2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season

Rule changes

Game rules

• Prohibiting defensive players running toward the line of scrimmage from leaping or hurdling any offensive lineman on field goal or PAT attempts. 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".

• Promptly starting the second half when the halftime clock reaches 0:00.
• Penalizing coaches for coming on the field to argue a call.
• Starting the game clock immediately upon spotting the ball after a ball carrier goes out of bounds.

Recruiting rules

• The NCAA Division I Council approved a suite of rule changes affecting the recruiting process. The most significant of these are:
• * 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 per academic year will become an absolute limit. 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.
• 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.

Conference realignment

Membership changes

Upcoming changes

Updated stadiums

• 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.
• [West 2017 Virginia Cavaliers football team|Virginia Mountaineers football|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.

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

Kickoff games

"Week Zero"

• 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 to schedule an extra game each season. Four schools have taken advantage of the extra week:
• *Hawai'i played at [2017 2017 UMass Minutemen football team|UMass Minutemen football team|UMass] on August 26, with the visitors winning 38–35. UMass ended their 2016 season with a loss at Hawai'i, and thus opened their 2017 season against the same opponent.
• *[2017 2017 BYU Cougars football team|BYU Cougars football team|BYU] hosted FCS opponent Portland State on August 26, winning 20–6.
• *San Jose State hosted [2017 2017 South Florida Bulls football team|South Florida Bulls football team|USF] on August 26, with the visitors winning 42–22.
• *[2017 2017 Colorado Buffaloes football team|Colorado State Rams football team|Colorado State] hosted [2017 Oregon Ducks football|Oregon State Beavers football team|Oregon State] on August 26 in the first game at the Rams' new stadium, and won 58–27.
• [2017 2017 Stanford Cardinal football team|Stanford Cardinal football team|Stanford] and Rice played in Sydney on August 26 for the second Sydney Cup, won by Stanford in a 62–7 blowout. This was the second straight year a Pac-12 team went to Australia, as [2016 2017 California Golden Bears football team|California Golden Bears football team|California] defeated Hawai'i in the first Sydney Cup to open the [2016 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision|NCAA Division I FBS football season|2016 season].

Week 1

• Advocare Classic
• *[2017 Florida Gators football|Florida Gators football team|#17 Florida] played against [2017 2017 Michigan Wolverines football team|Michigan Wolverines football team|#11 Michigan] at AT&T Stadium on September 2, with Michigan winning 33–17.
• Belk Kickoff Game
• * [2017 2017 NC State Wolfpack football team|NC State Wolfpack football team|North Carolina State] played against [2017 2017 South Carolina Gamecocks football team|South Carolina Gamecocks football team|South Carolina] at Bank of America Stadium on September 2, with the Gamecocks winning 35–28.
• Chick-fil-A Kickoff Games
• *#1 Alabama defeated [2017 2017 Florida State Seminoles football team|Florida State Seminoles football team|#3 Florida State] Alabama rolled past FSU 24–7 at the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium on September 2.
• *[2017 2017 Tennessee Volunteers football team|Tennessee Volunteers football team|#25 Tennessee] defeated Georgia Tech Tennessee came back and won in a classic 42–41 in double overtime at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on September 4.
• [Texas Kickoff|Advocare Texas Longhorns football|Texas Kickoff]
• * [2017 2017 LSU Tigers football team|LSU Tigers football team|#13 LSU] defeated BYU LSU stumped BYU 27–0 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on September 2.

Regular season top 10 matchups

• Week 1
• *No. 1 Alabama defeated No. 3 Florida State, 24–7
• Week 2
• *No. 5 [2017 Oklahoma Sooners football|Oklahoma Sooners football team|Oklahoma] defeated No. 2 [2017 2017 Ohio State Buckeyes football team|Ohio State Buckeyes football team|Ohio State], 30–16
• Week 9
• *No. 6 Ohio State defeated No. 2 [2017 2017 Penn State Nittany Lions football team|Penn State Nittany Lions football team|Penn State], 39–38
• Week 11
• *No. 10/10 Auburn defeated No. 1/2 Georgia, 40–17
• *No. 7/7 [2017 Miami Hurricanes football|Miami Hurricanes football team|Miami] defeated No. 3/3 [2017 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football|Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team|Notre Dame], 41–8
• *No. 5/5 Oklahoma defeated No. 6/8 [2017 2017 TCU Horned Frogs football team|TCU Horned Frogs football team|TCU], 38–20
• Week 13
• * No. 6/6 Auburn defeated No. 1/1 Alabama, 26–14
• Week 14
• * No. 1/1 [2017 2017 Clemson Tigers football team|Clemson Tigers football team|Clemson] defeated No. 7/7 Miami, 38–3, Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC
• * No. 6/6 Georgia defeated No. 2/4 Auburn, 28–7
• * No. 3/2 Oklahoma defeated No. 11/10 TCU, 41–17
• * No. 8/8 Ohio State defeated No. 4/3 [2017 2017 Wisconsin Badgers football team|Wisconsin Badgers football team|Wisconsin], 27–21

Upsets

FCS team wins over FBS teams

Conference summaries

Bowl eligibility

Bowl eligible teams

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

Bowl ineligible teams

• The American : Cincinnati, UConn, East Carolina, Tulane, Tulsa
• ACC : [2017 2017 North Carolina Tar Heels football team|North Carolina Tar Heels football team|North Carolina], Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh, Syracuse
• Big Ten : Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, [2017 Nebraska Cornhuskers football|Nebraska Cornhuskers football team|Nebraska], Rutgers
• Big 12 : Baylor, Kansas
• Conference USA : Charlotte, Old Dominion, Rice, Texas-El Paso
• Independent : BYU, UMass
• MAC : Ball State, Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Miami (OH)
• Mountain West : Air Force, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State, UNLV
• Pac-12 : California, Colorado, Oregon State
• SEC : [2017 Arkansas Razorbacks football|Arkansas Razorbacks football team|Arkansas], Mississippi, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Florida
• Sun Belt : Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Idaho, Louisiana–Monroe, South Alabama, Texas State
• Independent : BYU, UMass

Coaching changes

Preseason and in-season

End of season

Awards and honors

Heisman Trophy voting

Other overall

• Archie Griffin Award : Finalists:
• AP Player of the Year: Finalists:
• Chic Harley Award : Finalists:
• Maxwell Award : Finalists:
• *Saquon Barkley, Penn State
• *Bryce Love, Stanford
• *Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma
• SN Player of the Year: Finalists:
• Walter Camp Award : Finalists:

Special overall

• Burlsworth Trophy : Finalists:
• Paul Hornung Award : Finalists:
• Campbell Trophy : Finalists:
• *Sam Benger, Carnegie Mellon
• *Braxton Berrios, Miami
• *Mason Hampton, Boise State
• *Justin Jackson, Northwestern
• *Micah Kiser, Virginia
• *Justin Lea, Jacksonville State
• *Brad Lundblade, Oklahoma State
• *Marcus Martin, Slippery Rock
• *Chandon Sullivan, Georgia State
• *Blaise Taylor, Arkansas State
• *Marlon Walls, Stephen F. Austin
• *Chris Weber, Nebraska
• *Jake Wieneke, South Dakota State
• Wuerffel Trophy : Finalists:
• *Blaise Taylor, Arkansas State
• *Courtney Love, Kentucky
• *Drue Tranquill, Notre Dame
• POLY POY : Finalists:

Offense

• Davey O'Brien Award : Finalists:
• *J.T. Barrett, Ohio State
• *Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma
• *Mason Rudolph, Oklahoma State
• Johnny Unitas Award : Finalists:
• Kellen Moore Award :
• Manning Award : Finalists:
• Sammy Baugh Trophy : Finalists:

• Doak Walker Award : Finalists:
• *Saquon Barkley, Penn State
• *Bryce Love, Stanford
• *Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin
• Jim Brown Trophy : Finalists:

• Fred Biletnikoff Award : Finalists:
• *Michael Gallup, Colorado State
• *David Sills V, West Virginia
• *James Washington, Oklahoma State

• John Mackey Award : Finalists:
• *Mark Andrews, Oklahoma
• *Troy Fumagalli, Wisconsin
• *Mike Gesicki, Penn State

• Dave Rimington Trophy : Finalists:

Defense

• Bronko Nagurski Trophy : Finalists:
• *Bradley Chubb, NC State
• *Minkah Fitzpatrick, Alabama
• *Josey Jewell, Iowa
• *Ed Oliver, Houston
• *Roquan Smith, Georgia
• Chuck Bednarik Award : Finalists:
• *Bradley Chubb, NC State
• *Minkah Fitzpatrick, Alabama
• *Roquan Smith, Georgia
• Lott Trophy : Finalists:

• Bill Willis Award : Finalists:
• Dick Butkus Award : Finalists:
• *Devin Bush Jr., Michigan
• *Tremaine Edmunds, Virginia Tech
• *T. J. Edwards, Wisconsin
• *Dorian O'Daniel, Clemson
• *Roquan Smith, Georgia
• Jack Lambert Trophy : Finalists:
• Ted Hendricks Award : Finalists:

• Paycom Jim Thorpe Award : Finalists:
• *DeShon Elliott, Texas
• *Minkah Fitzpatrick, Alabama
• *Josh Jackson, Iowa
• Jack Tatum Trophy : Finalists:

Special teams

• Lou Groza Award : Finalists:
• *Daniel Carlson, Auburn
• *Dominik Eberle, Utah State
• *Matt Gay, Utah
• Ray Guy Award : Finalists:
• *Michael Dickson, Texas
• *J. K. Scott, Alabama
• *Mitch Wishnowsky, Utah

Other positional awards

• Outland Trophy : Finalists:
• *Orlando Brown, Oklahoma
• *Quenton Nelson, Notre Dame
• *Ed Oliver, Houston

Attendances