The Big Ten took home the national title for the second year in a row after the Ohio State Buckeyes took down the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the College Football Playoff finale. It was the Buckeyes' 7th national championship and some nice vindication for head coach Ryan Day.
What will 2025 hold for this conference? Our college football insider stops by with six win totals to consider betting before the season rolls around. Best of luck!
There is some serious buzz around Happy Valley this season. Not only is a Big 10 title expected, but a national title is believed to be an attainable goal as well. With Michigan and Ohio State winning the last 2 national titles, PSU faithful are chomping at the bit to make it 3 straight Big 10 teams to win the whole thing.
Drew Allar will be back to run the show after throwing for over 3300 yards and 24 touchdowns last season. He will have a much different wide receiver room as James Franklin brought in Kyron Hudson from USC, Trebor Pena from Syracuse, and Devonte Ross from Troy.
The biggest loss was at tight end with superstar Tyler Warren headed to the NFL, but there is hope that Luke Reynolds will be able to fill the gap a bit. Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton will be arguably the best backfield in the country, which will allow Allar more time to gel with his new pass catchers.
The defense that was strong last year should be even better this season with the addition of DC Jim Knowles. Obviously, replacing Abdul Carter is no simple task, but the rest of the returners should be a solid base for Knowles.
What a wild end of the season for the Buckeyes and their fans. After going 10-1 with a lone loss to the Oregon Ducks, the Buckeyes faced rival Michigan as enormous favorites. However, they fell 13-10 in a game that had many believing that the Buckeyes' season was essentially over. Credit to Ryan Day for rallying the troops and not only getting this Buckeye team motivated again but also winning the national title.
Will Howard is now gone to the NFL, and the battle between Julian Sayin and Lincoln Kienholz seems to be led by Sayin. While they will have a new QB, the receiving corps is star-studded. Jeremiah Smith will lead the way as an early favorite for top wideout in the country, and Carnell Tate and Brandon Inniss will play 2nd and 3rd fiddle.
On the other side of the ball, it will be interesting to see how this group performs with just 3 returning starters and a new DC. Jim Knowles is now at rival PSU, and many are still thinking the defense could take a hit with his loss.
What could have been last season and what arguably should have been. The Ducks completed an undefeated 13-0 regular season and earned the #1 seed in the playoff. Unfortunately, they ran into OSU, who were playing on another level come playoff time. They had already defeated the Buckeyes in the regular season but were not able to put together the same type of performance.
Dillon Gabriel is now in the NFL, but Dan Lanning was able to bring in Dante Moore from UCLA last year, which gave him a season to learn behind Gabriel last year. However, the offensive line is completely revamped and could be a problem for this Duck offense.
Makhi Hughes transferred in from Tulane and will serve as the running back, but his growth could be stunted due to this new offensive line. The defense has a plethora of new faces as well, specifically the secondary. Lanning hopes that Matayo Uiagalelei will help things by being one of the top edge rushers in the conference.
It was a rollercoaster year for the Wolverines last season. After winning the national title, many saw the drop off coming due to Harbaugh leaving and almost their entire starting roster. However, after a rocky start, Sherrone Moore got things turned around with the culminating win over rival OSU to end the regular season.
The biggest news in Ann Arbor during the offseason was Bryce Underwood flipping his commitment from LSU to Michigan. Underwood will be the starter under center and will have a strong backfield in Jordan Marshall and Justice Haynes, along with an offensive line that returns 3 starters.
Fredrick Moore and Semaj Morgan will be joined by Indiana transfer Donaven McCulley will make up the group of receivers. While losing Mason Graham and Josiah Stewart will be tough, the defense will still be one of the best in the conference. Derrick and Rob Moore will provide returning leadership on the defensive line and secondary. Linebacker could be the trickiest part of this group in 2025.
What a jump the Illini made last season. Coach Bielema turned the program around from a 5-win team in 2023 to a 10-win team last season. If it was not for the run that Indiana was on most of the season, this Illini team would have been the story of the year.
Upfront, the Illini will return their entire offensive line. That line will be giving plenty of opportunities for their 3-headed monster in the backfield. Kaden Feagin, Aidan Laughery, and Ca’Lil Valentine will all have ample opportunities to break big runs this season.
Luke Altmyer returns under center but will have new faces to throw to in the passing game. However, that run game should alleviate any pressure he feels to force the ball downfield. There is talk that the defensive side could be sneaky strong this year. Xavier Scott is an All-American candidate in the secondary, and Gabe Jacas is a top edge rusher for this squad.
It was a shocker to see how well Indiana played for most of the season last year. Curt Cignetti was screaming from the rooftops about how talented his team was and that the lack of tough opponents was not an issue. However, they were handed ugly losses to OSU and ND, who were easily their toughest opponents of the season.
No one is going to be caught off-guard by the Hoosiers this season. Fernando Mendoza was brought in from Cal to run the show on the offensive side with Maryland transfer Roman Hemby in the backfield.
Many believe that Mendoza will use Elijah Sarratt enough to make him one of the top receivers in the country. For the defense, there are major spots that have been left, but Ponds and Fisher will provide a veteran presence at both the linebacker and secondary levels.