2017 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

2017 Ohio State Buckeyes football
Big Ten champion
Big Ten East Division champion
Cotton Bowl Classic champion
Cotton Bowl Classic, W 24–7 vs. USC
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
DivisionEast Division
Ranking
CoachesNo. 5
APNo. 5
Record12–2 (8–1 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorKevin Wilson (1st season)
Co-offensive coordinatorRyan Day (1st season)
Offensive schemeSpread
Defensive coordinatorGreg Schiano (2nd season)
Base defense4–3
CaptainJ. T. Barrett
Parris Campbell
Jalyn Holmes
Sam Hubbard
Tyquan Lewis
Terry McLaurin
Billy Price
Tracy Sprinkle
Chris Worley
Home stadiumOhio Stadium
Seasons
← 2016
2018 →
2017 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
No. 5 Ohio State xy$   8 1     12 2  
No. 15 Michigan State   7 2     10 3  
No. 8 Penn State   7 2     11 2  
Michigan   5 4     8 5  
Rutgers   3 6     4 8  
Indiana   2 7     5 7  
Maryland   2 7     4 8  
West Division
No. 7 Wisconsin xy   9 0     13 1  
No. 17 Northwestern   7 2     10 3  
Iowa   4 5     8 5  
Purdue   4 5     7 6  
Nebraska   3 6     4 8  
Minnesota   2 7     5 7  
Illinois   0 9     2 10  
Championship: Ohio State 27, Wisconsin 21
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2017 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented Ohio State University during the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Buckeyes played their home games at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. It was the Buckeyes' 128th overall, the 105th as a member of the Big Ten Conference, and fourth as a member of the Eastern Division. They were led by Urban Meyer, who was in his 6th season as head coach at the school.

Coming off a College Football Playoff appearance in 2016, the Buckeyes began the year ranked second in the preseason AP Poll and were the overwhelming favorites to win the Big Ten.[1] In the second game of the year, they suffered their first loss at the hands of No. 5 Oklahoma in Columbus, whom Ohio State had beaten on the road the previous year. Ohio State won their following six games, including a 39–38 victory over No. 2 Penn State, but lost in a blowout on the road to Iowa the following week. The Buckeyes won their remaining regular season games and earned a spot in the 2017 Big Ten Championship Game by winning the East Division with an 8–1 conference record.

Ohio State would play then-undefeated No. 4 Wisconsin as a heavy favorite. The Buckeyes would win in Indianapolis, causing the last-undefeated FBS team to incur a loss. There was huge controversy over the College Football Playoff committee as to who would get into the final four; Alabama, which didn't play in the SEC Championship, was given a spot over both the Buckeyes and Badgers, both of whom just missed out on a playoff spot. Ohio State instead received an invitation to the Cotton Bowl. They defeated USC in that bowl to end the season at 12–2 and ranked fifth in the final polls.

Ohio State was led on offense by quarterback J. T. Barrett, who was named first-team All-Big Ten. Barrett was both a passing and a running threat, finishing with 3,053 yards and a Big Ten-leading 35 touchdowns through the air, and 798 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground. His 47 total touchdowns were second in FBS behind Baker Mayfield.[2] Freshman running back J. K. Dobbins finished second in the Big Ten with 1,403 rushing yards. Center Billy Price was a consensus first-team All-American, as was cornerback Denzel Ward. Both players were selected in the first round of the 2018 NFL draft; Price was awarded the Rimington Trophy as the nation's top center.

  1. ^ Lesmerises, Doug (July 21, 2017). "Ohio State Buckeyes picked to win Big Ten in cleveland.com 2017 preseason poll". Cleveland.com.
  2. ^ "2017 Leaders". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved February 1, 2019.