Unveiled: The Shocking Surprise Leaders and Dark Horses in the 2025 Big Ten Football Power Rankings

It’s going to take a lot for Rutgers to become an actual threat in the Big Ten, but it has still been fun to see what Greg Schiano has done with this program. The Scarlet Knights used to struggle to compete in this conference, and now, Schiano has them going to bowl games. Rutgers is trending in the right direction.Not enough people are talking about Illinois ahead of the 2025 season. The Fighting Illini won 10 games last year and are returning a ton of that same talent, including QB Luke Altmyer. Illinois might make a CFP run this year.

1. Penn State

The defending national champs come in at No. 2. Ohio State had one of the best rosters ever last year, but it is looking very different ahead of the 2025 season. Still, the Buckeyes have the best player in college football in Jeremiah Smith, so they should be just fine.

2. Ohio State

Minnesota has had some very promising seasons under head coach PJ Fleck, but it feels like the window closed on the Golden Gophers to be a legit contender in the Big Ten. Just getting to a bowl game is going to be a challenge for this team this season.

3. Oregon

After making the College Football Playoff three years in a row and winning the national championship, Michigan missed out on the CFP last year. However, not having a QB is what hurt the Wolverines, and now they have Bryce Underwood as their starter. This team might look very different this season.

4. Illinois

The crack of the college football season echoed across the pond last weekend with Iowa State and Kansas State kicking off their battle in Ireland — an exotic start, no doubt. But Big Ten devotees, hang tight — your moment to roar is nearly here. Just days away, the conference gears up to unleash its first set of games this Thursday, igniting the fierce pursuit of glory in Indianapolis. As anticipation swells and rosters tighten, it’s the perfect juncture to dive headfirst into the inaugural Big Ten Power Rankings of the season. Ready to see how your team stacks up? Let’s get to it. LEARN MORE

5. Michigan

Washington comes in at No. 9 in our preseason Big Ten Power Rankings. The Huskies, like Michigan, took a step back last year after making a run to the national title game the year prior. Both programs lost their head coach and a ton of talent to the NFL, and both are starting to build things back up. Washington should have a solid squad this year.

6. Indiana

Northwestern is one of those teams that often finds a way to exceed expectations, but that will be hard to do this season given what is on the roster. The schedule presents a lot of challenges, so getting to bowl season would be a major win for the Wildcats.

7. USC

Oregon will be an interesting team to watch throughout the first month of the season. The Ducks were ranked No. 1 in the country for much of last season, but they lost a lot of good talent. Dante Moore is likely taking over at QB, and the fact that he sat behind Dillon Gabriel last year should pay dividends for him. Fortunately for him, he has some good tune up games before he has to go to Beaver Stadium in Week 5.

8. Iowa

The top team is our preason Big Ten Power Rankings is Penn State. The Nittany Lions are loaded with players who could be in the NFL right now, and it all starts with Drew Allar at quarterback. The team will go as far as he takes it.

9. Washington

Like Minnesota, Maryland also seemed to have a brief window of chances in the Big Ten. And like the Gophers, it seems to have passed as well. The Terrapins are trending down after an abysmal 2024 season, and it’s hard to imagine things getting much better this year.

1o. Nebraska

Indiana was one of the biggest shockers in college football last year. The Hoosiers were one of the worst teams in the conference, and people laughed at Curt Cignetti when he said that he was coming to Bloomington to win. He took Indiana to the College Football Playoff in year one. The schedule is a lot tougher this year, but the Hoosiers still have a really good team.

11. Michigan State

We know that Iowa will have a solid defense, but can the Hawkeyes finally show us something offensively? If so, they have a chance to be a contender in the Big Ten.

12. Wisconsin

Lincoln Riley needs to find success at USC, and he needs to find it now. The Trojans have gotten worse and worse each season under Riley, and that trend needs to end. Riley has a good team, but that has never been the issue. USC always has talent. It’s his job to put it all together.

13. Rutgers

UCLA is an intriguing team to watch because of Tennessee transfer Nico Iamaleava. He should give the Bruins a boost, but this team had a lot of issues last year. They should be better, but they still have a ways to go.

14. Minnesota

Michigan State is a potential sleeper in the Big Ten. No one is expecting a lot from the Spartans, but this is a team that has typically been among the best in the conference in the last 15 years. Every time it looks like they are starting to slip, they have a surprise year and show that they aren’t going anywhere. That could be the case this season. QB Aidan Chiles showed that he has all of the necessary traits to be elite last year, but he lacked consistency. If he takes a step forward and gets some better play from the offensive line, Michigan State might surprise some people.

15. UCLA

The college football season officially got underway last weekend when Iowa State and Kansas State kicked things off in Ireland. However, Big Ten football has not started yet, but we are just a couple days away. The Big Ten will play its first games of the season on Thursday, and with that, the quest for Indianapolis will begin. With Week 1 about to start, let’s take a look at the first Big Ten Power Rankings of the season:

16. Maryland

The last team in our preseason Big Ten Power Rankings is Purdue. The Boilermakers were the worst team in the conference last year by far, and the same thing is likely coming. Purdue won just one game last season, and it came against Indiana State. The goal for this season: beat a Big Ten team.

17. Northwestern

The Luke Fickell era is Madison hasn’t been good so far, and there aren’t a lot of encouraging signs heading into year three. The Badgers didn’t do anything in the transfer portal that points to more success, and the schedule is an absolute gauntlet. Fickell’s seat might be getting real warm pretty soon.

18. Purdue

Like always, Nebraska is tough to gauge. It’s easy to look at the schedule and get excited, but we’ve been fooled by the Cornhuskers too many times. We need to see it to believe it. Until they prove otherwise, they will be around the No. 10 spot in the power rankings.