2014 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

The 2014 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented Ohio State University in the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the Buckeyes' 125th overall, the 102nd as a member of the Big Ten Conference, and first season as a member of the newly reorganized Eastern Division. The team was led by Urban Meyer, in his third year as head coach, and played their home games at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. They finished the season with 14 wins and 1 loss (14–1 overall, 8–0 in the Big Ten), as Big Ten champions and as national champions after they defeated Oregon in the inaugural College Football Playoff National Championship Game. Winning 14 games in a season tied the school record set by the Buckeyes' previous national champion team, a record that would be matched by the program's next national champion team. After a 12–2 season the previous year, Ohio State signed a highly ranked recruiting class and entered the season ranked No. 5 in the AP poll and No. 6 in the coaches' preseason poll. In the second game of the season, Ohio State was upset by Virginia Tech, 35–21. Following the loss, Ohio State won five consecutive games, including four against Big Ten opponents. In the ninth game of the season, Ohio State defeated Michigan State in a rematch of the previous year's Big Ten Championship Game. After the 49–37 win over the Spartans, the Buckeyes moved into the top ten in all major polls. After a 42–28 win over rival Michigan, Ohio State completed their third consecutive undefeated Big Ten regular season, and earned their second consecutive berth in the Big Ten Championship Game, where they defeated Wisconsin 59–0. In the first season of the College Football Playoff, Ohio State was selected as the No. 4 team, where they defeated Alabama in the Sugar Bowl 42–35. The win advanced the Buckeyes to the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship Game, where they defeated Oregon 42–20 to capture the 2014 national championship. They were voted consensus national champions as the Associated Press (AP) and the Coaches' Poll (AFCA) both named them the No. 1 team in their final polls. Reigning two-time Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year Braxton Miller was set to be Ohio State's starting quarterback for the year, but he sustained a season-ending shoulder injury in practice just a few weeks before the start of the season. Redshirt freshman J. T. Barrett started at quarterback for the majority of the season, until he, too, suffered a season-ending injury via a broken ankle during the regular season finale against Michigan. Redshirt sophomore Cardale Jones, who was the third-string quarterback at the start of the summer, led the Buckeyes to wins in the Big Ten Championship Game, Sugar Bowl, and CFP National Championship in his first three career starts at quarterback. Defensive end Joey Bosa led the Big Ten in sacks, tackles for loss, and forced fumbles, and was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. Bosa was named a unanimous first-team All-American. Bosa, Barrett, offensive lineman Pat Elflein, and defensive back Doran Grant earned first-team all-conference honors.