From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigationJump to search

The 2018 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented Ohio State University during the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Buckeyes played their home games at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. This was the Buckeyes' 129th overall season and 106th as a member of the Big Ten Conference. They were led by head coach Urban Meyer in his seventh and final season at Ohio State.

Shortly before the season, head coach Urban Meyer was placed on administrative leave due to allegations that he was aware of domestic violence incidents involving former wide receivers coach Zach Smith.[1] Ryan Day was named acting head coach.[2] After a lengthy investigation, Meyer was suspended for three games for poor handling of the situation. Day acted as the head coach during Meyer's suspension.

The Buckeyes won each of their three games under Ryan Day to open the season, including a victory over then-No. 15 TCU in AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. After Urban Meyer's return, Ohio State won their following four games, including a close win on the road over then-No. 9 Penn State. Ohio State rose to second in the AP Poll, but suffered a devastating loss on the road to Purdue, 49–20. The Buckeyes won their remaining regular season games, however, and secured a spot in the 2018 Big Ten Football Championship Game after defeating rival No. 4 Michigan 62–39. Ohio State defeated West Division champion Northwestern in that game convincingly, 45–24, but in the final College Football Playoff rankings of the year, the Buckeyes were ranked sixth, leaving them just outside the playoff for the second consecutive year. The team was invited to the Rose Bowl to play Pac-12 Conference champion Washington. In the weeks before the game, Urban Meyer announced that he would retire at the end of the season, and the Rose Bowl would be his final game as head coach. The Buckeyes won the game to finish the year at 13–1, and were ranked third in the final polls.

The team was led offensively by quarterback Dwayne Haskins, who led FBS with 4,831 passing yards and 50 passing touchdowns, both of which set school records by wide margins. Haskins was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, finishing in third. On the ground, running backs J. K. Dobbins and Mike Weber combined for over 2,000 yards rushing. Wide receiver Parris Campbell led the team with 1,063 receiving yards and a Big Ten-leading 12 receiving touchdowns. Defensive star and pre-season All-American lineman Nick Bosa suffered a groin injury during the game against TCU. He underwent surgery and elected not to return to the team, instead focusing on recovering for the 2019 NFL Draft.

Previous season[edit]

The Buckeyes finished the 2017 season 12–2, 8–1 in Big Ten play to win the East division. They defeated Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship 27–21. However, despite an 11–2 record, they failed to receive an invitation to the College Football Playoff. Instead, they received a bid to the Cotton Bowl Classic where they defeated USC 24–7.

Offseason[edit]

2018 NFL Draft[edit]

Recruiting[edit]

Recruiting class[edit]

The Buckeyes signed a total of 26 recruits. The class was rated as the second best in the country behind Georgia by the 247Sports Composite, and the best class in the Big Ten Conference.[3] Headlining the class were consensus five star recruits Nicholas Petit-Frere (offensive tackle), Taron Vincent (defensive tackle), and Tyreke Johnson (safety).

Position key[edit]

Preseason[edit]

Award watch lists[edit]

Schedule[edit]

Source[17]

Rankings[edit]

Personnel[edit]

Roster[edit]

Coaching changes[edit]

  • Wide receiver coach Zach Smith was fired in July 2018 after domestic violence allegations came to light.[18] Brian Hartline was named interim WR coach.[19]
  • Head coach Urban Meyer was placed on administrative leave after reports surfaced claiming he knew about Smith's incidents of domestic violence.[1] Ryan Day was named acting head coach.[2][20]

Game summaries[edit]

Oregon State[edit]

Game Statistics[21]

Game Leaders

Rutgers[edit]

Game Statistics[22]

Game Leaders

vs. TCU[edit]

Advocare Showdown: #4 Ohio State Buckeyes (2–0) vs. #15 TCU Horned Frogs (2–0)

at AT&T Stadium • Arlington, Texas

  • Date: September 15
  • Game time: 7:00 p.m. CDT
  • Game weather: Indoors (roof closed)
  • Game attendance: 64,362
  • Referee: Duan Heydt
  • TV announcers (ABC): Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, and Maria Taylor
  • Box Score

Tulane[edit]

Game Statistics

Game Leaders

at Penn State[edit]

#4 Ohio State Buckeyes (4–0) at #9 Penn State Nittany Lions (4–0)

at Beaver Stadium • State College, Pennsylvania

  • Date: September 29
  • Game time: 7:30 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: Clear • 60 °F (16 °C) • Wind NW 4 miles per hour (6.4 km/h; 3.5 kn)
  • Game attendance: 110,889
  • Referee: Dan Capron
  • TV announcers (ABC): Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit
  • Box Score

Indiana[edit]

Game Statistics

Game Leaders

Minnesota[edit]

Game Statistics

Game Leaders

at Purdue[edit]

#2 Ohio State Buckeyes (7–0) at Purdue Boilermakers (3–3)

at Ross-Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, Indiana

  • Date: October 20
  • Game time: 7:30 p.m.
  • Game weather: Clear • 37 °F (3 °C) • Wind NW 18 miles per hour (29 km/h; 16 kn)
  • Game attendance: 60,716
  • Referee: Mark Kluczynski
  • TV announcers (ABC): Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Maria Taylor and Tom Rinaldi
  • Box Score

Nebraska[edit]

Game Statistics

Game Leaders

at Michigan State[edit]

Game Statistics

Game Leaders

at Maryland[edit]

#9 Ohio State Buckeyes (9–1) at Maryland Terrrapins (5–5)

at Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium • College Park, Maryland

  • Date: November 17
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: Sunny
  • Game attendance: 38,177
  • Referee: Mark Kluczynski
  • TV announcers (ABC): Dave Pasch and Greg McElroy
  • Box Score Final

Michigan[edit]

#4 Michigan Wolverines (10–1) at #10 Ohio State Buckeyes (10–1)

at Ohio Stadium • Columbus, Ohio

  • Date: November 24
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: Cloudy • 48 °F (9 °C) • Wind 11 miles per hour (18 km/h; 9.6 kn)
  • Game attendance: 106,588
  • Referee: Mike Cannon
  • TV announcers (Fox): Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt and Jenny Taft
  • Box Score

Big Ten Championship Game[edit]

Game Statistics

Game Leaders

Rose Bowl[edit]

Rose Bowl: #5 Ohio State Buckeyes vs. #9 Washington Huskies

at Rose Bowl • Pasadena, California

  • Date: January 1, 2019
  • Game time: 5:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: Sunny • 60 °F (16 °C) • Wind 6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h; 5.2 kn) N
  • Game attendance: 91,853
  • Referee: John McDaid
  • TV announcers (ESPN): Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Maria Taylor and Tom Rinaldi
  • Box Score

Awards and honors[edit]

*The NCAA and Ohio State only recognize the AP, AFCA, FWAA, Sporting News and WCFF All-American teams to determine if a player is a Consensus or Unanimous All-American. To be named a Consensus All-American, a player must be named first team in three polls and to be Unanimous, they must be named first team in all five.

Players drafted into the NFL[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Ohio State places coach Urban Meyer on 'administrative leave' pending investigation". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2018-08-02.
  2. ^ a b "Ohio St. places Meyer on administrative leave". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-08-02.
  3. ^ "2018 Football Team Rankings". 247Sports.com. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
  4. ^ "2018 Watch List | Lott IMPACT Trophy | Honoring College Football's Defensive Best". lottimpacttrophy.org. Retrieved 2018-07-17.
  5. ^ "2018 Bednarik Award Watch List". July 16, 2018. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  6. ^ "2018 Maxwell Award Watch List". July 16, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  7. ^ "2018 Doak Walker Award Candidates". July 18, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  8. ^ "2018 John Mackey Award Preseason Watch List Released" (PDF). July 20, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  9. ^ "Paycom Jim Thorpe Award Names 2018 Preseason Watchlist". July 23, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  10. ^ "2018 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Preseason Watch List". July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  11. ^ "22018 OUTLAND TROPHY WATCH LIST UNVEILED". July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  12. ^ "Ray Guy Award preseason watch list unveiled". July 25, 2018. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  13. ^ "43 PLAYERS NAMED TO 2018 PAUL HORNUNG AWARD WATCH LIST". July 26, 2018. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  14. ^ Carbone, Al (July 27, 2018). "Walter Camp Football Foundation Announces 2018 Player of the Year Preseason "Watch List"". Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  15. ^ "Preseason Watch List - 2018 edition of the Ted Hendricks Award" (PDF). August 14, 2018. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
  16. ^ "2018 Nominations The Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award" (PDF). August 16, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  17. ^ http://www.fbschedules.com/ncaa-18/2018-ohio-state-buckeyes-football-schedule.php
  18. ^ "Ohio State fires wide receivers coach Zach Smith after domestic violence allegations". WCMH-TV. July 23, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  19. ^ Rittenberg, Adam (July 26, 2018). "Buckeyes name Brian Hartline interim WR coach for 2018 season". ESPN. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  20. ^ http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/24449427/ohio-state-suspends-coach-urban-meyer-ad-gene-smith
  21. ^ "Oregon State vs. Ohio State - Team Statistics - September 1, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-09-04.
  22. ^ "Rutgers vs. Ohio State - Team Statistics - September 8, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
  23. ^ "Big Ten Football Players of the Week". Retrieved 2018-09-17.
  24. ^ "Ohio State University Football". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2018-09-25.
  25. ^ "Big Ten Football Players of the Week". Retrieved 2018-09-17.
  26. ^ "Big Ten Football Players of the Week". Retrieved 2018-09-17.
  27. ^ "Dwayne Haskins Named B1G Co-Offensive Player of the Week". Ohio State Buckeyes. 2018-09-24. Retrieved 2018-09-24.
  28. ^ "Ray Guy Award | RGA NEWS". Ray Guy Award | Augusta | rayguyaward.com | Augusta Sports Council. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
  29. ^ a b "Big Ten Football Players of the Week". Retrieved 2018-10-01.
  30. ^ "Chase Young Named Chuck Bednarik Award Player of the Week". Eleven Warriors. 2018-10-02. Retrieved 2018-10-04.
  31. ^ "Dwayne Haskins named Big Ten Player of the Week for 4th time this season". WBNS-10TV Columbus, Ohio | Columbus News, Weather & Sports. 2018-10-08. Retrieved 2018-10-08.
  32. ^ "Dwayne Haskins Named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week For Record the Fifth Time This Season". Eleven Warriors. 2018-11-19. Retrieved 2018-11-19.
  33. ^ "Big Ten Football Players of the Week". Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  34. ^ "Chris Olave is the 247Sports True Freshman of the Week". 247Sports. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  35. ^ a b "Big Ten Announces Football All-Conference Teams for Offense". Retrieved 2018-11-29.
  36. ^ Greenstein, Teddy. "Ohio State's Dwayne Haskins wins 2018 Chicago Tribune Silver Football". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2018-11-30.
  37. ^ "Haskins, Bush receive top honors on AP All-Big Ten team". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2018-12-06.
  38. ^ "Touchdown Club of Columbus". Retrieved 2018-12-18.
  39. ^ Miller, Kerry. "Bleacher Report's 2017 College Football All-America Team". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2017-12-08.