College Football Odds: Betting lines for 2025 Big Ten Champions

The Big Ten is going into its second season as an 18-team conference in 2025. That comes after an incredibly successful first season on the field in this format, which saw the Oregon Ducks win the Big Ten, four teams make the College Football Playoff, and the Ohio State Buckeyes win the national championship.

It was a conference filled with parity in 2024 and that’s expected to continue in 2025 as well. Still, in odds released by FanDuel for the Big Ten Championship Game odds, a handful of teams are clearly in the best position to win the conference. Of course, as last year’s run by Indiana proved, any team is capable of surprising the entire league.

The entirety of the odds to win the Big Ten Championship can be seen, in order, here:

1. Ohio State Buckeyes +170

The Ohio State Buckeyes, unsurprisingly, have the best odds to win the Big Ten. They are, after all, the defending national champions. That came despite needing to overcome some adversity that included being a team that didn’t even make it to the conference championship game last season. However, they were able to make an expanded Playoff for their run.

While head coach Ryan Day earned a lengthy extension, there are going to be some major changes to Ohio State in the offseason. Both coordinators are gone. Offensive guru Chip Kelly left for the NFL. Meanwhile, defensive coordinator Jim Knowles joined Big Ten rival Penn State. So, managing that turnover is going to be vital.

2. Oregon Ducks +230

In their first season in the Big Ten, the Oregon Ducks went unbeaten in the regular season and won the conference. They then went into the CFP as the top seed where they failed to win a game, losing to Ohio State in a rematch of a regular season game that they had previously won. That sent head coach Dan Lanning back to the drawing board.

For the third season in a row, Oregon is going to need to find a new quarterback. Last season, it was Heisman finalist Dillon Gabriel. Next year, it looks like it’s going to be Dante Moore. A former five-star recruit, Moore acted as a backup last season and now the hope is he can lead the explosive Ducks offense. If the move works, the Ducks expect to be one of the best teams in the country.

3. Penn State Nittany Lions +380

The 2024 season was one of the most successful for James Franklin at Penn State with the Nittany Lions benefitting from the end of divisions. It was Penn State’s first Big Ten Championship Game appearance since 2016 when they won the conference. It also became their first ever trip to the CFP, where they’d make it all the way to the semifinals.

A major boost for Penn State came when star quarterback Drew Allar and elite running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen all decided to return for their senior years. So, while some elite players are still moving on, and there are gaps in the roster to fill, the Nittany Lions are returning plenty of talent to compete in 2025 too.

4. Michigan Wolverines +800

The 2024 season was always going to be a bit of a reset for Michigan. The Wolverines dealt with major turnover, both on the roster and on the coaching staff, in Sherrone Moore‘s first season with the program. That led to issues, particularly on offense, despite coming off a national championship the year before. At the same time, Michigan finished strong with wins over Ohio State and Alabama in the bowl game to end the season.

Still, Michigan returns plenty of talent in 2025. On top of that, there are much more interesting options at quarterback with Mikey Keene and Bryce Underwood than the Wolverines had last year. With a much higher upside at the quarterback spot, Michigan could easily once again compete for a Big Ten Championship.

5. Indiana Hoosiers +2500

Nobody saw Indiana coming, except for the Hoosiers themselves that is. 2024 ended up being the best season in program history, going 11-2, barely missing out on the Big Ten Championship Game, and making it to the College Football Playoff where they fell in South Bend to Notre Dame. Still, those 11 wins were the most in program history and their 10th ranked AP finish was the highest since 1967.

It will be hard to repeat the success that Indiana had last season in 2025. However, if the Hoosiers proved anything last year it’s that you can’t count this particular program out. With that, they currently have the fifth-best odds to win the Big Ten next year.

6. Nebraska Cornhuskers +4500

Now going into year three under Matt Rhule, the Nebraska Cornhuskers took a step forward last season, making their first bowl game since 2016. Now, with quarterback Dylan Raiola going into his sophomore season and the program now fully in Rhule’s image, Nebraska wants to take another step forward and compete for a Big Ten title.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers appear to be all in on 2025 too. In the wake of National Signing Day, in a survey of Power Four NIL collectives and personnel staffers, it was shared that Nebraska was among the biggest spenders in the 2025 cycle. So. there is clearly energy and excitement being put into this program.

7. USC Trojans +4500

The Lincoln Riley era has been a frustrating one through three seasons. Year one, the team seemed to be on the right path, playing in the Cotton Bowl and producing a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback. However, since then, it’s been a step back, going 15-11 in the last two seasons. Still, there is talent within the program and a desire to be successful in the Big Ten.

There are several questions for USC to answer in 2025. The first is whether or not Riley has found his next great quarterback. Given his long history of producing excellent quarterbacks, it makes sense to have faith in that position. A bigger question might be whether or not the defense can continue to improve next season.

8. Iowa Hawkeyes +5000

Kirk Ferentz is now going into his 27th season as the head coach at Iowa. It’s a job he’s found plenty of success at too, winning the Big Ten Championship twice and playing for it as recently as in 2023. In recent seasons, his teams have also developed a reputation for being excellent on defense and special teams but not being good enough to get over the hump because of the offense.

If Iowa does want to compete for a Big Ten Championship, finding a way to produce a more prolific offense is going to be key. That starts with transfer quarterback Mark Gronowski, who is arguably the greatest quarterback in South Dakota State history. Hank Brown, coming in from Auburn, could also create an interesting quarterback battle there.

9. Washington Huskies +6000

In 2023, Washington played for a national championship. Then, in 2024, amid a move to the Big Ten, a coaching change, and a major roster turnover, the Huskies took a major step back. Including a bowl loss, Washington went 6-7 and went through growing pains as Jedd Fisch looked to rebuild the program in his own image.

Next season, the hope at Washington is that they’ll be able to take another step forward under Fisch. If they can do that, then there is a chance for the Huskies to be competitive in the Big Ten. Still, for the time being, Vegas has Washington with decently long odds of winning the conference.

Rest of the Big Ten odds

10. Illinois Fighting Illini +6000
11. Minnesota Golden Gophers +10000
12. Wisconsin Badgers +18000
13. Michigan State Spartans +18000
14. Maryland Terrapins +27000
15. UCLA Bruins +27000
16. Northwestern Wildcats +50000
17. Purdue Boilermakers +50000
18. Rutgers Scarlet Knights [unlisted]