The Big Ten cemented itself at the forefront of college football last fall, with the Ohio State Buckeyes crowned national champions in a season where the conference had the most representatives in the College Football Playoff. Our 2025 Big Ten Power Rankings evaluate how the 18 teams stack up ahead of the upcoming campaign.
18) Purdue Boilermakers
After a three-year head coaching sabbatical, Barry Odom parlayed a two-year stint in the Mountain West with the UNLV Rebels into a return to the Power Four with the Purdue Boilermakers.
The Big Ten outfit parted ways with Ryan Walters after two diabolically poor seasons and should see some immediate improvement under their new HC. The question is, how much and how quickly?
Odom has enlisted a large transfer portal class consisting of standout Group of Five players and some unproven talents. Keeping RB Devin Mockobee is also key to establishing this team early. However, there are five preseason-ranked teams on their schedule, which doesn’t include a trip to a strong Washington Huskies team and a visit from USC. A one-year turnaround will be tough.
17) Northwestern Wildcats
David Braun was the feel-good story of the 2023 CFB season, but he felt the fickle nature of the sport last fall as his Northwestern Wildcats ranked in the bottom half of the FBS across a raft of basic and advanced metrics while slumping to a 4-8 record. They averaged just 17.8 points per game due to mediocre QB play.
The Wildcats will ride or die on the back of their solution to that issue. Preston Stone was a significant addition from the transfer portal, depending on which version of the former SMU quarterback turns up in 2025. His form took a dip in 2024 following injury, but when he’s at his best, Stone is a dangerous and talented passer.
Northwestern will need that in an ultra-competitive Big Ten.
16) Maryland Terrapins
For three seasons, Mike Locksley made the Maryland Terrapins a plucky, likeable team in the Big Ten, compiling back-to-back eight-win campaigns in 2022 and 2023. However, in 2024, the reality of the stature of the program (and perhaps Locksley’s ceiling as a coach) was plain to see in the expanded conference landscape.
None of Maryland’s offseason moves point towards an improvement in 2025. Only one quarterback who saw the field last fall returns, with just 1,124 yards and eight touchdowns worth of offensive production back on the roster.
That would be fine if the Terrapins had raided the portal for replacements, but that simply isn’t the case. There’s some talent on defense, but not enough to carry the team past a schedule that avoids some of the key contenders, but has its banana skins.
15) Michigan State Spartans
On paper, the Spartans should be a relatively strong team in 2025. They made some nice offseason moves in the transfer portal, adding a duo of talented pass catchers (Omari Kelly and Chrishon McCray), plus experienced pieces on the offensive line and at defensive back.
Some of Michigan State’s top talent from last fall is back, too, including standout wide receiver Nick Marsh, who impressed in 2024. They also bring back talented passer Aidan Chiles, which is where the Spartans’ standing in the CFB power rankings hinges.
In his first season in the Big Ten, the former Oregon State passer was a turnover machine, leading the conference in interceptions. The talent is plain to see, but Chiles needs to eradicate the mistakes if the Spartans are to navigate the Big Ten. After all, the games (which include Penn State, Michigan, and Indiana, but not Ohio State or Oregon) aren’t played on paper.
14) UCLA Bruins
After opening the 2024 season 1-5, the UCLA Bruins picked up some steam down the stretch with three wins and a close-fought loss to USC. However, their offensive struggles all season led to their involvement in one of the offseason’s biggest talking points.
The transfer acquisition of former Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava heaps expectations on DeShaun Foster’s team, but are they fair?
Iamaleava might not even be the best quarterback that was on the team’s roster this spring, with Joey Aguilar reentering the portal after his arrival.
The Bruins added former Cal wide receiver Mikey Matthews as weaponry while beefing up the offensive line. Nonetheless, the running game still offers little threat, and the defense lacks the star talent of previous UCLA units. It could be a tough year, especially facing Ohio State, Penn State, and Indiana.
13) Wisconsin Badgers
Madison expects, and after two seasons at the helm of the Wisconsin Badgers, Luke Fickell hasn’t delivered, and the pressure is building. With road trips to Alabama, Michigan, Oregon, and Indiana on the schedule, not to mention clashes with Ohio State and a strong Illinois team, there aren’t many opportunities to better the five-win 2024 season that ignited hot seat conversation.
A trio of returning offensive linemen helps build confidence for whoever wins the quarterback competition between O’Neil and Billy Edwards Jr. Still, there isn’t a workhorse back for Wisconsin, and elite TE Tanner Koziol came and went this offseason, leaving little in the way of game-changing weaponry.
Wisconsin defenses are always solid, and the return of some key pieces helps there, but they might be sorely tested as the season goes on.
12) Nebraska Cornhuskers
It’s easy to say that the 2025 Nebraska Cornhuskers will go as Dylan Raiola goes. The former five-star showed some flashes of brilliance during a 7-6 season, but there were also some very real teachable moments that he can’t repeat this fall if Rhule’s team is to have any success.
Nebraska got to a postseason game (and won the Pinstripe Bowl) despite only averaging 23.5 points per game. The Cornhuskers achieved a first bowl berth since 2016 on the back of a defense that ranked 17th in the country for points allowed. Although they return almost all of a highly talented secondary, they lost enough from the front seven to raise significant questions about how they’ll perform this fall.
A Big Ten opener against Michigan should provide some answers, and if it doesn’t, the Cornhuskers could get brutally exposed by a late November trip to Penn State.
11) Rutgers Scarlet Knights
The Rutgers Scarlet Knights haven’t had three consecutive seasons at .500 or above since Greg Schiano was last in Piscataway, but stand on the verge of achieving the feat with a strong 2025 campaign.
The program lost some key contributors ahead of the season and has four preseason-ranked teams on a demanding schedule that threatens to derail their chances of success. Road trips to Ohio State and Illinois stand out, but they’ll also need to overcome Oregon and Penn State at home.
On a positive note, Rutgers’ OL is experienced, they snagged two highly productive Group of Five offensive playmakers (Sheffield, Campbell), and completely rebuilt the defensive front, including two juggernaut defensive ends in O’Neill and Bradley Weaver.
10) Washington Huskies
The drop-off from challenging for a national title in 2023 to barely contending in the Big Ten in 2024 was substantial, but also to an extent expected, as the Huskies underwent an unprecedented offseason of change.
Jedd Fisch saw a leap in fortunes between Year 1 and 2 when he was at Arizona, and he has the roster to get back to winning ways in 2025.
Demond Williams Jr. was used sparingly last fall, but a breakout season is to be expected for the exciting young quarterback. It might not be the triple-headed monster of 2023, but the receiving room boasts a dominant pass catcher in the form of Denzel Boston, while Jonah Coleman contributes in all facets. Ephesians Prysock and Tacario Davis, meanwhile, form one of the top cornerback duos in the country.
9) USC Trojans
As the Trojans look to build on a disappointing inaugural season in the Big Ten, the 2025 schedule does offer a small amount of relief. There’s no Ohio State or Penn State to navigate, and some of the more hostile environments in the conference are avoided by hosting the likes of Michigan and Iowa in the Coliseum. Still, road trips to Illinois, Oregon, and Notre Dame offer three potential losses.
Although they lost some talent to the portal this offseason, the Trojans added two potential starters on the interior OL, snagged former Boise State receiver Prince Strachan to form a terrifying trio with Ja’Kobi Lane and Makai Lemon, and grabbed Kennedy Urlacher from bitter rival Notre Dame. The most pivotal offseason move, however, might be locking down defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn.
8) Michigan Wolverines
Hosting “The Game” seems like a good place to start with the positives for the Michigan Wolverines in the 2025 season. The Big Ten schedule has also been kind to them with no Penn State, Indiana, or Oregon, while after their trip to the Pacific Northwest last season, Washington will have to come to Ann Arbor. As such, there’s an easier path to carve to Indianapolis.
However, there are still troubles surrounding this Wolverines team. Head coach Sherrone Moore will serve a two-game suspension this season, and after seasons of pumping out NFL talent for fun, the roster is a little less deep in talent than we’ve been used to seeing.
Approaching the end of May at the time of writing, Moore still has a decision to make between Mikey Keene and Bryce Underwood as QB1.
7) Minnesota Golden Gophers
The Minnesota Golden Gophers haven’t been ranked since the 2022 season, and they start outside the top 25 of our CFB power rankings for the 2025 campaign. However, P.J. Fleck’s team is a potential riser after an offseason where they loaded up on offensive playmakers, including wide receivers Javon Tracy and Logan Loya, while building an electric running back room.
Darius Taylor and A.J. Turner should form a one-two punch that gives defensive coordinators nightmares. Meanwhile, the Golden Gophers boast one of the most versatile weapons in college football with safety Koi Perich.
Road trips to Ohio State and Oregon may cap the ceiling of this 2025 Minnesota team, and quarterback Drake Lindsey is something of an unknown with five career pass attempts.
6) Iowa Hawkeyes
The Iowa Hawkeyes finished outside of the final AP Poll Top 25 for just the second time in seven seasons after an 8-5 campaign against a relatively vanilla schedule that should have resulted in something better for Kirk Ferentz’s team.
A tale as old as time, Iowa was solid defensively, but despite some flashes of improvement, still ranked just 72nd in the country for scoring offense. A second consecutive season outside the top 25 college programs is a legitimate possibility.
The main spark of their offensive “success” last fall, Kaleb Johnson, is gone, and the Hawkeyes don’t have a natural successor. Quarterback addition Mark Gronowski is a proven winner, but he’ll need to run the gauntlet of a much more difficult schedule, with four opponents ranked in the preseason.
5) Illinois Fighting Illini
The Big Ten got bigger and better last fall, but the Illinois Fighting Illini somehow put together its first 10-win season in over two decades. Bret Bielema led the team to a bowl win for the first time since 2011, and the program recorded its highest postseason AP ranking since 2001.
There is a good chance Illinois will prove last season was no fluke in the 2025 campaign. Luke Altmyer’s return was a significant coup for Bielema. He’ll play behind an offensive line that returns four players who racked up over 750 snaps each last season.
Although they lost Pat Bryant from the WR room and leading rusher Josh McCray, there’s talent waiting in the wings. Returning the trio of Gabe Jacas, Xavier Scott, and Miles Scott was critical for a unit that allowed just 21.7 points per game.
4) Indiana Hoosiers
Exit Kurtis Rourke, enter Fernando Mendoza. Cignetti has been able to extract every bit out of underrated quarterbacks no matter where he has coached, but he’s doing it on the national stage with the Indiana Hoosiers right now.
The program has lofty expectations to live up to after the 2024 campaign, but Mendoza has the talent to exact Cignetti’s vision for a high-scoring offense in the Big Ten. He’ll have Elijah Sarratt and Omar Cooper Jr. at his disposal, one of the top wide receiver duos in the land.
Getting to watch some of Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza today — previously at Cal.
6’5″, 225 pounds. Really clean, efficient mechanics. Excellent processing speed / opportunity diagnosis. And some of the better accuracy and situational precision I’ve seen in this class so far. pic.twitter.com/HxMD4c3kUh
— Ian Cummings (@IC_Draft) May 6, 2025
Retaining the core of a top-10 scoring defense (15.6 ppg) will be critical for repeating the success of last fall, with Aiden Fisher, D’Angelo Ponds, and Mikail Kamara all returning. There’s no Ohio State or Michigan on the schedule, but road trips to Oregon and Penn State will be the biggest test of the Hoosiers’ mettle.
3) Penn State Nittany Lions
Arguably, the 2025 season is there for the taking for James Franklin’s Penn State Nittany Lions. Offensively, they have more cohesion and fewer question marks than any other top team in our power rankings.
Drew Allar, Nicholas Singleton, and Kaytron Allen spurned the NFL to return to the program for another season, giving Penn State a dangerous offensive foundation.
MORE: Top 25 Remaining Players in the College Football Transfer Portal
Franklin turned to the transfer portal to solve some WR issues, and Ross could be the playmaker who sets Allar alight. The loss of Abdul Carter is significant, but Dani Dennis-Sutton and Zane Durant are the next great defensive products out of Penn State.
A home tilt with Oregon and a road trip to Ohio State loom as the schedule bumps that could derail the journey to the playoff.
2) Oregon Ducks
Losing Dillon Gabriel’s experience and playmaker ability is a massive blow to the Oregon Ducks. Yet, is it enough of a loss to plummet Dan Lanning’s program down the college football power rankings?
Several outlets are not enamoured by the outlook for the reigning Big Ten champions. Still, considering the remaining talent on the roster and a schedule avoiding Ohio State, the Ducks can fly again.
Dante Moore will be well protected behind a line led by Iapani Laloulu and has new running back Makhi Hughes to help lessen any reliance on the passing game. High-profile recruits (Na’eem Offord), All-American transfers (Dillon Thieneman), and returning monsters (Matayo Uiagalelei) all make for a potentially dominant defense that will help smooth a path to another playoff appearance in 2025.
1) Ohio State Buckeyes
The reigning national champions are not the No. 1 team on multiple versions of Big Ten power rankings you can find elsewhere, and there’s undoubtedly some merit to being cautious about the Ohio State Buckeyes in 2025.
After all, they’ll start an inexperienced quarterback behind a line that lost key parts to the NFL, without two of the best running backs in recent years. However, Julian Sayin could throw the ball into triple coverage with the wonkiest release known to man, and Jeremiah Smith would make it a touchdown.
There is simply too much talent on both sides of the ball to write off the Buckeyes. The secondary, led by Caleb Downs, is the best in the business. Opening against Texas will be an early test, but they avoid Oregon and get Penn State in Columbus, with a path to the playoffs mapped out all the way to “The Game.”
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