Big Ten busts: The conference's biggest disappointments of 2025

The Big Ten has been full of ups and downs this season, but some have certainly outweighed the others. Today, we’ll be taking a look at the Top 5 biggest disappointments in the Big Ten this season.

5. Rutgers Scarlet Knights

After back-to-back seven-win seasons in 2023 and 2024, the Scarlet Knights entered 2025 with hopes of contending in the Big Ten; however, they have struggled immensely to start this season.

They barely escaped the Ohio Bobcats in week one and have dropped their first two conference games to Iowa and Minnesota, but what’s gone so wrong for them in this year's campaign?

First, their defense has let them down, big time. They’ve allowed 30 or more points in three out of five of their games this year.

Their secondary is being picked apart in nearly every game. Chase Hendricks of the Bobcats had nine catches for 115 yards in their game versus the Scarlet Knights, so it’s hard to imagine this defense can contain lethal Big Ten receivers.

The saddest part is that Rutgers is wasting its best offensive season since 2014. Quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis ranks second in passing in the Big Ten, with nearly 1,400 passing yards and nine touchdowns through five games.

They’ll look to right the ship, but have two difficult games in the next two weeks, which could potentially knock them out of bowl game contention.

4. Michigan State Spartans

At number four, we have the Michigan State Spartans. The Spartans did not play well last season to say the least, finishing 5-7 and 3-6 in conference play.

Expectations coming into the year were as high as they were in almost a decade, with head coach Jonathan Smith entering his second full season.

Quarterback Aiden Chiles looked solid in non-conference matchups at the beginning of this season, but has struggled in conference play, especially in Michigan State’s most recent game versus Nebraska, where he threw for under 100 yards, didn’t throw for a touchdown, and had two interceptions.

Their defense has been where they’ve faltered. Their rush and pass defense has been inconsistent all year.

Yes, they’ve struggled, but if they can pick up their fourth win as we hit the midway point of this season, they’ve got a chance to get back to a bowl game.

3. Wisconsin Badgers

At the number three spot, we have the Wisconsin Badgers. Oh man, what a disaster of a year it has been for the Badgers. It’s week six and Wisconsin has already gone through three quarterbacks.

They started the season with Danny O’Neil but turned to Billy Edwards Jr. after O’Neil’s tough start to the year. Edwards Jr. has been battling an injury so it will be Hunter Simmons getting the start in their next game versus Iowa.

Wisconsin came into the season with lots of hype, especially surrounding their head coach, Luke Fickell. He has come under fire recently due to how this team has struggled so far this year.

Their run game has struggled immensely and when their run game is off, they struggle to set up the pass and get offense going.

All in all, Wisconsin is going to struggle the rest of this year. They still have four ranked teams to play and that doesn’t include games versus Iowa or Washington.

With the Badgers only on pace for three or four wins this season, could it spell the end of Fickell’s tenure coaching at Camp Randall?

2. UCLA Bruins

The UCLA Bruins have had what is maybe the single most confusing start to a season in the history of the BIG 10. Not only did they drop their first four games to unranked teams, but these games were not close for the most part.

However, in week five, the number seven team in the country, the Penn State Nittany Lions, came into town and UCLA pulled off perhaps the biggest upset in the entire college football season thus far, beating them 42-37.

Nico Iamaleava looked like his former self and the entire UCLA offense clicked under new offensive coordinator Jerry Neuheisel.

This absolutely doesn’t take away from just how bad the Bruins have been this season. They fired head coach DeShaun Foster and let go of both coordinators, Tino Sunseri on the offensive side of the ball, and Ikaika Malloe on the defensive side.

Are the Bruins turning the tide under this new regime? Maybe, but their embarrassing start after being projected to be a team that takes a huge leap this season puts them at the number two spot on this list.

1. Penn State Nittany Lions

Well, here they are. The biggest disappointment in all of College Football this season. The Penn State Nittany Lions. Yes, they started 3-0, but they didn’t look great in a single one of those wins.

Yes, they lost a close one to Oregon in double overtime, but they struggled their way through that game and blew it in the end, with a chance to win.

And to top it all off, the first loss from an AP top 10 team to a winless team in 40 years. A disaster to say the least.

But what went so wrong? Well, Drew Allar hasn’t been the first-round talent everybody expected him to be; this new wide receiver core has struggled to get open in the biggest spots, and Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen haven’t been the duo everyone expected them to be.

Now they sit at 3-2, needing to win out to even have a chance at the college football playoff, which includes wins needed over Ohio State, Indiana, and Iowa.

With the struggles the Nittany Lions are going through right now, the question becomes, can you seriously contend for a national championship under James Franklin? He sure thinks so, but only time will tell.

Regardless, they have been, without a doubt, the biggest disappointment in the Big Ten this season, hence why they are at number one in this ranking.

Sawyer Bogaty is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please contact him at sgb5468@psu.edu.