Big Ten: Way to early 2025 Standing Predictions

Another college football season has come to an end, and the Ohio State Buckeyes have come out on top.

It was an overall successful year for the Big 10, with five teams finishing in the top 20 of the final AP Poll.

The teams were:

No. 1 Ohio State

No. 3 Oregon

No. 5 Penn State

No. 10 Indiana

No. 16 Illinois

All five teams won ten or more games, and Indiana won 11 games for the first time in program history.

The Big 10 finished the bowl season with an 11-6 record and a .647 win percentage, which is tops of all the Power 4 conferences. On top of that qualified four teams for the inaugural 12 team College Football Playoff.

But now that the 2024-25 season has concluded, it’s time to have a way too early look into the 2025-26 Big 10 football season.

The Big 10 released the conference schedules for all 18 members on December 12th, so I’m gonna take a crack at what I think the standings will look like next season.

After a long time of debating with myself, and looking through the conference schedules of each team, I finally came up with what the 2025 Big 10 standings will look like. Here they are:

1. Ohio State (9-0)

The Buckeyes pick up right where they left off, running through the Big 10 with ease while picking up key wins over Penn State and finally getting back over the Michigan hump.

Key Wins:

Vs. Penn State

@ Illinois

@ Michigan

1. Penn State (8-1)

Penn State fell just short of the national championship this season but is primed to return a big chunk of their productivity. Biggest question mark remains the wide receiver room.

Key Wins:

Vs. Oregon

Vs. Indiana

Vs. Nebraska

1. Oregon (7-2)

The Ducks lose some explosiveness on offense and their leader Dillon Gabriel, however receiver Evan Stewart returns and Makhi Hughes comes over from Tulane to help replace Jordan James in the backfield. Question mark is who will be the new signal caller for the Ducks, with most signs pointing towards UCLA transfer Dante Moore taking the role.

Key Wins:

Vs. Indiana

Vs. USC

@ Washington

1. Michigan (7-2)

Sherrone Moore’s first season as head man was rough but the Wolverines built significant momentum at the end of the season by taking down arch-rival Ohio State and defeating Alabama in their bowl game. In order to bounce back however, the Wolverines will need better QB play and will need to reload some talent on defense.

Key Wins:

@ Nebraska

Vs. Washington

1. Indiana (6-3)

The Hoosiers will take a step back from 2024 but will remain competitive within the conference. The defense looks to remain solid and head coach Curt Cignetti found his quarterback in Cal transfer Fernando Mendoza

Key Wins:

Vs. Illinois

vs . MSU

1. Illinois (6-3)

After a great 2024, the Fighting Illini return plenty from this year’s team. Bret Bielema has this program headed in the right direction. Illinois will need to get some production from an inexperienced wide receiver room.

Key Wins:

Vs. USC

Vs. Rutgers

1. Nebraska (6-3)

Nebraska improves on their 2024 campaign behind the development of Dylan Raiola, while also getting help from a rather experienced offense. Question will be how the defense holds up.

Key Wins:

@ Minnesota

Vs. USC

Vs. Iowa

1. USC (6-3)

USC bounces back from what was a disappointing first year in the Big 10. The defense will continue to improve under D'Anton Lynn, which will help with some inexperience on the other side of the ball.

Key Wins:

Vs. Michigan

Vs. Iowa

1. Iowa (5-4)

The Hawkeyes decline by a game in 2025 but get a few of those patented Kinnick Stadium upsets. The recipe will stay similar for Iowa. Defense, defense, defense.

Key Wins:

Vs. Indiana

Vs. Minnesota

Vs. Oregon

1. Washington (5-4)

Washington goes over .500 in their second season in the B1G behind quarterback Demond Williams Jr., who also has standout receiver Denzel Boston returning along with running back Jonah Coleman.

Key Wins:

Vs. Rutgers

Vs. Illinois

1. Minnesota (4-5)

PJ Fleck’s squad faces a lot of roster turnover, which will end up in a rough season for the Golden Gophers. This will be a rebuilding year.

Key Wins:

Vs. Rutgers

1. Rutgers (3-6)

The Scarlet Knights have a semi-talented roster, especially with QB Athan Kaliakmanis returning and the running back room depth, however having to play four of the league’s six best teams won’t turn out well.

Key Wins:

Vs. Iowa

1. Michigan State (3-6)

Jonathan Smith’s squad faces a rather tough schedule in 2025, which looks to be another rebuilding year. Too many questions around the defense.

Key Wins:

@ Minnesota

1. Wisconsin (2-7)

An absolute gauntlet of a conference schedule, not to mention an out of conference trip to Tuscaloosa to face the Crimson Tide in week three. A new play caller takes over looking to hopefully kickstart the offense. Look away Badgers fans, this is going to be a rough one. An upset of Washington will be the highlight of the season.

Key Wins:

Vs. Washington

1. Northwestern (2-7)

Another crazy hard schedule, the Wildcats get transfer quarterback Preston Stone from playoff team SMU but that won’t hardly be enough for this slate of games.

Key Wins:

Vs. UCLA

1. UCLA (1-8)

The Bruins had a rough welcoming to the Big 10 but reeled off a couple of wins later in the season. Too many questions in 2025 however, as Deshaun Foster’s squad takes a painful step back but a west coast trap awaits for Nebraska.

Key Wins:

Vs. Nebraska

1. Maryland (1-8)

Just like UCLA, there’s holes all over this roster. Former starting quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. bolted for Wisconsin and Terrapin legend Tai Felton is off to the NFL. At least the Terrapins avoid their yearly slaughter at the hands of James Franklin and Penn State.

Key wins:

@ UCLA

1. Purdue (0-9)

At long last, we reach the bottom. Barry Odom has his hands full with this rebuild, with a lot of production from last year leaving via the portal. A decently tough schedule also doesn’t help.

Key wins:

None

Evan Pochas is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email ejp5753@psu.edu.