The 1917 Georgia Tech Golden Tornado football team represented the Georgia Institute of Technology in American football during the 1917 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football season. The Golden Tornado, coached by John Heisman in his 14th year as head coach, compiled a 9–0 record and outscored opponents 491 to 17 on the way to its first national championship. Heisman considered the 1917 team his best, and for many years it was considered "the greatest football team the South had ever produced". The team was later named national champion by the Billingsley Report, Helms Athletic Foundation, Houlgate System, and National Championship Foundation.

The offensive backfield is an ambiguous generic term of football, which includes: (1) a place, namely the area of an American football field behind the line of scrimmage; and (2) a group classification of certain players positioned there, i.e., members of offense who begin plays behind the line, typically including any backs on the field, such as the quarterback, halfbacks and fullback. There are rules specific to the manner of play in that area.