CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2024 Ohio State

14–⁠2 (7–⁠2 Big Ten), coached by Ryan Day, finished No. 1 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Ohio State in 2024, game by game: won vs. Akron 52–6; won vs. Western Michigan 56–0; won vs. Marshall 49–14; won at Michigan State 38–7; won vs. Iowa 35–7; lost at No. 3 Oregon 31–32; won vs. Nebraska 21–17; won at No. 3 Penn State 20–13; won vs. Purdue 45–0; won vs. Northwestern 31–7; won vs. No. 5 Indiana 38–15; lost vs. Michigan 10–13; won vs. No. 7 Tennessee 42–17; won vs. No. 1 Oregon 41–21; won vs. No. 4 Texas 28–14; won vs. No. 3 Notre Dame 34–23+56−3Won 52–6 vs. Akron+46AkronWon 56–0 vs. Western Michigan+56Western MichiganWon 49–14 vs. Marshall+35MarshallWon 38–7 at Michigan State+31Michigan StateWon 35–7 vs. Iowa+28IowaLost 31–32 at No. 3 Oregon-1No. 3 OregonWon 21–17 vs. Nebraska+4NebraskaWon 20–13 at No. 3 Penn State+7No. 3 Penn StateWon 45–0 vs. Purdue+45PurdueWon 31–7 vs. Northwestern+24NorthwesternWon 38–15 vs. No. 5 Indiana+23No. 5 IndianaLost 10–13 vs. Michigan-3MichiganWon 42–17 vs. No. 7 Tennessee+25No. 7 TennesseeWon 41–21 vs. No. 1 Oregon+20No. 1 OregonWon 28–14 vs. No. 4 Texas+14No. 4 TexasWon 34–23 vs. No. 3 Notre Dame+11No. 3 Notre Dame
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vsAkronW 52–⁠691%
Sep 7vsWestern MichiganW 56–⁠087%
Sep 21vsMarshallW 49–⁠1483%
Sep 28atMichigan StateW 38–⁠771%
Oct 5vsIowaW 35–⁠770%
Oct 12at3OregonL 31–⁠3240%
Oct 26vsNebraskaW 21–⁠1783%
Nov 2at3Penn StateW 20–⁠1343%
Nov 9vsPurdueW 45–⁠093%
Nov 16vsNorthwesternW 31–⁠782%
Nov 23vs5IndianaW 38–⁠1573%
Nov 30vsMichiganL 10–⁠1375%
Dec 21Bowls & playoffvs7TennesseeCFP First RoundW 42–⁠1767%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs1OregonRose Bowl, CFP QuarterfinalW 41–⁠2142%
Jan 10Bowls & playoffvs4TexasCotton Bowl, CFP SemifinalW 28–⁠1453%
Jan 20Bowls & playoffvs3Notre DameCFP National ChampionshipW 34–⁠2350%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Notre Dame 34–⁠23 in the CFP National Championship; No. 1 in the final AP poll; 4th in the Big Ten.

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

National championsNo. 1 in the final AP poll, and a title the school claims

Rimington TrophySeth McLaughlin, C

2 consensus All-AmericansSeth McLaughlin, C; Caleb Downs, DB

Record
14–⁠2
Conference
7–⁠2 4th in Big Ten
AP final
No. 1 peak No. 1
Points
571–⁠206
Coach
Ryan Day
Elo
1885 +202 this season
SP+ rating
31.2 No. 1 of 134; offense No. 3, defense No. 1, special teams No. 46
SRS
24.6 No. 1 of 134 in FBS
Returning
22% of last season’s EPA, No. 115 of 133
Recruiting class
No. 5 roster talent No. 3 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Chip Kelly and Brian Hartline
Defensive coordinator
Jim Knowles
Captains
Emeka Egbuka, TreVeyon Henderson, Jack Sawyer and Cody Simon
Offense
Spread option
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense2nd of 134
  • Defense5th of 134
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted1st of 134
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted3rd of 134
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.3450%1.332nd of 134
Defense-0.0635%1.195th of 134
Opponent-adjusted0.33 off
-0.06 def		51% off
34% def		—1st off
3rd 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
Offense4.6own 2912% allowed
Defense2.3own 2521% caused

CORE rating 39.0, 1st of 134 (offense 24.7, defense -14.3).

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 yardsWill Howard QB4,010 yds
Passing touchdownsWill Howard QB35 TD
Rushing yardsQuinshon Judkins RB1,060 yds
Rushing touchdownsQuinshon Judkins RB14 TD
Receiving yardsJeremiah Smith WR1,315 yds
Receiving touchdownsJeremiah Smith WR15 TD
TacklesCody Simon LB112 tkl
SacksJ.T. Tuimoloau DE12.5 sacks
InterceptionsCaleb Downs S2 INT

Top recruits in the 2024 class

Jeremiah Smith WR★★★★★No. 1
Eddrick Houston DL★★★★★No. 26
Mylan Graham WR★★★★★No. 33
Aaron Scott Jr. CB★★★★★No. 36
Air Noland QB★★★★No. 56
Bryce West CB★★★★No. 64
James Peoples RB★★★★No. 115
Garrett Stover LB★★★★No. 142

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

The 2024 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.974
Running backs14.00.948
Receivers54.20.932
Offensive line44.00.907
Defensive line34.00.931
Linebackers24.00.929
Defensive backs63.80.905
Athletes and specialists22.50.830
Whole class243.90.915

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 2025

The 2025 draft
Rd 1Emeka Egbuka WRTampa Bay Buccaneers
Rd 1Donovan Jackson OGMinnesota Vikings
Rd 1Tyleik Williams DTDetroit Lions
Rd 1Josh Simmons OTKansas City Chiefs
Rd 2Quinshon Judkins RBCleveland Browns
Rd 2TreVeyon Henderson RBNew England Patriots
Rd 2J.T. Tuimoloau DEIndianapolis Colts
Rd 4Cody Simon LBArizona Cardinals
Rd 4Lathan Ransom SCarolina Panthers
Rd 4Jack Sawyer DEPittsburgh Steelers
Rd 5Ty Hamilton DTLos Angeles Rams
Rd 5Jordan Hancock CBBuffalo Bills
Rd 5Denzel Burke CBArizona Cardinals
Rd 6Will Howard QBPittsburgh Steelers

Roster 123

The 2024 roster

123 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2024 line; 63 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 7

The 2024 portal
Caleb Downs S★★★★★from Alabama
Julian Sayin QB★★★★★from Alabama
Quinshon Judkins RB★★★★from Ole Miss
Will Howard QB★★★★from Kansas State
Seth McLaughlin OL★★★★from Alabama
Will Kacmarek TE★★★from Ohio
Keenan Nelson Jr. S★★★from South Carolina

Transfers out 26

Noah Rogers WR★★★★to NC State
Julian Fleming WR★★★★to Penn State
Kyle McCord QB★★★★to Syracuse
DeaMonte Trayanum RB★★★★to Kentucky
Bryson Rodgers WR★★★returned to Ohio State
Kyion Grayes WR★★★to California
Cedrick Hawkins Jr. S★★★to UCF
Dallan Hayden RB★★★to Colorado
Evan Pryor RB★★★to Cincinnati
Ja’Had Carter S★★★to NC State
Jyaire Brown CB★★★to LSU
Omari Abor DE★★★to SMU

And 14 more, lower-rated or unrated.

All-Big Ten

7 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2024 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2024 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Oregon9–⁠013–⁠13
Indiana8–⁠111–⁠210
Penn State8–⁠113–⁠35
Ohio State7–⁠214–⁠21
Illinois6–⁠310–⁠316
Iowa6–⁠38–⁠5
Michigan5–⁠48–⁠5
Minnesota5–⁠48–⁠5
USC4–⁠57–⁠6
Rutgers4–⁠57–⁠6
Washington4–⁠56–⁠7
Nebraska3–⁠67–⁠6
Michigan State3–⁠65–⁠7
Wisconsin3–⁠65–⁠7
UCLA3–⁠65–⁠7
Northwestern2–⁠74–⁠8
Maryland1–⁠84–⁠8
Purdue0–⁠91–⁠11

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