The 2017 college football season was the first time two teams from the same conference played for the national championship. It was the SEC and, fittingly, the season concluded in Atlanta. Alabama won a thriller over Georgia to capture their fifth national title in the Nick Saban era.
As usual, it was an elite defense that anchored the Crimson Tide. Minkah Fitzpatrick won the Thorpe Award, defensive tackle Raekwon Davis had 8 1/2 sacks, and ‘Bama allowed fewer points than anyone in the country. Jalen Hurts didn’t throw a lot at quarterback, but he averaged 8.2 yards-per-attempt and was intercepted just one time all season. Calvin Ridley was his leading target and Damien Harris ran for over 1,000 yards.
Georgia played terrific defense themselves, and they had their own award winner. Linebacker Roquan Smith took home the Butkus Award. The offense was fueled by the potent running back duo of Nick Chubb and Sony Michel, who combined for over 2,500 yards. Jake Fromm was another quarterback who didn’t have to throw with frequency, but he averaged nine yards a pop when he did.
The Bulldogs and Tide didn’t have the SEC to themselves. Auburn had a solid running game, with Kerryon Johnson rushing for almost 1,400 yards. Jarrett Stidham was an efficient quarterback, throwing for over 3,100 yards and completing 67 percent of his passes. The Tigers had some stumbles—a 14-6 loss at Clemson early and a close 27-23 decision to LSU in mid-October. But Auburn was lurking when the stretch drive arrived.
Meanwhile, Alabama set the tone for their season in the opener, an easy 24-7 win over third-ranked Florida State. They went on to beat LSU 24-10 and were undefeated in November. Georgia went to South Bend and won a tight 20-19 game against a ranked Notre Dame team. The Dawgs were also undefeated as the season hit the home stretch.
With the college football world watching the unbeaten teams from Alabama and Georgia stay on a collision course, Auburn surged. The Tigers blew out the Bulldogs 40-17. Two weeks later, Auburn comfortably handled Alabama, 26-14. The season was turned on its head. In spite of having two losses, the Tigers were up to #2 in the rankings and headed for the SEC Championship Game. The Bulldogs had slipped to #6 but would get another chance at Auburn in that title game. And Alabama? The Tide was #5, but without playing in a conference championship game, they needed help.
Alabama’s fate was intertwined with what was happening in the Big Ten. Three teams, Ohio State, Penn State, and Wisconsin had opened the season in the national top 10. And all three lived up to expectations.
The Buckeyes opened the season at #2 in the polls and got All-American seasons from center Billy Price and defensive back Denzel Ward. J.K. Dobbins rolled up over 1,400 yards on the ground, while J.T Barret posted a 35/9 TD-INT ratio, averaging 8.2 yards-per-attempt and ran for nearly 900 yards. The defense had playmakers in defensive back Damon Webb, who intercepted five passes and a sophomore defensive end named Nick Bosa who rang up eight sacks.
Wisconsin’s third-in-the-nation defense was anchored by All-American linebacker T.J. Edwards. A vintage Badger running game was as good as it had ever been, with Jonathan Taylor rumbling for 1,977 yards at 6.6 a pop. Some shaky, mistake-prone play by quarterback Alex Hornibrook did serve to limit Wisconsin’s offensive prowess.
Penn State was well-balanced, finished seventh nationally for both points scored and points allowed. Trace McSorley could stretch the field at quarterback, and he had plenty of targets. Four receivers caught at least 50 balls. And that doesn’t even include the versatile Saquon Barkley. The running back had a magnificent all-around year, catching 54 passes and rushing for nearly 1,300 yards.
Ohio State’s hopes took an early blow when they lost at home to Oklahoma, 31-16. Penn State moved up to #2 in the rankings and then hammered Michigan, 42-19, in October. The stage was a settle for a big Buckeyes-Lions battle in Columbus on October 28. Ohio State won a thriller, 39-38, and was back in the national championship hunt.
November 4 was a signature day. The Buckeyes no-showed in a game against unranked Iowa and suffered an inexplicable 55-24 beatdown. But the Lions failed to capitalize, losing a 27-24 heartbreaker at Michigan State. Penn State still got a Fiesta Bowl bid, but their Playoff hopes were dead. Ohio State would go on to win the East, but headed into the conference championship game with two losses.
Meanwhile, Wisconsin just steadily marched forward. They stayed undefeated into November. Down the stretch, the Badgers manhandled Iowa 38-14 and efficiently dispatched Michigan, 24-10. Wisconsin reached the Big Ten Championship Game at 12-0 and ranked #4.
Thus, Alabama sat at #5, realistically knowing they needed Auburn to lose, Wisconsin to lose, and then hope the Committee would choose the Tide for the #4 spot.
The dominoes fell. Georgia took advantage of their second chance and easily beat the Tigers 28-7. Ohio State jumped out to a big lead, survived a Wisconsin comeback bid and held on for a 27-21 win. The Badgers settled for an Orange Bowl bid, while Auburn went to the Peach Bowl.
Georgia was in the Playoff and the Committee had a decision to make. Do you take 11-1 Alabama or 11-2 Ohio State? The Committee picked the Tide. Two SEC teams would be in the four-team bracket. The Buckeyes were ticketed for the Cotton Bowl.
Clemson was the defending national champion and ranked fifth to start the year. The departure of quarterback DeShaun Watson hurt, and the offense relied on a running game led by Travis Etienne and Tavien Feaster. They scored enough points for the nation’s second-best defense to carry the load. Nobody was a star, but Clelin Ferrell and Austin Bryant combined for 18 sacks off the edges.
The Tigers ability to lock opponents down was quickly made apparent in their 14-6 win over Auburn in September. Clemson went on to get decisive September wins over ranked opponents in Louisville and Virginia Tech. But a Friday night trip to Syracuse in mid-October resulted in a 27-24 loss.
Florida State, after the loss to Alabama and quarterback injuries, fell off the radar. Miami emerged as the second contender in the ACC. The Hurricanes had an aggressive defense, with defensive backs Jaquan Jackson and Michael Jackson intercepting four passes apiece, and Trent Harris recording 8 ½ sacks up front. That was combined with a solid running game led by Travis Horner who got close to the 1K threshold in yardage at 5.9 yards-per-carry.
Miami lurked for the first two months and then opened November with high-profile blowouts of Virginia Tech and Notre Dame. They soared all the way to #2 in the polls. Miami and Clemson were on a collision course to meet for a Playoff berth in the ACC Championship Game. But the ‘Canes suffered a Black Friday upset, 24-14 to Pitt. That took a little steam out of the showdown with Clemson. And it was no contest in any event—the Tigers rolled to a 38-7 win and finished the season #1 in the country.
The Hurricanes got an Orange Bowl date with Wisconsin. As for Clemson, they were headed for a third straight postseason showdown with Alabama, this time in the Sugar Bowl.
Oklahoma had the Heisman Trophy winner in Baker Mayfield. The Sooner quarterback put up astonishing numbers—71 percent completion rate, over 4,600 yards, 11.5 yards-per-attempt and a 43-6 TD/INT ratio. His primary targets were All-American tight end Mark Andrews and wide receiver Marquise Brown. The offensive front was led by another All-American in Orlando Brown, and he helped pave the way for Rodney Anderson to average better than six yards per rush and gain over 1,100 yards.
Just as noteworthy is that a Sooner defense, which had been leaky in recent years, ranked a respectable 25th in points allowed. That this was a different OU team was apparent in the aforementioned win at Ohio State. While Oklahoma stumbled against Iowa State in early October, they recovered a ran the table the rest of the way. That included a more vintage Big 12 shootout—a 62-52 decision over Oklahoma State and a 38-20 win over eighth-ranked TCU in November.
OU sealed the deal by beating TCU a second time in the Big 12 Championship Game, this time 41-17. They were headed to the College Football Playoff and paired up against Georgia in the Rose Bowl.
The Pac-12 had two strong contenders in USC and Washington, ranked fourth and eighth in the polls to start the year. Both were as advertised. The Trojans got over 1,500 yards rushing from Ronald Jones. While Sam Darnold was mistake-prone, he also averaged 8.6 yards-per-attempt and stretched the field to receivers like Deontay Burnett. And while the defense had its issues, they had some playmakers in the front seven with Rasheem Greem, Uchenna Nwosu and Christian Rector combining for 27 ½ sacks. USC got an early 42-14 win over a good Stanford team to set the tone.
Washington was the opposite on defense—they didn’t have notable names, but they jelled as a unit, ranking fifth nationally in points allowed. Jake Browning had a good year at quarterback, completing 69 percent of his passes and 8.1 yards-per-attempt and only throwing five interceptions. Myles Gaskin was an explosive runner who went for almost 1,400 yards.
Both Pac-12 contenders took losses in the late September/early October timeframe. Later, USC would get hammered at Notre Dame, and Washington dropped a tough game to Stanford. But the Trojans and Huskies stayed consistent. Washington got a big 41-14 win over ranked Washington State, enough to secure a Fiesta Bowl bid against Penn State.
USC reached the Pac-12 Championship Game against Stanford. The Cardinal were led by running back Bryce Love. With over 2,100 yards and an astonishing per-carry average that exceeded eight yards, Love won the Lombardi Award (2017 was the first year of a four-year stretch where this award was not restricted to lineman and linebackers). But the Trojans got the last word in the Pac-12—a 31-28 win gave them the conference crown and a Cotton Bowl date with Ohio State.
Our narrative of the power conferences has something missing—an undefeated team. That was supplied by Central Florida in the American Conference. McKenzie Milton had an electric year at quarterback. He threw for 4,000 yards, averaged better than 10 yards per attempt, had a 37/9 TD/INT ratio, completed 67 percent of his passes, and ran for over 600 yards. His top receiver, Tre’Quan Smith caught 59 passes at nearly 20 yards a pop. The Knights’ offense scored more points than anyone in the nation.
UCF stayed undefeated against a soft schedule that did not include conference rival Houston, and their Outland Trophy-winning defensive tackle, Ed Oliver. But in their final two games, the Knights showed what they could do. A 49-42 win over #22 South Florida secured the division title. And a 62-55 shootout over #16 Memphis clinched the American, an undefeated season and a chance to play Auburn in the Peach Bowl.
Central Florida sealed their special season with a 34-27 upset of Auburn. Then the Big Ten started taking over the major bowls. Wisconsin went on the road and knocked off Miami 34-24 in the Orange. Penn State won a 35-28 decision over Washington in the Fiesta. And Ohio State delivered the Pac-12 a second blow, comfortably handling USC 24-7 in the Cotton.
That set the stage for the Playoff. Georgia and Oklahoma played an electric Rose Bowl. An offensive shootout would seem to favor the Sooners, but it was the Bulldogs who pulled out a 54-48 overtime decision. The prime-time Sugar Bowl was a little less exciting. Alabama was hungry after getting their reprieve and Clemson’s offensive problems came home to roost. The Tide won 24-6.
So, we had Alabama and Georgia meeting in Atlanta. The Bulldogs seemed in command for much of the game and led 20-7 late in the third quarter. Then, Saban made a bold move. He benched Hurts and brought in an unknown freshman named Tua Tagovailoa. The rookie rallied the Tide, and they pulled even 20-20.
Georgia, playing a second straight OT game, kicked a field goal on their possession and they had Alabama backed up on the 41-yard line. But Tide receiver DeVonta Smith slipped behind the defense. Tua hit him in stride and ‘Bama had a 26-23 win. They were national champs again.