 25 at No. 24 -- right behind a two-loss Boise State team.

Now: The Aztecs are 2-0 and coming off an impressive win over Cal, but there's not one ranked opponent currently on their schedule. ESPN's Football Power Index ranks San Diego State's strength of schedule No. 118. Marshall entered bowl season ranked No. 127 of 128. The highest-ranked champion from a Group of 5 conference is guaranteed a spot in a New Year's Six bowl, so the Aztecs are a team to keep an eye on in that regard, but they could face a similar snub from the committee -- even if undefeated.

Then: The Buckeyes at home to an unimpressive Virginia Tech team in Week 2 and were instantly discredited in the CFP race. Instead, they ran the table with their third-string quarterback, won the Big Ten title and earned a spot in the committee's final top four of the season. Stanford was also written off last year after its season-opening loss to Northwestern, but was still in the conversation even as a two-loss Pac-12 champ.

Now: Oklahoma is trying to rebound from its season-opening loss to Houston (granted, not nearly as bad of a loss as the one the Buckeyes suffered to the Hokies), but OU and the entire Big 12 have practically been discounted. (Psst, it's just one loss). The Sooners now likely have to run the table -- a tall task with Ohio State looming this Saturday -- but the Buckeyes will remind you, it can be done.

Then: In 2014, Alabama finished No. 1 in the selection committee's ranking, in spite of losing to Ole Miss. In 2015, Alabama finished No. 2 in the committee's final ranking, in spite of losing to Ole Miss.

Now: Here comes Ole Miss. Nick Saban certainly doesn't want to lose three straight to the Rebels, but as far as the playoff goes, it clearly doesn't matter if he does.

Then: The Hawkeyes cruised through the weaker Big Ten West division, and ran the table during the regular season, making it impossible for the selection committee to leave an undefeated Power 5 team out of its top four. Iowa had faced just two ranked teams during the regular season -- Wisconsin and Northwestern -- and it was hard to tell just how good they were until the title game (a 16-13 loss to Michigan State) and Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual (a 45-16 Stanford rout).

Now: Like Iowa, Pitt hails from the weaker of its divisions, and it currently has only two ranked opponents on its schedule (No. 25 Miami and No. 5 Clemson). If Pitt can survive upcoming back-to-back road games against Oklahoma State and North Carolina, it could be 8-0 heading into the Miami game. The difference here is that Pitt could wind up playing both FSU and Clemson, but the Panthers could be deceivingly good heading into November.