Man, looking back at the ohio state buckeyes 2017 football schedule, it feels like a fever dream. If you're a fan of the Scarlet and Gray, you probably remember that year as a weird mix of incredible highs and that one absolute "what just happened?" moment in Iowa City. Urban Meyer was still at the helm. J.T. Barrett was in his what, tenth year of eligibility? Okay, it was his senior year, but it felt like he’d been there forever. This was a team that had the talent to win a national title but ended up as a cautionary tale for the College Football Playoff committee.
The Buckeyes finished 12-2. On paper, that’s a stellar year for 99% of programs. But at Ohio State, we judge seasons by whether or not you're playing in January for the big trophy.
The journey started on a Thursday night in Bloomington. It was weird. You don't usually see the Buckeyes opening up a season on a weeknight against a conference opponent, but there they were against Indiana. It wasn't pretty early on. Indiana actually led at halftime. Imagine the panic on Twitter back then. But the Buckeyes woke up, Barrett found his rhythm, and they pulled away for a 49-21 win. It was a classic "shake off the rust" game that set the stage for a massive non-conference showdown.
The Early Season Reality Check
Week two brought Baker Mayfield and Oklahoma to the Shoe. This was the game everyone circled on their calendars. The previous year, Ohio State went into Norman and embarrassed the Sooners. This time? Different story. The ohio state buckeyes 2017 football schedule hit a brick wall early. Mayfield was surgical. He planted the flag in the middle of the "O" at midfield after a 31-16 Sooner victory. It was embarrassing.
Honestly, that loss changed the trajectory of the season. It forced Urban Meyer to look at the offense. Ryan Day was the co-offensive coordinator then, and you could see the philosophy starting to shift. They spent the next few weeks beating up on overmatched opponents. Army came to town—38-7. Then UNLV got rolled 54-21. Rutgers? 56-0. Maryland? 62-14. Nebraska? 56-14.
The Buckeyes were scoring at will. Barrett was breaking Big Ten records left and right. Everything looked like it was back on track for a playoff run. They were building momentum for the biggest game of the year.
That Penn State Game Was Pure Insanity
If you want to talk about the peak of the 2017 season, it’s the Penn State game. October 28th. The Horseshoe was rocking. Saquon Barkley took the opening kickoff back for a touchdown, and it felt like the air just left the stadium. Penn State was ranked No. 2 in the country. They were leading by 15 points in the fourth quarter.
But then J.T. Barrett played the best quarter of football in his entire life.
He went 13-of-13 in the fourth. He was hitting everybody. Binjimen Victor, Johnnie Dixon, Marcus Baugh. When Baugh caught that touchdown pass to take the lead with less than two minutes left, I’m pretty sure the seismic monitors in Columbus went off. Ohio State won 39-38. It was a signature win. It was supposed to be the moment that catapulted them back into the top four.
The Iowa Nightmare Nobody Saw Coming
Then came the trip to Kinnick Stadium. Every Ohio State fan knows that Kinnick at night is where dreams go to die. We just didn't think it would happen to this team.
The ohio state buckeyes 2017 football schedule will forever be remembered for November 4, 2017. A 55-24 loss to Iowa. Read those numbers again. Fifty-five to twenty-four. It wasn't just a loss; it was a systematic dismantling of a top-tier defense. Iowa’s tight ends were running free all day. J.T. Barrett threw four interceptions. It was inexplicable.
- Iowa had a game plan that targeted the Buckeyes' linebackers in coverage.
- The Buckeyes looked flat, perhaps still hungover from the emotional Penn State win.
- The playoff hopes didn't just flicker; they seemingly extinguished in the Iowa cornfields.
That loss is still brought up today when people talk about the "Urban Meyer mystery loss." Every year, his teams seemed to have one game where they just didn't show up. This was the 2017 version, and it was the ugliest one of the bunch.
Salvaging the Season and The Game
How do you bounce back from getting smoked by 31 points? You beat Michigan. That’s how. But before that, they had to handle Michigan State. They did—48-3. Total domination. Then they got past Illinois 52-14 in a rainy Senior Day.
Then came Ann Arbor.
The 2017 edition of The Game was intense. Barrett actually got injured before the game by a cameraman on the sideline—one of the weirdest stories in rivalry history. He started the game but eventually had to come out. Enter Dwayne Haskins.
This was the world’s introduction to what Haskins could do. He came in cold, facing a deficit, and delivered a third-down strike to Austin Mack that basically changed the course of the program's future. Ohio State won 31-20. Beating Michigan is always the primary goal, but this one felt like a relief. It secured the Big Ten East title and sent them to Indianapolis.
The Big Ten Championship and the Playoff Snub
In the Big Ten Championship, they faced an undefeated Wisconsin team. The Badgers were the darlings of the "old school football" crowd. Ohio State won a gritty 27-21 game. They were Big Ten Champions.
Now, the debate started. Should a two-loss Big Ten Champion Ohio State get in over a one-loss Alabama team that didn't even play in its conference championship?
The committee chose Alabama.
Fans were livid. The argument was that Ohio State had better wins (Penn State, Michigan State, Wisconsin), while Alabama had the "eye test." Ultimately, that 31-point blowout to Iowa was the anchor that dragged the Buckeyes out of the playoff. You can't lose by 31 to an unranked team and expect to play for a national title. Alabama went on to win the whole thing, which only made the sting worse for folks in Columbus.
Wrapping up in the Cotton Bowl
The consolation prize was a trip to the Cotton Bowl to face USC. It was a matchup of traditional powers. Sam Darnold vs. the Ohio State defensive line. It wasn't even close. The Buckeyes' front four, led by Nick Bosa and Tyquan Lewis, lived in the USC backfield. Ohio State won 24-7.
It was a dominant performance that left everyone wondering "what if?" What if they hadn't laid an egg in Iowa? They clearly looked like one of the four best teams in the country by the end of December.
2017 Ohio State Schedule & Results
- Aug 31: at Indiana (W, 49-21)
- Sept 9: Oklahoma (L, 31-16)
- Sept 16: Army (W, 38-7)
- Sept 23: UNLV (W, 54-21)
- Sept 30: at Rutgers (W, 56-0)
- Oct 7: Maryland (W, 62-14)
- Oct 14: at Nebraska (W, 56-14)
- Oct 28: Penn State (W, 39-38)
- Nov 4: at Iowa (L, 55-24)
- Nov 11: Michigan State (W, 48-3)
- Nov 18: Illinois (W, 52-14)
- Nov 25: at Michigan (W, 31-20)
- Dec 2: vs Wisconsin (W, 27-21) - Big Ten Championship
- Dec 29: vs USC (W, 24-7) - Cotton Bowl
Why the 2017 Season Still Matters Today
The 2017 season was a turning point. It was the bridge between the J.T. Barrett era and the modern, high-flying passing era of Ryan Day. We saw the flashes of Dwayne Haskins. We saw the dominance of a defensive line that would become a literal NFL factory.
But mostly, it serves as a reminder of how thin the margin for error is in college football. One bad afternoon in Iowa can negate a whole season of brilliance. For the players on that roster, like Billy Price and Denzel Ward, it was a year of "almost."
If you're looking back at the ohio state buckeyes 2017 football schedule for historical context or just to settle a bet, remember that this team was statistically one of Meyer's best. They averaged 41.1 points per game. They had a point differential that was through the roof. But in the playoff era, the committee looks for reasons to leave you out, and the Buckeyes gave them a 31-point reason.
To really understand the impact of this season, you should look into the recruiting classes that followed. The 2017 "snub" became a massive talking point on the trail, helping Meyer and later Day convince elite talent that they needed to be perfect to overcome the "SEC bias" they felt existed in the playoff committee room.
Check out the full game replays on the Big Ten Network if you want to relive that Penn State comeback. It remains one of the greatest games ever played in Ohio Stadium. Just maybe skip the Iowa highlights. No one needs to see those again.
Next Steps for Fans:
Go back and watch the 4th quarter of the 2017 Penn State game. It is a masterclass in quarterback efficiency and offensive play-calling under pressure. Then, compare the defensive schemes used by Greg Schiano that year to the current Jim Knowles system; you'll see just how much the "silver bullets" philosophy has evolved over the last decade. Finally, look at the 2017 NFL Draft class to see how many players from this specific roster ended up as Sunday starters—it's a staggering number that proves just how much raw talent was on that field.