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2018 Ohio State

13–⁠1 (8–⁠1 Big Ten), coached by Ryan Day (acting), then Urban Meyer, finished No. 3 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Ohio State in 2018, game by game: won vs. Oregon State 77–31; won vs. Rutgers 52–3; won vs. No. 15 TCU 40–28; won vs. Tulane 49–6; won at No. 9 Penn State 27–26; won vs. Indiana 49–26; won vs. Minnesota 30–14; lost at Purdue 20–49; won vs. Nebraska 36–31; won at No. 24 Michigan State 26–6; won at Maryland 52–51; won vs. No. 4 Michigan 62–39; won vs. No. 21 Northwestern 45–24; won vs. No. 9 Washington 28–23+49−29Won 77–31 vs. Oregon State+46Oregon StateWon 52–3 vs. Rutgers+49RutgersWon 40–28 vs. No. 15 TCU+12No. 15 TCUWon 49–6 vs. Tulane+43TulaneWon 27–26 at No. 9 Penn State+1No. 9 Penn StateWon 49–26 vs. Indiana+23IndianaWon 30–14 vs. Minnesota+16MinnesotaLost 20–49 at Purdue-29PurdueWon 36–31 vs. Nebraska+5NebraskaWon 26–6 at No. 24 Michigan State+20No. 24 Michigan StateWon 52–51 at Maryland+1MarylandWon 62–39 vs. No. 4 Michigan+23No. 4 MichiganWon 45–24 vs. No. 21 Northwestern+21No. 21 NorthwesternWon 28–23 vs. No. 9 Washington+5No. 9 Washington
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vsOregon StateW 77–⁠3190%
Sep 8vsRutgersW 52–⁠387%
Sep 15vs15TCUW 40–⁠2860%
Sep 22vsTulaneW 49–⁠688%
Sep 29at9Penn StateW 27–⁠2644%
Oct 6vsIndianaW 49–⁠2683%
Oct 13vsMinnesotaW 30–⁠1487%
Oct 20atPurdueL 20–⁠4970%
Nov 3vsNebraskaW 36–⁠3187%
Nov 10at24Michigan StateW 26–⁠654%
Nov 17atMarylandW 52–⁠5179%
Nov 24vs4MichiganW 62–⁠3958%
Dec 1vs21NorthwesternBig Ten Championship GameW 45–⁠2468%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs9WashingtonRose BowlW 28–⁠2358%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Washington 28–⁠23 in the Rose Bowl; No. 3 in the final AP poll; Big Ten champions.

In program history: The 7th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 128 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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

Heisman voteDwayne Haskins, third

Led the nationDwayne Haskins: passing yards (4,831 yds), passing touchdowns (50 TD)

Record
13–⁠1
Conference
8–⁠1 shared first in Big Ten
AP final
No. 3 peak No. 2
Points
593–⁠357
Coach
Ryan Day (acting), then Urban Meyer
Elo
1815 +109 this season
SP+ rating
24.1 No. 6 of 130; offense No. 4, defense No. 26, special teams No. 38
SRS
16.4 No. 7 of 130 in FBS
Returning
60% of last season’s EPA, No. 75 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 2 roster talent No. 1 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Ryan Day and Kevin Wilson
Defensive coordinators
Greg Schiano and Alex Grinch
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense8th of 130
  • Defense48th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted6th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted51st of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2650%1.188th of 130
Defense0.0640%1.3148th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.25 off
0.07 def		51% off
39% def		—6th off
51st 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
Offense4.0own 3112% allowed
Defense3.2own 2519% caused

CORE rating 16.9, 8th of 130 (offense 12.0, defense -4.9).

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 yardsDwayne Haskins QB4,751 yds
Passing touchdownsDwayne Haskins QB49 TD
Rushing yardsJ.K. Dobbins RB1,053 yds
Rushing touchdownsJ.K. Dobbins RB10 TD
Receiving yardsParris Campbell WR983 yds
Receiving touchdownsParris Campbell WR11 TD
TacklesJordan Fuller S81 tkl
SacksChase Young DE9.5 sacks
InterceptionsShaun Wade CB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2018 class

Nicholas Petit-Frere OT★★★★★No. 7
Taron Vincent DT★★★★★No. 20
Tyreke Johnson S★★★★★No. 21
Jaelen Gill APB★★★★No. 30
Tyreke Smith WDE★★★★No. 34
Jeremy Ruckert TE★★★★No. 37
Teradja Mitchell ILB★★★★No. 44
Tommy Togiai DT★★★★No. 55

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

The 2018 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.896
Running backs34.00.952
Receivers53.60.915
Offensive line34.30.970
Defensive line63.70.913
Linebackers44.00.936
Defensive backs44.00.935
Athletes and specialists14.00.945
Whole class273.90.931

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 2019

The 2019 draft
Rd 1Nick Bosa DESan Francisco 49ers
Rd 1Dwayne Haskins QBWashington Redskins
Rd 2Parris Campbell WRIndianapolis Colts
Rd 3Dre’Mont Jones DTDenver Broncos
Rd 3Terry McLaurin WRWashington Redskins
Rd 4Kendall Sheffield CBAtlanta Falcons
Rd 4Michael Jordan OGCincinnati Bengals
Rd 6Isaiah Prince OTMiami Dolphins
Rd 7Mike Weber RBDallas Cowboys

Roster 118

The 2018 roster

118 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2018 line; 63 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

4 first team, 5 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2018 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2018 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State8–⁠113–⁠13
Michigan8–⁠110–⁠314
Northwestern8–⁠19–⁠521
Penn State6–⁠39–⁠417
Iowa5–⁠49–⁠425
Wisconsin5–⁠48–⁠5
Michigan State5–⁠47–⁠6
Purdue5–⁠46–⁠7
Minnesota3–⁠67–⁠6
Maryland3–⁠65–⁠7
Nebraska3–⁠64–⁠8
Indiana2–⁠75–⁠7
Illinois2–⁠74–⁠8
Rutgers0–⁠91–⁠11

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