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. 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 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.
Offseason
2018 NFL draft 14Cleveland BrownsDenzel WardCB121Cincinnati BengalsBilly PriceC264Indianapolis ColtsTyquan LewisDE373Miami DolphinsJerome BakerLB377Cincinnati BengalsSam HubbardDE4102Minnesota VikingsJalyn HolmesDE5168Seattle SeahawksJamarco JonesOT
Recruiting
Recruiting class 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. Headlining the class were consensus five star recruits Nicholas Petit-Frere (offensive tackle), Taron Vincent (defensive tackle), and Tyreke Johnson (safety).
Preseason
Award watch lists Lott TrophyNick BosaDEJRJordan FullerSJRChuck Bednarik AwardNick BosaDEJRMaxwell AwardNick BosaDEJRJ. K. DobbinsRBSODoak Walker AwardJ. K DobbinsRBSOJohn Mackey AwardLuke FarrellTESOJim Thorpe AwardJordan FullerSJRBronko Nagurski TrophyNick BosaDEJRDre'Mont JonesDTJROutland TrophyDre'Mont JonesDTJRMichael JordanOLJRIsaiah PrinceOLSRRay Guy AwardDrue ChrismanPSOPaul Hornung AwardParris CampbellWR/KRSRWalter Camp AwardNick BosaDEJRJ. K. DobbinsRBSOTed Hendricks AwardNick BosaDEJREarl Campbell Tyler Rose AwardJ. K DobbinsRBSO
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 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 StatisticOH St.OR St.Total yards721392Passing yards346196Rushing yards375196Penalties6-505-49Turnovers22Time of possession31:1628:44 Game Leaders StatisticOhio StateOregon StatePassingDwayne Haskins (313)Conor Blount (169)RushingMike Weber (186)Artavis Pierce (168)ReceivingTerry McLaurin (121)Trevon Bradford (104)
Rutgers
Game Statistics StatisticOSURUTotal yards579134Passing yards35465Rushing yards22569Penalties11-1207-72Turnovers02Time of possession31:3728:23 Game Leaders StatisticOhio StateRutgersPassingDwayne Haskins (233)Artur Sitkowski (38)RushingTate Martell (95)Raheem Blackshear (31)ReceivingJohnnie Dixon (89)Travis Vokolek (13)
Vs. TCU
Tulane
Game Statistics StatisticOSUTUTotal yards570256Passing yards419156Rushing yards151100Penalties10-896-55Turnovers00Time of possession29:0031:00 Game Leaders StatisticOhio StateTulanePassingDwayne Haskins (304)Jonathan Banks (141)RushingJ. K. Dobbins (55)Corey Dauphine (53)ReceivingParris Campbell (147)Darnell Mooney (77)
At Penn State
Indiana
Game Statistics StatisticOSUIUTotal yards609406Passing yards455322Rushing yards15484Penalties9-823-35Turnovers32Time of possession36:4223:18 Game Leaders StatisticOhio StateIndianaPassingDwayne Haskins (455)Peyton Ramsey (322)RushingJ. K. Dobbins (82)Stevie Scott (64)ReceivingParris Campbell (142)Nick Westbrook-Ikhine (109)
Minnesota
Game Statistics StatisticOSUMINNTotal yards504396Passing yards412218Rushing yards92178Penalties5-364-60Turnovers03Time of possession31:4528:15 Game Leaders StatisticOhio StateMinnesotaPassingDwayne Haskins (412)Zack Annexstad (218)RushingMike Weber (82)Mohamed Ibrahim (157)ReceivingK. J. Hill (187)Tyler Johnson (119)
At Purdue
Nebraska
Game Statistics StatisticOSUNEBTotal yards481450Passing yards252266Rushing yards229184Penalties6-465-44Turnovers31Time of possession26:2733:33 Game Leaders StatisticOhio StateNebraskaPassingDwayne Haskins (252)Adrian Martinez (266)RushingJ. K. Dobbins (163)Devine Ozigbo (86)ReceivingJohnnie Dixon (96)Stanley Morgan Jr. (87)
At Michigan State
Game Statistics StatisticOSUMSUTotal yards347274Passing yards227220Rushing yards12054Penalties4-307-46Turnovers13Time of possession37:2922:30 Game Leaders StatisticOhio StateMichigan StatePassingDwayne Haskins (227)Brian Lewerke (128)RushingMike Weber (104)Rocky Lombardi (49)ReceivingTerry McLaurin (63)Cody White (115)
At Maryland
Michigan
Big Ten Championship Game
Game Statistics StatisticOSUNWTotal yards607418Passing yards499267Rushing yards108151Penalties9-903-15Turnovers23Time of possession35:5224:08 Game Leaders StatisticOhio StateNorthwesternPassingDwayne Haskins (499)Clayton Thorson (267)RushingJ. K. Dobbins (68)John Moten (76)ReceivingJohnnie Dixon (129)Kyric McGowan (50)
Rose Bowl
Awards and honors All-Conference HonorsDwayne HaskinsQB1st Team1st Team1st TeamDre'Mont JonesDL1st Team2nd Team1st TeamParris CampbellWR1st Team2nd Team2nd TeamIsaiah PrinceOT1st Team1st Team1st TeamJ. K. DobbinsRB2nd TeamHMMichael JordanC2nd Team2nd Team2nd TeamChase YoungDL2nd Team3rd TeamDrue ChrismanP2nd Team2nd Team2nd TeamJordan FullerSHM2nd Team2nd TeamK. J. HillWRHM3rd TeamMike WeberRBHMMalcolm PridgeonOGHMHMDemetrius KnoxOGHM3rd TeamKendall SheffieldCBHMHMDamon ArnetteCBHMHMJeff OkudahCBHMJonathon CooperDLHMHMMalik HarrisonLBHMHMRobert LandersDLHMTerry McLaurinWRHMTuf BorlandLBHMHMNick BosaDLHMThayer MunfordOTHMPete WernerLBHM
Weekly AwardsDwayne HaskinsBig Ten Offensive Player of the WeekSeptember 3, 2018Nick BosaBednarik Award Player of the WeekSeptember 5, 2018Tate MartellBig Ten Co-Freshman of the WeekSeptember 10, 2018Dre'Mont JonesBig Ten Defensive Player of the WeekSeptember 17, 2018Dwayne HaskinsBig Ten Co-offensive Player of the WeekSeptember 24, 2018Drue ChrismanRay Guy Award Punter of the WeekSeptember 30, 2018Dwayne HaskinsBig Ten Offensive Player of the WeekOctober 1, 2018Chase YoungBig Ten Co-defensive Player of the WeekOctober 1, 2018Chase YoungBednarik Award Player of the WeekOctober 2, 2018Dwayne HaskinsBig Ten Offensive Player of the WeekOctober 8, 2018Dwayne HaskinsBig Ten Offensive Player of the WeekNovember 19, 2018Dwayne HaskinsBig Ten Offensive Player of the WeekNovember 26, 2018Chris Olave247Sports True Freshman of the WeekNovember 26, 2018
Annual AwardsDwayne HaskinsGraham-George Offensive Player of the YearNovember 28, 2018Griese-Brees Quarterback of the YearChicago Tribune Silver FootballNovember 30, 2018AP Big Ten Offensive Player of the YearDecember 5, 2018Sammy Baugh Top Passer AwardDecember 2018Chic Harley Player of the Year AwardKellen Moore Quarterback of the Year AwardJohnnie DixonBig Ten Sportsmanship AwardNovember 27, 2018
NCAA Recognized All-American HonorsDwayne HaskinsQB3rd Team Michael JordanC3rd Team2nd Team *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. Other All-American HonorsMichael JordanC 1st TeamHM 1st Team Dre'Mont JonesDT1st TeamDwayne HaskinsQBHMIsaiah PrinceOGHM
Players drafted into the NFL
1 2 Nick Bosa DE San Francisco 49ers 1 15 Dwayne Haskins QB Washington Redskins 2 59 Parris Campbell WR Indianapolis Colts 3 71 Dre'Mont Jones DT Denver Broncos 3 76 Terry McLaurin WR Washington Redskins 4 111 Kendall Sheffield CB Atlanta Falcons 4 136 Michael Jordan C Cincinnati Bengals 6 202 Isaiah Prince OT Miami Dolphins 7 218 Mike Weber RB Dallas Cowboys
References