The 2018 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...
during the
2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season
The 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the 149th season of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at its highest level of competition, the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) ...
. The Buckeyes played their home games at
Ohio Stadium
Ohio Stadium is an American football stadium in Columbus, Ohio, on the campus of Ohio State University. It primarily serves as the home venue of the Ohio State Buckeyes football team and is also the site for the university's Spring Commencemen ...
in
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...
. This was the Buckeyes' 129th overall season and 106th as a member of the
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...
. They were led by head coach
Urban Meyer
Urban Frank Meyer III (born July 10, 1964) is an American Sports commentator, sportscaster and former college football coach. He spent most of his coaching career at the collegiate level, having served as the head coach of the Bowling Green F ...
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.
Ryan Day was named acting head coach.
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 TCU may stand for:
Education
* Tanzania Commission for Universities, regulatory body for Universities in Tanzania
* Texas Christian University, a private university in Fort Worth, Texas
** TCU Horned Frogs, the athletic programs of the school
* Tok ...
in
AT&T Stadium
AT&T Stadium is a retractable roof stadium in Arlington, Texas, United States. It serves as the home of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL), and was completed on May 27, 2009. It is also the home of the Cotton Bowl Classic ...
in
Arlington, Texas
Arlington is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal c ...
. 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 #Redirect Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...
. Ohio State rose to second in the
AP Poll, but suffered a devastating loss on the road to
Purdue
Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...
, 49–20. The Buckeyes won their remaining regular season games, however, and secured a spot in the
2018 Big Ten Football Championship Game
The 2018 Big Ten Football Championship Game presented by Discover was played on December 1, 2018 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. The eighth annual Big Ten Football Championship Game, it determined the 2018 champion of the Big Ten C ...
after defeating rival No. 4
Michigan
Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
62–39. Ohio State defeated West Division champion
Northwestern in that game convincingly, 45–24, but in the final
College Football Playoff
The College Football Playoff (CFP) is an annual single-elimination tournament, knockout invitational tournament to determine a national champion for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, D ...
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
The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...
champion
Washington
Washington most commonly refers to:
* George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States
* Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A ...
. 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
The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...
, finishing in third. On the ground, running backs
J. K. Dobbins and
Mike Weber
Michael Weber (born December 16, 1987) is an American former professional ice hockey Defenceman, defenseman. He previously played with the Buffalo Sabres and Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL) and Frölunda HC of the Swedis ...
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
Nicholas John Bosa (born October 23, 1997) is an American professional American football, football defensive end for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes football, O ...
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
The 2019 NFL draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville. The first round was held ...
.
Offseason
2018 NFL Draft
Recruiting
Recruiting class
The Buckeyes signed a total of 26 recruits. The class was rated as the second best in the country behind
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
by the
247Sports Composite, and the best class in the
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...
. Headlining the class were consensus five star recruits
Nicholas Petit-Frere (offensive tackle),
Taron Vincent (defensive tackle), and
Tyreke Johnson (safety).
Position key
Preseason
Award watch lists
Schedule
Source
Rankings
Personnel
Roster
Depth chart
Starters and backups.
Coaching changes
* Wide receiver coach Zach Smith was fired in July 2018 after domestic violence allegations came to light.
Brian Hartline
Brian Jack Hartline (born November 22, 1986) is an American football coach and former wide receiver who is the offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach at Ohio State. He played college football at Ohio State, and was selected by the Miami D ...
was named interim WR coach.
*Head coach Urban Meyer was placed on administrative leave after reports surfaced claiming he knew about Smith's incidents of domestic violence.
Ryan Day was named acting head coach.
Game summaries
Oregon State
Game Statistics
Game Leaders
Rutgers
Game Statistics
Game Leaders
Vs. TCU
Tulane
Game Statistics
Game Leaders
At Penn State
Indiana
Game Statistics
Game Leaders
Minnesota
Game Statistics
Game Leaders
At Purdue
Nebraska
Game Statistics
Game Leaders
At Michigan State
Game Statistics
Game Leaders
At Maryland
Michigan
Big Ten Championship Game
Game Statistics
Game Leaders
Rose Bowl
Awards and honors
*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
References
{{Big Ten Conference football champions
Ohio State
The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...
Ohio State Buckeyes football seasons
Big Ten Conference football champion seasons
Rose Bowl champion seasons
Ohio State Buckeyes football
The Ohio State Buckeyes football team competes as part of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, representing Ohio State University in the Big Ten Conference. Ohio State has played its home games at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, since 1 ...