4 Top Contenders to Top Big 10 Football This Season

The Big 10 Conference, the home to back-to-back College Football Playoff National Championships with the Michigan Wolverines and Ohio State Buckeyes, is full of teams poised to make noise during the fall. There are many headlines that will dominate the media landscape with this conference, especially when it comes to the “Blue Bloods” of the conference and potential sleepers. With the season just a month away, college football fans across the country are gearing up for an eventful fall, with many of the games being too close to predict. With that said, here are the four top contenders for the conference in 2025.

Main 4 Contenders for the Big 10 in 2025

Ohio State Buckeyes

To kick off the list, the Ohio State Buckeyes are obviously one of the main four contenders for the conference in 2025. The Buckeyes went “only” 10-2 during the 2024 regular season but managed to still make it into the first 12-team College Football Playoff, kickstarting a miraculous run to a College Football National Championship. 2025 will be a chance to showcase a new team compared to 2024, with a new starting quarterback, expected to be Julian Sayin, former Alabama 5-Star. Sayin will have the usual unbelievable weapons headlined by superstar sophomore wide receiver Jeremiah Smith.

That combo alone would warrant a Big Ten Championship pick but the defense will be strong as well. The Buckeyes will be the force to be reckoned with like usual and will be a tough team to beat this fall. Bettors have access to predictions through a sports outcome prediction app.

Penn State Nittany Lions

It should come as no surprise to see the Penn State Nittany Lions next on this list. Penn State has managed to return the majority of the same team that went to the College Football Playoff last season which includes superstar quarterback Drew Allar, standout running back duo Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen and senior defensive linemen Dani Dennis-Sutton and Zane Durant. Penn State does have to face off against the Oregon Ducks at home and then head on the road to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes. The face off against the Ducks will kick off the Big Ten conference schedule on Saturday, Sep. 27 and then Penn State takes on the Buckeyes on Saturday, Nov. 1.

As long as the Nittany Lions win these games and then handle business during the non-conference and the rest of the conference schedule, they should make it to the Big Ten championship.

Oregon Ducks

The Oregon Ducks were 13-0 going into the Rose Bowl game in the Quarterfinals. Unfortunately for the Ducks, they ran into the Buckeyes. To get that 13th win, they had to take down the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Big Ten Championship. Now in its second season in the Big Ten, Oregon gets to go into Happy Valley for the infamous “White Out” game against a very talented Nittany Lions team.

The Ducks now have a new quarterback with either sophomore Dante Moore, sophomore Austin Novosad or redshirt freshman Luke Moga. The expectation is Moore and he will have a very strong running back and wide receiver core with senior running back Noah Whittington, freshman Dakorian Moore, senior Malik Benson and senior Evan Stewart. Defensively, should be fantastic with the likes of junior edge rusher Matayo Uiagalelei, Teitum Tuioti and junior safety Dillon Thieneman.

The Ducks will be a tough team to beat as well for the 2025 season and after a Big Ten Championship win in its first season in the conference, they could easily win another one in 2025.

Michigan Wolverines

To cap off the list are the Michigan Wolverines. The 2023 season National Champions had an off season last year, only finishing with an 8-5 record. However, the Wolverines loaded up over the offseason, including a commitment and signing of the No. 1 quarterback in the 2025 class Bryce Underwood. Michigan will be much improved in 2025, however, there is still a lot of unknown with the Wolverines, but the expectation is that they will be back in the mix for the conference title. Even despite losing multiple key defensive players to the NFL Draft, Michigan should still be strong on that side of the ball.

It will be something interesting to watch throughout the season and the week two matchup in Norman, Oklahoma against the Oklahoma Sooners will be something watch to see how competitive the Wolverines will be in 2025

Conclusion

These are the four main contenders for the conference championship crown but it could be a team not listed here. There is a chance that a team could be like the Indiana Hoosiers from a season ago and make a run at the Big Ten title. Teams like the Illinois Fighting Illini, USC Trojans, Nebraska Cornhuskers and even potentially the Iowa Hawkeyes could make it to Indianapolis for the title game. Whatever happens will bring very interesting football and it will keep fans across the country on their toes.