2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season

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2017 NCAA Division I FBS season
Number of teams129 + 1 transitional
DurationAugust 26, 2017 – December 9, 2017
Preseason AP No. 1Alabama
Post-season
DurationDecember 16, 2017 – January 8, 2018
Bowl games40
AP Poll No. 1Alabama
Coaches Poll No. 1Alabama
Heisman TrophyBaker Mayfield (quarterback, Oklahoma)
College Football Playoff
2018 College Football Playoff National Championship
SiteMercedes-Benz Stadium
Atlanta, Georgia
Champion(s)Alabama, UCF Knights (Claimed)
NCAA Division I FBS football seasons
← 2016
2018 →

The 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in 2017. The regular season began on August 26, 2017, and ended on December 9, 2017.

The postseason concluded on January 8, 2018 with the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship in Atlanta, the fourth iteration of the College Football Playoff championship system. In the national championship game, Alabama defeated Georgia in overtime, 26–23.

The UCF Knights also claim a national championship for this season after finishing first in the Colley Matrix poll, and are listed as "Final National Poll Leaders" in the NCAA's official record book.[1] UCF finished the season as the only undefeated team in NCAA Division I FBS and defeated the Auburn Tigers in the Peach Bowl. Auburn had defeated College Football Playoff national champion Alabama and runner-up Georgia during the season.

Rule changes[edit]

Game rules[edit]

The following rule changes were recommended by the NCAA Football Rules Committee for the 2017 season:[2]

  • Prohibiting defensive players running toward the line of scrimmage from leaping or hurdling any offensive lineman on field goal or PAT attempts (15 yards). Previously defensive players were allowed to leap or hurdle offensive linemen as long as they do not land on another player. The NFL also adopted this rule for the 2017 season.
  • Requiring players to wear knee pads and pants that cover the knees. Previously this was only a recommendation.
  • Include the nameplate on the back of the jersey in the definition of a "horse-collar tackle".

The committee left the current targeting rules unchanged for the 2017 season, despite discussions to modify the rule to eject a player for targeting only if the call is confirmed, not if the call stands due to lack of "indisputable video evidence" to overturn the ruling on the field.

Points of emphasis this season include speeding up games by:

  • Promptly starting the second half when the halftime clock reaches 0:00.
  • Penalizing coaches for coming on the field to argue a call (15 yards, unsportsmanlike conduct).
  • Starting the game clock immediately upon spotting the ball after a ball carrier goes out of bounds (outside of the last 2:00 of each half).

Recruiting rules[edit]

  • The NCAA Division I Council approved a suite of rule changes affecting the recruiting process. The most significant of these are:[3]
    • Effective with the 2017–18 school year, a national early signing period for high school players will be introduced, at a time in December to be announced later.
    • The current limit of 25 new scholarships (or financial aid agreements) per academic year will become an absolute limit (with only narrowly defined exceptions). This has been seen by media as ending the phenomenon of oversigning.
    • FBS programs may no longer conduct so-called "satellite camps"—i.e., camps or clinics that feature active FBS coaches or football staff members held at locations distant from the school's campus. Effective immediately, FBS coaches may only work at camps for a total of 10 days in June and July, and can only attend camps if they are located on their school's campus, or at an off-campus facility where their program regularly practices or plays home games. Schools are allowed to honor contracts for satellite camps that were signed before January 18, 2017.[4]
  • The Collegiate Commissioners Association, which controls the letter of intent program, approved the recruiting changes approved last month by the Division I Council. The early signing period for high schoolers is fixed as the first three days of the midyear signing period for junior college players; in 2017, this window will fall on December 20–22.[5]

Conference realignment[edit]

Membership changes[edit]

School Former conference New conference
Coastal Carolina Chanticleers FCS independent Sun Belt
UAB Blazers No team C-USA

Coastal Carolina is in the second year of its FBS transition. It is counted as an FBS opponent for scheduling purposes but will not become a full bowl-eligible member until the 2018 season.

The UAB football team returned after a two-year absence. The program was shut down by school administrators following the 2014 season but was reinstated less than a year later. UAB resumed its place as a full, football-sponsoring member of Conference USA.

Upcoming changes[edit]

Idaho and New Mexico State are playing their final seasons as football members of the Sun Belt Conference. Idaho is also playing its last season at the FBS level; following the decision of the Sun Belt to not extend its football membership agreements with the two schools after their expirations in 2017, Idaho announced that it would downgrade to FCS and add football to its standing membership in the Big Sky Conference. New Mexico State will tentatively revert to FBS Independent status for 2018 and beyond.

Updated stadiums[edit]

Two schools opened new stadiums for the 2017 season:

Several other schools plan to debut major improvements to their existing venues for 2017:

  • Arizona State is continuing a four-phase renovation of Sun Devil Stadium. The third phase, slated for completion in time for the 2017 season, includes the addition of a new video board above the north end zone.
  • Coastal Carolina will make its FBS debut in an expanded Brooks Stadium. The expansion project began immediately after the 2015 season, a few months after Coastal announced it would join the Sun Belt Conference in 2016 for non-football sports and 2017 for football. The venue, which previously held 9,200 people, will now have a capacity of 15,000 for the 2017 season, and will be further expanded to 20,000 in 2018.[6]
  • West Virginia is nearing completion of approximately $50 million in renovations to Milan Puskar Stadium. Work on the west and south side gates and concourses, including renovations to concessions, restrooms, and additional space for EMS and police operations, is expected to be complete for 2017, mirroring similar work on the north and east sides completed for 2016.
  • Louisiana Tech will open a new pressbox and suite complex on the west side of Joe Aillet Stadium which includes new ticketing facilities and restrooms. Also included in the renovations are, new LED stadium lighting fixtures.
  • Notre Dame will debut the Campus Crossroads project, which will add three new 8-story structures on the South, West and East sides of Notre Dame Stadium. The expansion will add new premium stadium seats on the East and West sides of the stadium and feature more than 750,000 square feet of teaching, research, and performance space.

Two schools announced naming rights deals for their stadiums:

Kickoff games[edit]

"Week Zero"[edit]

  • A recent rule change allows Hawai'i, and teams that have a scheduled game at Hawai'i, to play during the "Week Zero" kickoff weekend in late August. This change better accommodates the long-standing "Hawai'i rule" that allows schools which travel between Hawai'i and the mainland (including schools based in Hawai'i) to schedule an extra game each season. Four schools have taken advantage of the extra week:[9]
  • Stanford and Rice played in Sydney on August 26 (August 27 local time) for the second Sydney Cup,[14] won by Stanford in a 62–7 blowout.[15] This was the second straight year a Pac-12 team went to Australia, as California defeated Hawai'i in the first Sydney Cup to open the 2016 season.

Week 1[edit]

During the official Week 1 (as usual, held the weekend before Labor Day), several neutral-site "kickoff weekend" games were held, in addition to a full slate of games held at home stadiums around the U.S.:

Regular season top 10 matchups[edit]

Rankings reflect the AP Poll. Rankings for Week 10 and beyond will list College Football Playoff Rankings first and AP Poll second. Teams that fail to be a top 10 team for one poll or the other will be noted.

Upsets[edit]

For purposes of this table, an "upset" involves an unranked team defeating a ranked team.

FBS rankings prior to November 1 are from the AP Poll, and from the College Football Playoff rankings after that date.

Winner Score Loser Date
Maryland 51–41 #23 Texas September 2
Memphis 48–45 #25 UCLA September 16
Mississippi State 37–7 #12 LSU September 16
Vanderbilt 14–7 #18 Kansas State September 16
San Diego State 20–17 #19 Stanford September 16
NC State 27–21 #12 Florida State September 23
Arizona State 37–35 #24 Oregon September 23
Troy 24–21 #25 LSU September 30
Iowa State 38–31 #3 Oklahoma October 7
LSU 17–16 #21 Florida October 7
Michigan State 14–10 #7 Michigan October 7
Stanford 23–20 #20 Utah October 7
Syracuse 27–24 #2 Clemson October 13
California 37–3 #8 Washington State October 13
West Virginia 46–35 #24 Texas Tech October 14
LSU 27–23 #10 Auburn October 14
Memphis 30–27 #25 Navy October 14
Boise State 31–14 #19 San Diego State October 14
Arizona State 13–7 #5 Washington October 14
Northwestern 39–31 3OT #16 Michigan State October 28
Houston 28–24 #17 South Florida October 28
Arizona 58–37 #15 Washington State October 28
Iowa 55–24 #6 Ohio State November 4
West Virginia 20–16 #15 Iowa State November 4
Stanford 30–22 #9 Washington November 10
Georgia Tech 28–22 #17 Virginia Tech November 11
Kansas State 45–40 #13 Oklahoma State November 18
Wake Forest 30–24 #19 NC State November 18
Ole Miss 31–28 #16 Mississippi State November 23
Pittsburgh 24–14 #2 Miami November 24
Fresno State 28–17 #23 Boise State November 25

Conference standings[edit]

2017 American Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
No. 6 UCF xy$   8 0     13 0  
No. 21 South Florida   6 2     10 2  
Temple   4 4     7 6  
Cincinnati   2 6     4 8  
UConn   2 6     3 9  
East Carolina   2 6     3 9  
West Division
No. 25 Memphis xy   7 1     10 3  
Houston   5 3     7 5  
Navy   4 4     7 6  
SMU   4 4     7 6  
Tulane   3 5     5 7  
Tulsa   1 7     2 10  
Championship: UCF 62, Memphis 55
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
As of January 9, 2018
Rankings from AP Poll.
2017 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Atlantic Division
No. 4 Clemson xy$^   7 1     12 2  
No. 23 NC State   6 2     9 4  
Boston College   4 4     7 6  
Louisville   4 4     8 5  
Wake Forest   4 4     8 5  
Florida State   3 5     7 6  
Syracuse   2 6     4 8  
Coastal Division
No. 13 Miami (FL) xy   7 1     10 3  
No. 24 Virginia Tech   5 3     9 4  
Georgia Tech   4 4     5 6  
Duke   3 5     7 6  
Pittsburgh   3 5     5 7  
Virginia   3 5     6 7  
North Carolina   1 7     3 9  
Championship: Clemson 38, Miami 3
  • ^ – College Football Playoff participant
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll
2017 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
No. 5 Ohio State xy$   8 1     12 2  
No. 15 Michigan State   7 2     10 3  
No. 8 Penn State   7 2     11 2  
Michigan   5 4     8 5  
Rutgers   3 6     4 8  
Indiana   2 7     5 7  
Maryland   2 7     4 8  
West Division
No. 7 Wisconsin xy   9 0     13 1  
No. 17 Northwestern   7 2     10 3  
Iowa   4 5     8 5  
Purdue   4 5     7 6  
Nebraska   3 6     4 8  
Minnesota   2 7     5 7  
Illinois   0 9     2 10  
Championship: Ohio State 27, Wisconsin 21
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll
2017 Big 12 Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 3 Oklahoma y$^   8 1     12 2  
No. 9 TCU y   7 2     11 3  
No. 14 Oklahoma State   6 3     10 3  
Texas   5 4     7 6  
West Virginia   5 4     7 6  
Kansas State   5 4     8 5  
Iowa State   5 4     8 5  
Texas Tech   3 6     6 7  
Baylor   1 8     1 11  
Kansas   0 9     1 11  
Championship: Oklahoma 41, TCU 17
  • ^ – College Football Playoff participant
  • $ – Conference champion
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll
2017 Conference USA football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
Florida Atlantic x$   8 0     11 3  
FIU   5 3     8 5  
Marshall   4 4     8 5  
Western Kentucky   4 4     6 7  
Middle Tennessee   4 4     7 6  
Old Dominion   3 5     5 7  
Charlotte   1 7     1 11  
West Division
North Texas x   7 1     9 5  
UAB   6 2     8 5  
Southern Miss   6 2     8 5  
Louisiana Tech   4 4     7 6  
UTSA   3 5     6 5  
Rice   1 7     1 11  
UTEP   0 8     0 12  
Championship: Florida Atlantic 41, North Texas 17
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll
2017 Mid-American Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
Akron xy   6 2     7 7  
Ohio   5 3     9 4  
Miami (OH)   4 4     5 7  
Buffalo   4 4     6 6  
Bowling Green   2 6     2 10  
Kent State   1 7     2 10  
West Division
Toledo xy$   7 1     11 3  
Central Michigan   6 2     8 5  
Northern Illinois   6 2     8 5  
Western Michigan   4 4     6 6  
Eastern Michigan   3 5     5 7  
Ball State   0 8     2 10  
Championship: Toledo 45, Akron 28
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
2017 Mountain West Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Mountain Division
No. 22 Boise State xy$   7 1     11 3  
Colorado State   5 3     7 6  
Wyoming   5 3     8 5  
Utah State   4 4     6 7  
Air Force   4 4     5 7  
New Mexico   1 7     3 9  
West Division
Fresno State xy   7 1     10 4  
San Diego State   6 2     10 3  
UNLV   4 4     5 7  
Nevada   3 5     3 9  
Hawaii   1 7     3 9  
San Jose State   1 7     2 11  
Championship: Boise State 17, Fresno State 14
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll
2017 Pac-12 Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
North Division
No. 20 Stanford xy   7 2     9 5  
No. 16 Washington x   7 2     10 3  
Washington State   6 3     9 4  
Oregon   4 5     7 6  
California   2 7     5 7  
Oregon State   0 9     1 11  
South Division
No. 12 USC xy$   8 1     11 3  
Arizona State   6 3     7 6  
Arizona   5 4     7 6  
UCLA   4 5     6 7  
Utah   3 6     7 6  
Colorado   2 7     5 7  
Championship: USC 31, Stanford 28
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll
2017 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
No. 2 Georgia x$^   7 1     13 2  
South Carolina   5 3     9 4  
Kentucky   4 4     7 6  
Missouri   4 4     7 6  
Florida   3 5     4 7  
Vanderbilt   1 7     5 7  
Tennessee   0 8     4 8  
West Division
No. 10 Auburn xy   7 1     10 4  
No. 1 Alabama x#^   7 1     13 1  
No. 18 LSU   6 2     9 4  
No. 19 Mississippi State   4 4     9 4  
Texas A&M   4 4     7 6  
Ole Miss*   3 5     6 6  
Arkansas   1 7     4 8  
Championship: Georgia 28, Auburn 7
  • # – College Football Playoff champion
  • ^ – College Football Playoff participant
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
  • * Ole Miss ineligible for postseason due to NCAA sanctions
Rankings from AP Poll
2017 Sun Belt Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Troy +   7 1     11 2  
Appalachian State +   7 1     9 4  
Arkansas State   6 2     7 5  
Georgia State   5 3     7 5  
New Mexico State   4 4     7 6  
Louisiana   4 4     5 7  
Louisiana–Monroe   4 4     4 8  
Idaho   3 5     4 8  
South Alabama   3 5     4 8  
Coastal Carolina *   2 6     3 9  
Georgia Southern   2 6     2 10  
Texas State   1 7     2 10  
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • * – Ineligible for postseason play due to FCS-to-FBS transition rules
2017 NCAA Division I FBS independents football records
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Army           10 3  
No. 11 Notre Dame           10 3  
UMass           4 8  
BYU           4 9  
Rankings from AP Poll

Conference summaries[edit]

Through the 2015 season, conferences were required to have a minimum of 12 members to play a conference championship game that was exempt from the NCAA limit of 12 regular-season games. The NCAA removed this requirement effective with the 2016 season.[16] At that time, all FBS conferences except the Big 12 and Sun Belt Conferences held season-ending championship games. With the Big 12 reinstating its championship game for the 2017 season, only the Sun Belt Conference determines its champion solely by regular-season records, and that conference will launch a championship game in 2018.

Conference Champion Runner-up Score Offensive Player of the Year Defensive Player of the Year Coach of the Year
American No. 14 UCF (East) #20 Memphis (West) 62–55 McKenzie Milton, UCF Ed Oliver, Houston Scott Frost, UCF
ACC #1 Clemson (Atlantic) #7 Miami (Coastal) 38-3 Lamar Jackson, Louisville Bradley Chubb, NC State Mark Richt, Miami
Big 12 #3 Oklahoma #11 TCU (#2 seed) 41–17 Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma Ogbo Okoronkwo, Oklahoma
Malik Jefferson, Texas
Matt Campbell, Iowa State
Big Ten #8 Ohio State (East) #4 Wisconsin (West) 27–21 Saquon Barkley, Penn State Josey Jewell, Iowa Paul Chryst, Wisconsin
C-USA Florida Atlantic (East) North Texas (West) 41-17
MAC Toledo (West) Akron (East) 45–28 Logan Woodside, Toledo Sutton Smith, Northern Illinois Jason Candle, Toledo
MW Boise State (Mountain) #25 Fresno State (West) 17–14 Rashaad Penny, San Diego State Leighton Vander, Boise State Jeff Tedford, Fresno State
Pac-12 #11 USC (South) #14 Stanford (North) 31–28
SEC #6 Georgia (East) #2 Auburn (West) 28–7
Sun Belt N/A

Bowl eligibility[edit]

For the 39 post-season bowl games, teams should be bowl eligible to be selected. Normally, this requires a team to have a minimum of a 0.500 winning percentage. If there are not be enough winning teams to fulfill all open bowl slots, teams with losing records could be chosen in order to fill all 78 slots. Additionally, in the rare occasions where a conference champion does not meet eligibility requirements, they are usually still chosen for bowl games with tie-ins for that conference champion.

Bowl eligible teams[edit]

  • American Athletic Conference (7): Houston, Memphis, Navy, South Florida, SMU, Temple, UCF
  • Atlantic Coast Conference (9): Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Florida St, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina State, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
  • Big 12 Conference (8): Iowa State, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas Tech, TCU, West Virginia
  • Big Ten Conference (8): Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Wisconsin
  • Conference USA (10): Florida Atlantic, FIU, Louisiana Tech, Marshall, Middle Tennessee, North Texas, Southern Miss, UAB, Western Kentucky, UTSA
  • Independents (2): Army, Notre Dame
  • Mid-American Conference (7): Akron, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Northern Illinois, Ohio, Toledo, Western Michigan
  • Mountain West Conference (6): Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, Utah State, Wyoming
  • Pac-12 Conference (9): Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Utah, Washington, Washington State
  • Southeastern Conference (9): Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri, South Carolina, Texas A&M
  • Sun Belt Conference (5): Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Georgia State, New Mexico St, Troy
  • Independent (2): Army, Notre Dame

Total: 81

Bowl ineligible teams[edit]

Total: 49

Coaching changes[edit]

Preseason and in-season[edit]

This is restricted to coaching changes taking place on or after May 1, 2017. For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2017, see 2016 NCAA Division I FBS end-of-season coaching changes.

School Outgoing coach Date Reason Replacement
Oklahoma Bob Stoops June 7, 2017 Retired Lincoln Riley
Ole Miss Hugh Freeze July 20, 2017 Resigned Matt Luke [a]
Coastal Carolina Joe Moglia July 28, 2017 Medical leave Jamey Chadwell (interim)
UTEP Sean Kugler October 1, 2017 Resigned Mike Price (interim)
Oregon State Gary Andersen October 9, 2017 Resigned Cory Hall (interim)
Georgia Southern Tyson Summers October 22, 2017 Fired Chad Lunsford [b]
Florida Jim McElwain October 29, 2017 Fired Randy Shannon (interim)
Tennessee Butch Jones November 12, 2017 Fired Brady Hoke (Interim)
UCLA Jim Mora November 19, 2017 Fired Jedd Fisch (Interim)
  1. ^ Interim for remainder of season; interim tag removed on November 26, 2017.[17]
  2. ^ Interim for remainder of season; interim tag removed on November 27, 2017.

End of season[edit]

This list includes coaching changes announced during the season that did not take effect until the end of the season.

School Outgoing coach Date Reason Replacement
South Alabama Joey Jones November 20, 2017 Resigned Steve Campbell
Kent State Paul Haynes November 22, 2017 Fired Colin Ferrell (Interim)
Arkansas Bret Bielema November 24, 2017 Fired Chad Morris
UCLA Jedd Fisch (interim) November 25, 2017 Permanent replacement Chip Kelly
Nebraska Mike Riley November 25, 2017 Fired Scott Frost
Arizona State Todd Graham November 26, 2017 Agreed to part ways Herm Edwards
Florida Randy Shannon (interim) November 26, 2017 Permanent replacement Dan Mullen
Mississippi State Dan Mullen November 26, 2017 Hired by Florida Joe Moorhead
Rice David Bailiff November 27, 2017 Fired Mike Bloomgren
Texas A&M Kevin Sumlin November 27, 2017 Fired Jimbo Fisher
Oregon State Cory Hall (interim) November 30, 2017 Permanent replacement Jonathan Smith
UCF Scott Frost December 2, 2017 Hired by Nebraska Josh Heupel
Louisiana Mark Hudspeth December 2, 2017 Fired Billy Napier
Florida State Odell Haggins (interim) December 5, 2017 Permanent replacement Willie Taggart
Oregon Willie Taggart December 5, 2017 Hired by Florida State Mario Cristobal
Arkansas Paul Rhoads (Interim) December 6, 2017 Permanent replacement Chad Morris
UTEP Mike Price December 6, 2017 Permanent replacement Dana Dimel
Tennessee Brady Hoke (interim) December 7, 2017 Permanent replacement Jeremy Pruitt
SMU Jeff Traylor (interim) December 12, 2017 Permanent replacement Sonny Dykes
Kent State Colin Ferrell (interim) December 21, 2017 Permanent replacement Sean Lewis
Arizona Rich Rodriguez January 2, 2018 Fired Kevin Sumlin
Coastal Carolina Jamey Chadwell (interim) January 5, 2018 Medical clearance of head coach Joe Moglia

Awards and honors[edit]

Heisman Trophy voting[edit]

The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player

Player School Position 1st 2nd 3rd Total
Baker Mayfield Oklahoma QB 732 87 28 2,398
Bryce Love Stanford RB 75 421 233 1,300
Lamar Jackson Louisville QB 47 197 258 793
Saquon Barkley Penn State RB 15 73 113 304
Rashaad Penny San Diego State RB 7 37 80 175
Jonathan Taylor Wisconsin RB 2 7 38 58
Mason Rudolph Oklahoma State QB 2 14 22 56
McKenzie Milton UCF QB 4 11 20 54
Kerryon Johnson Auburn RB 0 14 17 45
Roquan Smith Georgia LB 3 11 7 38

Other overall[edit]

Special overall[edit]

Offense[edit]

Quarterback

Running back

Wide receiver

Tight end

Lineman

Defense[edit]

Defensive line

Defensive back

Special teams[edit]

Other positional awards[edit]

Television viewers and ratings[edit]

Most watched regular season games[edit]

Rank Date Matchup Network Viewers (millions) TV Rating[18] Significance
1 November 25, 3:30 ET #1 Alabama 14 #6 Auburn 26 CBS 13.66 7.6 Iron Bowl/College GameDay
2 September 2, 8:00 ET #3 Florida State 7 #1 Alabama 24 ABC 12.34 6.9 Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game/College GameDay
3 November 25, 12:00 ET Michigan 20 #9 Ohio State 31 FOX 10.51 6.1 The Game
4 October 28, 3:30 ET #2 Penn State 38 #6 Ohio State 39 9.87 5.7 Rivalry/College GameDay
5 September 9, 7:30 ET #5 Oklahoma 31 #2 Ohio State 16 ABC 8.08 4.6 College GameDay
6 September 2, 3:30 ET #11 Michigan 33 #17 Florida 17 7.65 4.9 Advocare Classic
7 November 11, 3:30 ET #1 Georgia 17 #10 Auburn 40 CBS 7.41 4.4 Deep South's Oldest Rivalry
8 November 11, 7:00 ET #2 Alabama 31 #16 Mississippi State 24 ESPN 7.03 3.9 Rivalry
9 October 21, 7:30 ET #19 Michigan 13 #2 Penn State 42 ABC 6.95 3.9 College GameDay
10 November 4, 8:00 ET #19 LSU 10 #2 Alabama 24 CBS 6.73 3.9 Rivalry

Conference championship games[edit]

Rank Date Matchup Network Viewers TV Rating Conference Location
December 1, 8:00 ET #12 Stanford (North) #10 USC (South) ESPN Pac-12 Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, CA
December 2, 4:00 ET #6 Georgia (East) #2 Auburn (West) CBS SEC Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA
December 2, 8:00 ET #8 Ohio State (East) #4 Wisconsin (West) FOX Big Ten Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN
December 2, 8:00 ET #7 Miami (Coastal) #1 Clemson (Atlantic) ABC ACC Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC
December 2, 12:30 ET #11 TCU (#2 seed) #3 Oklahoma (#1 seed) FOX Big 12 AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX
December 2, 12:00 ET #20 Memphis (West) #14 UCF (East) ABC AAC Spectrum Stadium, Orlando, FL
December 2, 12:00 ET Akron (East) Toledo (West) ESPN MAC Ford Field, Detroit, MI
December 2, 12:00 ET North Texas (West) Florida Atlantic (East) ESPN2 C-USA FAU Stadium, Boca Raton, FL
December 2, 7:45 ET #25 Fresno State (West) Boise State (Mountain) ESPN MW Albertsons Stadium, Boise, ID

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ This game was originally scheduled to be played at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas: however ongoing flooding resulting from Hurricane Harvey forced its relocation.

References[edit]

  1. ^ 2018 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). Indianapolis: The National Collegiate Athletic Association. July 2017. pp. 109, 115. Retrieved July 31, 2017. In years where a 'major selector' had a team other than the BCS champion as highest ranked team in its final poll that team is listed below the BCS Champion.
  2. ^ ncaa.org (March 3, 2017). "Football Rules Committee Recommends Proposals to Enhance Player Safety". ncaa.org. Retrieved March 3, 2017.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ Kercheval, Ben (April 14, 2017). "NCAA DI Council approves early signing period for football, prohibits oversigning". CBSSports.com. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  4. ^ Stephenson, Creg (April 14, 2017). "NCAA adopts 10th assistant, restricts off-field staff hires, satellite camps in sweeping vote". The Birmingham News. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  5. ^ Rittenberg, Adam (May 8, 2017). "Collegiate Commissioners Association approves early signing period for football". ESPN. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  6. ^ "Coastal Has Football Stadium Expansion Groundbreaking Ceremony" (Press release). Coastal Carolina University Athletics. Retrieved June 11, 2017.
  7. ^ Smith, Jennifer (May 1, 2017). "After 44 years, Commonwealth Stadium has a new name: Kroger Field". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
  8. ^ Dyer, Jessica (May 3, 2017). "Dream deal for UNM nets $10 million over 10 years". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
  9. ^ "2017 Hawaii at UMass football game moved to Aug. 26". FB Schedules. January 24, 2017. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
  10. ^ "Brown's last minute TD pass lifts Hawaii over UMass 38-35". ESPN. Associated Press. August 27, 2017. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
  11. ^ "Mangum, Canada lead BYU to 20-6 win over Portland State". ESPN. Associated Press. August 26, 2017. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
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