BIG TEN Predictions 2025

Penn State 11-1 (Loss to Ohio State) 

Illinois 11-1 (Loss to Ohio State) 

Ohio State 10-2 (Loss to Michigan & Texas) 

Oregon 10-2 (Losses to Penn St,Washington) 

UCLA 9-3 (Losses Penn St, Ohio St, USC) 

Indiana 9-3 (Losses to Illinois,Oregon,Penn St) 

Michigan 9-3 (Losses to Oklahoma,Nebraska,USC) 

Iowa 8-4 (Losses to Iowa St,Indiana,Penn St,Oregon) 

Washington 8-4 (Losses to Ohio St,Michigan,Illinois,UCLA)

Nebraska 8-4(Losses to Michigan,Penn St,UCLA,Iowa) 

USC 7-5 (Losses to Oregon,ND,Illinois,Nebraska,Iowa) 

Rutgers 6-6 (Losses to Iowa,Washington,Oregon,Illinois,Ohio St,Penn St)

Wisconsin 4-8 (Wins Miami OH, MTSU,Maryland,Minnesota) 

Michigan State 4-8 (Wins W.Michigan,Youngstown St,Minnesota,Maryland) 

Minnesota 4-8 (Wins Buffalo,N’Western St, Purdue, Northwestern)

Mayland 3-9 (Wins FAU,NIU,Townson) 

Northwestern 2-10 (Wins W. Illinois, UL Monroe)

Purdue 2-10 (Wins Ball State, Southern Illinois)

The standing of the Big Ten conference can be broken down into tiers if you look at it. The top four teams should all make the College Football Playoff. Honestly, four Big Ten teams making the College Football Playoff seems like a realistic scenario. The three typical powers will make the playoffs, minus Michigan, and I think Illinois will make a huge leap forward since they are returning 16 of 22 starters, almost their entire offensive line, and their quarterback. I believe Oregon has a chance to make some noise in the playoff this year if they figure out their quarterback situation. The only team I am skeptical about in this group is Ohio State, which has an almost entirely new starting lineup with 15 players leaving after a championship season last year. This could also be the year James Franklin finally gets his big-time win.

The next three teams could contend for a spot in the college football playoff in a down year, but they should all be playing in the bigger bowl games. I think UCLA might be this year's Illinois, taking a significant step toward relevance with Nico at the helm. If he comes back next year, they will have huge expectations, just like Illinois does this year.

Then there’s the group of 8-4 teams, who were within two plays of being serious threats to the teams above them. These are solid squads, but just not good enough to be in New Year’s bowls or the playoff.

I have USC at 7-5, and I think Lincoln Riley might get fired or quit afterward. He might be better off as an NFL offensive coordinator, similar to Kliff Kingsbury, who is now the OC for the Commanders and used to be a head coach at Texas Tech.

Rutgers at 6-6 seems like a reasonable projection, but with NIL now a factor, everyone in this conference should aim for championships. This isn't the MAC; they could end up playing in a game like the Snoop Dogg Bowl vs. Washington State or something similar.

Finally, in the bottom tier, we have Wisconsin and the division's bottom feeders this year. Wisconsin could jump into another tier if they beat Alabama early in the season, they could be a real problem down the stretch and likely win 8+ games. Their schedule is brutal, but they will be better than their record suggests.