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2017 Ohio State

12–⁠2 (8–⁠1 Big Ten), coached by Urban Meyer, finished No. 5 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Ohio State in 2017, game by game: won at Indiana 49–21; lost vs. No. 5 Oklahoma 16–31; won vs. Army 38–7; won vs. UNLV 54–21; won at Rutgers 56–0; won vs. Maryland 62–14; won at Nebraska 56–14; won vs. No. 2 Penn State 39–38; lost at Iowa 24–55; won vs. No. 13 Michigan State 48–3; won vs. Illinois 52–14; won at Michigan 31–20; won vs. No. 3 Wisconsin 27–21; won vs. No. 8 USC 24–7+56−31Won 49–21 at Indiana+28IndianaLost 16–31 vs. No. 5 Oklahoma-15No. 5 OklahomaWon 38–7 vs. Army+31ArmyWon 54–21 vs. UNLV+33UNLVWon 56–0 at Rutgers+56RutgersWon 62–14 vs. Maryland+48MarylandWon 56–14 at Nebraska+42NebraskaWon 39–38 vs. No. 2 Penn State+1No. 2 Penn StateLost 24–55 at Iowa-31IowaWon 48–3 vs. No. 13 Michigan State+45No. 13 Michigan StateWon 52–14 vs. Illinois+38IllinoisWon 31–20 at Michigan+11MichiganWon 27–21 vs. No. 3 Wisconsin+6No. 3 WisconsinWon 24–7 vs. No. 8 USC+17No. 8 USC
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31atIndianaW 49–⁠2171%
Sep 9vs5OklahomaL 16–⁠3160%
Sep 16vsArmyW 38–⁠780%
Sep 23vsUNLVW 54–⁠2188%
Sep 30atRutgersW 56–⁠084%
Oct 7vsMarylandW 62–⁠1483%
Oct 14atNebraskaW 56–⁠1467%
Oct 28vs2Penn StateW 39–⁠3859%
Nov 4atIowaL 24–⁠5566%
Nov 11vs13Michigan StateW 48–⁠372%
Nov 18vsIllinoisW 52–⁠1493%
Nov 25atMichiganW 31–⁠2048%
Dec 2vs3WisconsinBig Ten Championship GameW 27–⁠2142%
Dec 29Bowls & playoffvs8USCCotton BowlW 24–⁠753%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat USC 24–⁠7 in the Cotton Bowl; No. 5 in the final AP poll; Big Ten champions.

In program history: The 8th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 128 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 2
  2. Wk 2: 2
  3. Wk 3: 8
  4. Wk 4: 10
  5. Wk 5: 11
  6. Wk 6: 10
  7. Wk 7: 9
  8. Wk 8: 6
  9. Wk 9: 6
  10. Wk 10: 3
  11. Wk 11: 11
  12. Wk 12: 8
  13. Wk 13: 8
  14. Wk 14: 8
  15. Wk 15: 5
  16. Final: 5

Big Ten champions8–⁠1 in the conference, won the Big Ten Championship Game

Rimington TrophyBilly Price, C

2 consensus All-AmericansBilly Price, C; Denzel Ward, DB

Record
12–⁠2
Conference
8–⁠1 2nd in Big Ten
AP final
No. 5 peak No. 2
Points
576–⁠266
Coach
Urban Meyer
Elo
1810 +108 this season
SP+ rating
30.9 No. 2 of 128; offense No. 3, defense No. 7, special teams No. 30
SRS
22.5 No. 6 of 130 in FBS
Returning
60% of last season’s EPA, No. 67 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 2 roster talent No. 2 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Kevin Wilson and Ryan Day
Defensive coordinator
Greg Schiano
Captains
J.T. Barrett, Parris Campbell, Jalyn Holmes, Sam Hubbard, Tyquan Lewis, Terry McLaurin, Billy Price, Tracy Sprinkle and Chris Worley
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense7th of 130
  • Defense16th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted7th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted12th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2453%1.117th of 130
Defense-0.0335%1.2616th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.23 off
-0.03 def		52% off
34% def		—7th off
12th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense4.3own 3012% allowed
Defense2.6own 3122% caused

CORE rating 27.3, 4th of 130 (offense 14.6, defense -12.7).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsJ.T. Barrett QB3,053 yds
Passing touchdownsJ.T. Barrett QB35 TD
Rushing yardsJ.K. Dobbins RB1,403 yds
Rushing touchdownsJ.T. Barrett QB12 TD
Receiving yardsParris Campbell WR584 yds
Receiving touchdownsJohnnie Dixon WR8 TD
TacklesJerome Baker LB72 tkl
SacksNick Bosa DE8.5 sacks
InterceptionsDamon Webb S5 INT

Top recruits in the 2017 class

Chase Young WDE★★★★★No. 7
Jeff Okudah CB★★★★★No. 8
Baron Browning OLB★★★★★No. 11
Shaun Wade CB★★★★★No. 17
Wyatt Davis OG★★★★★No. 24
Trevon Grimes WR★★★★No. 41
J.K. Dobbins APB★★★★No. 46
Josh Myers OG★★★★No. 53

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2017 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.974
Running backs23.00.860
Receivers33.70.920
Offensive line34.30.955
Defensive line34.30.958
Linebackers24.50.948
Defensive backs54.40.961
Athletes and specialists23.50.888
Whole class214.00.937

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2018

The 2018 draft
Rd 1Denzel Ward CBCleveland Browns
Rd 1Billy Price CCincinnati Bengals
Rd 2Tyquan Lewis DEIndianapolis Colts
Rd 3Jerome Baker OLBMiami Dolphins
Rd 3Sam Hubbard DECincinnati Bengals
Rd 4Jalyn Holmes DEMinnesota Vikings
Rd 5Jamarco Jones OTSeattle Seahawks

Roster 113

The 2017 roster

113 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2017 line; 66 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

7 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2017 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2017 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Wisconsin9–⁠013–⁠17
Ohio State8–⁠112–⁠25
Penn State7–⁠211–⁠28
Northwestern7–⁠210–⁠317
Michigan State7–⁠210–⁠315
Michigan5–⁠48–⁠5
Iowa4–⁠58–⁠5
Purdue4–⁠57–⁠6
Rutgers3–⁠64–⁠8
Nebraska3–⁠64–⁠8
Minnesota2–⁠75–⁠7
Indiana2–⁠75–⁠7
Maryland2–⁠74–⁠8
Illinois0–⁠92–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.