| 2017 Ohio State Buckeyes football | |
|---|---|
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Big Ten champion Big Ten East Division champion Cotton Bowl Classic champion | |
Cotton Bowl Classic, W 24–7 vs. USC | |
| Conference | Big Ten Conference |
| East Division | |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 5 |
| AP | No. 5 |
| Record | 12–2 (8–1 Big Ten) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Kevin Wilson (1st season) |
| Co-offensive coordinator | Ryan Day (1st season) |
| Offensive scheme | Spread |
| Defensive coordinator | Greg Schiano (2nd season) |
| Base defense | 4–3 |
| Captain | J. T. Barrett Parris Campbell Jalyn Holmes Sam Hubbard Tyquan Lewis Terry McLaurin Billy Price Tracy Sprinkle Chris Worley |
| Home stadium | Ohio Stadium |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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.
- ^ Lesmerises, Doug (July 21, 2017). "Ohio State Buckeyes picked to win Big Ten in cleveland.com 2017 preseason poll". Cleveland.com.
- ^ "2017 Leaders". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved February 1, 2019.