2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season

2017 NCAA Division I FBS season
Number of teams	130
Duration	August 26, 2017 – December 9, 2017
Preseason AP No. 1	Alabama
Post-season
Duration	December 16, 2017 – January 8, 2018
Bowl games	40
AP Poll No. 1	Alabama[1]
Coaches Poll No. 1	Alabama[2]
Heisman Trophy	Baker Mayfield (quarterback, Oklahoma)
College Football Playoff
College Football Playoff National Championship
Site	Mercedes-Benz Stadium Atlanta, Georgia
Champion(s)	Alabama
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). The regular season began on August 26, 2017 and ended on December 9, 2017.

The Alabama Crimson Tide and Georgia Bulldogs played in the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship. 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 (the NCAA reserves the term "National Champion" for the winner of the AP Poll or Coaches Poll).^[3] 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[]

Game rules[]

The following rule changes were recommended by the NCAA Football Rules Committee for the 2017 season:^[4]

• 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, repealing a change from the 2011 season that changed this from a requirement to a recommendation. The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) also adopted a similar rule.
• Include the nameplate on the back of the jersey in the definition of a "horse-collar tackle".
• Expanded the interpretation of an "unfair act" to include committing intentional fouls designed to manipulate the game clock, which result in unsportsmanlike conduct penalties against each player committing the foul (which count towards their limit of two in the same game before ejection) and resetting of the game clock, similar to a rule change made in the NFL in 2017.

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 15 yards and unsportsmanlike conduct for stepping onto the field to argue a call.
• Starting the game clock immediately upon spotting the ball after a ball carrier goes out of bounds before the 2:00 mark of each half.

Recruiting rules[]

• In April 2017, the NCAA Division I Council approved a suite of rule changes affecting the recruiting process. The most significant of these are:^[5]
  • Effective with the 2017–18 school year, a national early signing period for high school players was introduced. The exact timing of the signing period was not set at the date of announcement; it would eventually be set for December (see below).
  • The current limit of 25 new scholarships (or financial aid agreements) per academic year became an absolute limit (with only narrowly defined exceptions). This was 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 were allowed to honor contracts for satellite camps that were signed before January 18, 2017.^[6]
• The following month, the Collegiate Commissioners Association, which controls the letter of intent program, approved the recruiting changes approved by the Division I Council. The early signing period for high schoolers was fixed as the first three days of the midyear signing period for junior college players; in 2017, this window fell on December 20–22.^[7]

Conference realignment[]

Membership changes[]

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

Coastal Carolina was in the second year of its FBS transition. It was counted as an FBS opponent for scheduling purposes, with full FBS membership and bowl eligibility following in 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[]

Idaho and New Mexico State played their final seasons as football members of the Sun Belt Conference. Idaho also played 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 reverted to FBS Independent status for 2018 and beyond.

Updated stadiums[]

Two schools opened new stadiums for the 2017 season:

• Colorado State opened Sonny Lubick Field at Colorado State Stadium, now known as Canvas Stadium. The on-campus facility, with a capacity of 41,201, replaced the off-campus Hughes Stadium, which had been home to the Rams since 1968.
• Georgia State moved from the Georgia Dome, which was demolished during the 2017 season, to Georgia State Stadium, now known as Center Parc Stadium. This is the third incarnation of a stadium that opened in 1996 as the Centennial Olympic Stadium, built for the 1996 Summer Olympics. The stadium was planned from the beginning to be retrofitted into a baseball park for the Atlanta Braves, and opened in that form as Turner Field in 1997. After the Braves vacated Turner Field following their 2016 season to move into the venue now known as Truist Park, Georgia State bought Turner Field and adjacent property for a major campus expansion project. In its football form, the stadium had an initial capacity of 24,333 with possible future expansion to 33,000.

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

• Arizona State is continuing a four-phase renovation of Sun Devil Stadium. The third phase, completed for the 2017 season, includes the addition of a new video board above the north end zone.
• Coastal Carolina made 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, had a capacity of 15,000 for the 2017 season, and will be further expanded to 20,000 in 2018.^[8]
• West Virginia completed 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, was finished for 2017, mirroring similar work on the north and east sides completed for 2016.
• Louisiana Tech opened 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 were new LED stadium lighting fixtures.
• Notre Dame debuted the Campus Crossroads project, which added three new 8-story structures on the South, West and East sides of Notre Dame Stadium. The expansion, which added new premium stadium seats on the East and West sides of the stadium, also features more than 750,000 square feet of teaching, research, and performance space.

Two schools announced naming rights deals for their stadiums:

• Kentucky renamed Commonwealth Stadium to Kroger Field per a 12-year naming rights deal with the Cincinnati-based supermarket company. This made UK the first Southeastern Conference school to enter into such a deal for its football stadium.^[9]
• New Mexico renamed University Stadium to Dreamstyle Stadium per a 10-year naming rights deal with Albuquerque-based construction firm Dreamstyle Remodeling.^[10]

Kickoff games[]

"Week Zero"[]

A recent rule change allows Hawaii, and teams that have a scheduled game at Hawaii, to play during the "Week Zero" kickoff weekend in late August. This change better accommodates the long-standing "Hawaii rule" that allows schools which travel between Hawaii and the mainland (including schools based in Hawaii) to schedule an extra game each season. Four schools took advantage of the extra week, opening the 2017 FBS season on Saturday, August 26:^[11]

• Hawaii defeated UMass, 38–35^[12]
• BYU defeated FCS opponent Portland State, 20–6^[13]
• USF defeated San Jose State, 42–22^[14]
• Colorado State defeated Oregon State 58–27 in the first game played at the newly opened Canvas Stadium.^[15]
• Stanford and Rice played in Sydney on August 26 (August 27 local time) for the second ,^[16] won by Stanford in a 62–7 blowout.^[17] This was the second straight year a Pac-12 team went to Australia, as California defeated Hawaii in the first Sydney Cup to open the 2016 season.

Week 1[]

The vast majority of FBS teams opened the season during the official Week 1 (as usual, held the weekend before Labor Day). Additionally, several neutral-site "kickoff weekend" games were held:

• Advocare Classic (AT&T Stadium, Arlington): No. 11 Michigan defeated No. 17 Florida, 33–17, on September 2
• Belk Kickoff Game (Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte): South Carolina defeated North Carolina State, 35–28, on September 2
• Chick-fil-A Kickoff Games
  • No. 1 Alabama defeated No. 3 Florida State, 24–7, at the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta, Georgia) on September 2
  • No. 25 Tennessee defeated Georgia Tech, 42–41 in double overtime, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on September 4
• Advocare Texas Kickoff (Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans^{[note 1]}): No. 13 LSU shut out BYU, 27–0, on September 2

Regular season top 10 matchups[]

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.

• Week 1
  • No. 1 Alabama defeated No. 3 Florida State 24–7 (Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia)
• Week 2
  • No. 5 Oklahoma defeated No. 2 Ohio State 31–16 (Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio)
• Week 9
  • No. 6 Ohio State defeated No. 2 Penn State 39–38 (Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio)
• Week 11
  • No. 5/5 Oklahoma defeated No. 6/8 TCU 38–20 (Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Norman, Oklahoma)
  • No. 7/7 Miami (FL) defeated No. 3/3 Notre Dame 41–8 (Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida)
  • No. 10/10 Auburn defeated No. 1/2 Georgia 40–17 (Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, Alabama)
• Week 13
  • No. 6/6 Auburn defeated No. 1/1 Alabama 26–14 (Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, Alabama)
• Week 14
  • No. 1/1 Clemson defeated No. 7/7 Miami (FL) 38–3 (2017 ACC Championship Game, Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina)
  • No. 3/2 Oklahoma defeated No. 11/10 TCU 41–17 (2017 Big 12 Championship Game, AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas)
  • No. 6/6 Georgia defeated No. 2/4 Auburn 28–7 (2017 SEC Championship Game, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia)
  • No. 8/8 Ohio State defeated No. 4/3 Wisconsin 27–21 (2017 Big Ten Championship Game, Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana)

Conference standings[]

2017 American Athletic Conference football standings v t 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 v t 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 v t 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 v t 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 v t 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 v t Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   East Division Akron xy   6 – 2     7 – 7   Ohio   5 – 3     9 – 4   Miami   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 v t 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 v t 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 v t 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 v t 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 v t 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[]

Through the 2015 season, conferences were required to have a minimum of 12 football members to play a conference championship game outside of the NCAA limit of 12 regular-season games. The NCAA removed this requirement effective with the 2016 season.^[18] At that time, all FBS conferences except the Big 12 and Sun Belt Conferences held championship games for football. The Big 12 reinstated its championship game for the 2017 season, while the Sun Belt determined its 2017 football champion solely by regular-season records before launching a championship game starting in 2018.

Rankings reflect the Week 14 AP Poll before the conference championship games were played.

Power 5 Conferences[]

Conference	Champion	Runner-up	Score	Offensive Player of the Year	Defensive Player of the Year	Coach of the Year
ACC	No. 1 Clemson CFP	No. 7 Miami	38–3	Lamar Jackson, Louisville[19]	Bradley Chubb, NC State[19]	Mark Richt, Miami[20]
Big 12	No. 2 Oklahoma CFP	No. 10 TCU	41–17	Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma[21]	Ogbo Okoronkwo, Oklahoma & Malik Jefferson, Texas[21]	Matt Campbell, Iowa State[21]
Big Ten	No. 8 Ohio State	No. 3 Wisconsin	27–21	Saquon Barkley, Penn State[22]	Josey Jewell, Iowa[22]	Paul Chryst, Wisconsin[22]
Pac-12	No. 11 USC	No. 14 Stanford	31–28	Bryce Love, Stanford[23]	Vita Vea, Washington[23]	David Shaw, Stanford[23]
SEC	No. 6 Georgia CFP	No. 4 Auburn	28–7	Kerryon Johnson, Auburn[24]	Roquan Smith, Georgia[24]	Kirby Smart, Georgia[24]

Group of Five Conferences[]

Conference	Champion	Runner Up	Score	Offensive Player of the Year	Defensive Player of the Year	Coach of the Year
AAC	No. 12 UCF	No. 16 Memphis	62–552OT	McKenzie Milton, UCF[25]	Ed Oliver, Houston[25]	Scott Frost, UCF[25]
C-USA	Florida Atlantic	North Texas	41–17	Devin Singletary, Florida Atlantic (MVP) & Mason Fine, North Texas (Offensive POY)[26]	Marcus Davenport, UTSA[26]	Bill Clark, UAB[27]
MAC	Toledo	Akron	45–28	Logan Woodside, Toledo[28]	Sutton Smith, Northern Illinois[28]	Jason Candle, Toledo[28]
MW	Boise State	No. 25 Fresno State	17–14	Rashaad Penny, San Diego State[29]	Leighton Vander Esch, Boise State[29]	Jeff Tedford, Fresno State[29]
Sun Belt	Appalachian State Troy	N/A	N/A	Justice Hansen, Arkansas State[30]	Javon Rolland-Jones, Arkansas State (overall POY) Jeremy Reaves, South Alabama (Defensive POY)[30]	Neal Brown, Troy[30]

^CFP College Football Playoff participant

Postseason[]

Bowl selections[]

There were 39 post-season bowl games, with two teams advancing to a 40th – the CFP National Championship game. Normally, a team is required to have a .500 minimum winning percentage during the regular season to become bowl eligible. If there are not enough winning teams to fulfill all open bowl slots, teams with losing records may be chosen to fill all 78 bowl slots. Additionally, on the rare occasion in which a conference champion does not meet eligibility requirements, they are usually still chosen for bowl games via tie-ins for their conference. For the 2017 season, no team with a losing record was chosen for a bowl game. Three bowl-eligible teams, including one with a winning record, were denied bowl bids.

Bowl eligible teams[]

• American Athletic Conference (7): Houston, Memphis, Navy, South Florida, SMU, Temple, UCF
• Atlantic Coast Conference (10): Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, 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 State, Troy

An asterisk (*) indicates the team did not receive a bowl bid.

Number of bowl berths available: 78

Number of bowl-eligible teams: 81

As there were more bowl-eligible teams than berths available, three bowl-eligible teams did not receive an invitation:

• Buffalo (6–6)
• UTSA (6–5)
• Western Michigan (6–6)

Bowl ineligible teams[]

• The American (5): Cincinnati, UConn, East Carolina, Tulane, Tulsa
• ACC (4): North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh, Syracuse
• Big Ten (6): Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, Rutgers
• Big 12 (2): Baylor, Kansas
• Conference USA (4): Charlotte, Old Dominion, Rice, UTEP
• Independent (2): BYU, UMass
• MAC (5): Ball State, Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Miami (OH)
• Mountain West (6): Air Force, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State, UNLV
• Pac-12 (3): California, Colorado, Oregon State
• SEC (5): Arkansas, Ole Miss*, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Florida
• Sun Belt (7): Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Idaho, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana–Monroe, South Alabama, Texas State

Number of bowl-ineligible teams: 49

* Ole Miss, who finished their regular season with a 6–6 record, is under a self-imposed two-year bowl ban that applies for the 2017 and 2018 seasons.

College Football Playoff[]

Since the 2014–15 postseason, six College Football Playoff (CFP) bowl games have hosted two semifinal playoff games on a rotating basis. For this season, the Rose Bowl and the Sugar Bowl hosted the semifinal games, with the winners advancing to the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.

	Semifinals					Championship
	January 1 – Sugar Bowl Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans
	1	Clemson	6
	4	Alabama	24			January 8 – Championship Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
						4	Alabama (OT)	26
	January 1 – Rose Bowl Rose Bowl, Pasadena					3	Georgia	23
	2	Oklahoma	48
	3	Georgia (2OT)	54

Conference performance in bowl games[]

Conference	Total games	Wins	Losses	Pct.
SEC	11	5	6	.455
ACC	10	4	6	.400
Big Ten	8	7	1	.875
Pac-12	9	1	8	.111
Big 12	8	5	3	.625
MW	6	3	3	.500
The American	7	4	3	.571
C-USA	9	4	5	.444
MAC	5	1	4	.200
Independents	2	2	0	1.000
Sun Belt	5	4	1	.800

Rankings[]

College Football Playoff[]

Final rankings[]

Rank	Associated Press	Coaches' Poll
1	Alabama	Alabama
2	Georgia	Georgia
3	Oklahoma	Oklahoma
4	Clemson	Clemson
5	Ohio State	Ohio State
6	UCF	Wisconsin
7	Wisconsin	UCF
8	Penn State	Penn State
9	TCU	TCU
10	Auburn	USC
11	Notre Dame	Notre Dame
12	USC	Auburn
13	Miami (FL)	Miami (FL)
14	Oklahoma State	Oklahoma State
15	Michigan State	Washington
16	Washington	Northwestern
17	Northwestern	Michigan State
18	LSU	LSU
19	Mississippi State	Stanford
20	Stanford	Mississippi State
21	USF	USF
22	Boise State	Boise State
23	NC State	NC State
24	Virginia Tech	Memphis
25	Memphis	Virginia Tech

Coaching changes[]

Preseason and in-season[]

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.

Team	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)
Florida State	Jimbo Fisher	December 1, 2017	Hired by Texas A&M	Odell Haggins (interim)
SMU	Chad Morris	December 5, 2017	Hired by Arkansas	Jeff Traylor (interim)

End of season[]

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

Team	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 [a]
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[]

Heisman Trophy[]

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

• Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville
• Bryce Love, RB, Stanford
• Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma

Other overall[]

• Archie Griffin Award (MVP): McKenzie Milton, QB, UCF
• AP Player of the Year: Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma
• Chic Harley Award (Player of the Year): Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma
• Maxwell Award (top player): Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma
• SN Player of the Year: Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma
• Walter Camp Award (top player): Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma

Special overall[]

• Burlsworth Trophy (top player who began as walk-on):
  • Luke Falk, QB, Washington State
  • Troy Fumagalli, TE, Wisconsin
  • Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma
  • Anthony Miller, WR, Memphis
• Paul Hornung Award (most versatile player): Saquon Barkley, RB/RS, Penn State
• KCU Top NCAA Canadian Award (inaugural award): Nathan Rourke, QB, Ohio
• Campbell Trophy ("academic Heisman"):
  • Sam Benger, Carnegie Mellon (D-III)
  • Braxton Berrios, Miami
  • Mason Hampton, Boise State
  • Justin Jackson, Northwestern
  • Micah Kiser, Virginia
  • Justin Lea, Jacksonville State (FCS)
  • Brad Lundblade, Oklahoma State
  • Marcus Martin, Slippery Rock (D-II)
  • Chandon Sullivan, Georgia State
  • Blaise Taylor, Arkansas State
  • Marlon Walls, Stephen F. Austin (FCS)
  • Chris Weber, Nebraska
  • Jake Wieneke, South Dakota State (FCS)
• Wuerffel Trophy (humanitarian-athlete):
  • Blaise Taylor, Arkansas State
  • Courtney Love, Kentucky
  • Drue Tranquill, Notre Dame
• Senior CLASS Award (senior student-athlete):
  • J. T. Barrett, QB, Ohio State
  • Daniel Carlson, K, Auburn
  • Shaquem Griffin, LB, UCF
  • Josey Jewell, LB, Iowa
  • Micah Kiser, LB, Virginia
  • Billy Price, C, Ohio State
  • Frank Ragnow, C, Arkansas
  • J. K. Scott, P, Alabama
  • Johnny Townsend, P, Florida
  • Logan Woodside, QB, Toledo

Offense[]

Quarterback

• Davey O'Brien Award (quarterback):
  • J. T. Barrett, Ohio State
  • Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma
  • Mason Rudolph, Oklahoma State
• Johnny Unitas Award (senior/4th year quarterback):
  • J.T. Barrett, Ohio State
  • Ryan Finley, NC State
  • Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma
  • Mason Rudolph, Oklahoma State
• Manning Award (quarterback):
  • J. T. Barrett, Ohio State
  • Kelly Bryant, Clemson
  • Sam Darnold, USC
  • Jalen Hurts, Alabama
  • Lamar Jackson, Louisville
  • Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma
  • Trace McSorley, Penn State
  • McKenzie Milton, UCF
  • Mason Rudolph, Oklahoma State
  • Jarrett Stidham, Auburn
  • Khalil Tate, Arizona
• Sammy Baugh Trophy (passing quarterback):
  • Mason Rudolph, Oklahoma State

Running back

• Doak Walker Award (running back): Finalists:
  • Saquon Barkley, Penn State
  • Bryce Love, Stanford
  • Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin

Wide receiver

• Fred Biletnikoff Award (wide receiver):
  • Michael Gallup, Colorado State
  • David Sills V, West Virginia
  • James Washington, Oklahoma State

Tight end

• John Mackey Award (tight end):
  • Mark Andrews, Oklahoma
  • Troy Fumagalli, Wisconsin
  • Mike Gesicki, Penn State

Lineman

• Dave Rimington Trophy (center): Billy Price, Ohio State
• Joe Moore Award (offensive line): Notre Dame

Defense[]

• Bronko Nagurski Trophy (defensive player):
  • Bradley Chubb, DE, NC State
  • Minkah Fitzpatrick, S, Alabama
  • Josey Jewell, LB, Iowa
  • Ed Oliver, DT, Houston
  • Roquan Smith, LB, Georgia
• Chuck Bednarik Award (defensive player):
  • Bradley Chubb, DE, NC State
  • Minkah Fitzpatrick, S, Alabama
  • Roquan Smith, LB, Georgia
• Lott Trophy (defensive impact): Josey Jewell, LB, Iowa

Defensive line

• Bill Willis Award (defensive lineman): Christian Wilkins, Clemson
• Dick Butkus Award (linebacker):
  • Devin Bush Jr., Michigan
  • Tremaine Edmunds, Virginia Tech
  • T. J. Edwards, Wisconsin
  • Dorian O'Daniel, Clemson
  • Roquan Smith, Georgia
• Jack Lambert Trophy (linebacker): Josey Jewell, Iowa
• Ted Hendricks Award (defensive end): Bradley Chubb, NC State

Defensive back

• Paycom Jim Thorpe Award (defensive back):
  • DeShon Elliott, Texas
  • Minkah Fitzpatrick, Alabama
  • Josh Jackson, Iowa
• Jack Tatum Trophy (defensive back): Josh Jackson, Iowa

Special teams[]

• Lou Groza Award (placekicker):
  • Daniel Carlson, Auburn
  • Dominik Eberle, Utah State
  • Matt Gay, Utah
• Ray Guy Award (punter):
  • Michael Dickson, Texas
  • J. K. Scott, Alabama
  • Mitch Wishnowsky, Utah
• Jet Award (return specialist): Dante Pettis, Washington
• Peter Mortell Award (holder):
  • Mac Loudermilk (UCF)
  • Connor McGinnis (Oklahoma)
  • Montgomery VanGorder (Notre Dame)

Other positional awards[]

• Outland Trophy (interior lineman on either offense or defense):
  • Orlando Brown, Oklahoma
  • Quenton Nelson, Notre Dame
  • Ed Oliver, Houston

Coaches[]

• AFCA Coach of the Year: Scott Frost, UCF
• AP Coach of the Year:
  • Scott Frost, UCF
  • Kirby Smart, Georgia
  • Dabo Swinney, Clemson
• Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year: Scott Frost, UCF
• Home Depot Coach of the Year: Scott Frost, UCF
• Paul "Bear" Bryant Award: Scott Frost, UCF
• Sporting News Coach of the Year: Kirby Smart, Georgia
• Walter Camp Coach of the Year: Mark Richt, Miami (FL)

Assistants[]

• AFCA Assistant Coach of the Year: Van Malone, SMU
• Broyles Award: Tony Elliott, Clemson

All-Americans[]

Television viewers and ratings[]

Most watched regular season games[]

All times Eastern. Rankings are from the AP Poll before (10/31) and the CFP Rankings thereafter.

Rank	Date	Matchup				Network	Viewers (millions)	TV Rating[32]	Significance
1	November 25, 3:30pm	No. 1 Alabama	14	No. 6 Auburn	26	CBS	13.66	7.6	College GameDay/Rivalry
2	September 2, 8:00pm	No. 3 Florida State	7	No. 1 Alabama	24	ABC	12.34	6.9	Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game/College GameDay
3	November 25, 12:00pm	Michigan	20	No. 9 Ohio State	31	FOX	10.51	6.1	Rivalry
4	October 28, 3:30pm	No. 2 Penn State	38	No. 6 Ohio State	39		9.87	5.8	College GameDay/Rivalry
5	December 9, 3:00pm	Army	14	Navy	13	CBS	8.42	5.2	College GameDay/Rivalry
6	September 9, 7:30pm	No. 5 Oklahoma	31	No. 2 Ohio State	16	ABC	8.08	4.6	College GameDay
7	September 2, 3:30pm	No. 11 Michigan	33	No. 17 Florida	17		7.65	4.9	Advocare Classic
8	November 11, 3:30pm	No. 1 Georgia	17	No. 10 Auburn	40	CBS	7.41	4.4	Rivalry
9	November 11, 7:00pm	No. 2 Alabama	31	No. 16 Mississippi State	24	ESPN	7.03	3.9	Rivalry
10	October 21, 7:30pm	No. 19 Michigan	13	No. 2 Penn State	42	ABC	6.95	3.9	College GameDay

Conference championship games[]

All times Eastern. Rankings are from the CFP Rankings.

Rank	Date	Matchup				Network	Viewers (millions)	TV Rating[33]	Conference	Location
1	December 2, 4:00pm	No. 6 Georgia (East)	28	No. 2 Auburn (West)	7	CBS	13.47	8.0	SEC	Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA
2	December 2, 8:00pm	No. 8 Ohio State (East)	27	No. 4 Wisconsin (West)	21	FOX	12.92	7.3	Big Ten	Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN
3	December 2, 12:30pm	No. 11 TCU (No. 2 seed)	17	No. 3 Oklahoma (No. 1 seed)	41		5.90	3.8	Big 12	AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX
4	December 2, 8:00pm	No. 7 Miami (Coastal)	3	No. 1 Clemson (Atlantic)	38	ABC	5.43	3.2	ACC	Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC
5	December 1, 8:00pm	No. 12 Stanford (North)	28	No. 10 USC (South)	31	ESPN	3.66	2.3	Pac-12	Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, CA
6	December 2, 12:00pm	No. 20 Memphis (West)	55	No. 14 UCF (East)	62	ABC	3.39	2.3	AAC	Spectrum Stadium, Orlando, FL
7	December 2, 12:00pm	Akron (East)	28	Toledo (West)	45	ESPN	0.65	0.5	MAC	Ford Field, Detroit, MI
8	December 2, 7:45pm	No. 25 Fresno State (West)	14	Boise State (Mountain)	17		0.62	0.4	MW	Albertsons Stadium, Boise, ID
9	December 2, 12:00pm	North Texas (West)	17	Florida Atlantic (East)	41	ESPN2	0.26	n.a.	C-USA	FAU Stadium, Boca Raton, FL

College Football Playoff[]

All times Eastern. Rankings are from the CFP Rankings.

Game	Date	Matchup				Network	Viewers (millions)	TV Rating[34]	Location
Rose Bowl (semifinal)	January 1, 2018, 5:00pm	No. 3 Georgia	54	No. 2 Oklahoma	48	ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU (megacast)	26.91	13.7	Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA
Sugar Bowl (semifinal)	January 1, 2018, 8:45pm	No. 4 Alabama	24	No. 1 Clemson	6		21.47	11.4	Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, LA
National Championship	January 8, 2018, 8:00pm	No. 4 Alabama	26	No. 3 Georgia	23		28.44	15.6	Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA

See also[]

• 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season
• 2017 NCAA Division II football season
• 2017 NCAA Division III football season
• 2017 NAIA football season

Notes[]

References[]