Early Look at the Big Ten Contenders

The Big Ten showed its one of the best conferences in the country this season. The inclusion of Oregon boasted the conference to include 3 Big Ten programs in the final 8 of the college football playoffs.

It’s early. The 2025 recruiting window remains open but very few options are available. Ohio State still has to play for a national championship which means the transfer window will open for them. Penn State still has a couple more days of its window being open.

But, for the most part, the majority of roster movement is done. I don’t anticipate any team-altering news in the coming weeks for most of the heavyweights in the conference.

I do believe once again, the Big Ten might end up being the best conference in college football. There are several poised to be contenders and I think for the first time in a long time, the conference is very top heavy. It’s not just Ohio State or Michigan, it’s several schools in that upper tier.

Here is a quick look at the teams that could be contenders for 2025 from the conference.

Penn State:

Don’t look now, but Penn State just brought back a massive part of its production on offense led by quarterback Drew Allar. He’ll compete as one of the best Qb’s in the country and return his starting backfield. He’ll miss tight end Tyler Warren and others, and they are now in search of a new defensive coordinator as Tom Allen left for Clemson. They do have Oregon and Ohio State on the schedule but overall have a pretty reasonable path to the playoffs.

Michigan:

I don’t know that any team looked more improved late in the season than Michigan. Yes a big win over Ohio State in the Shoe but they also played well in the Reliaquest bowl to beat Bama. They now have a quarterback to help them offensively but the potential loss of DC Wink Martindale, rumored for NFL DC jobs, could have a big impact here. They lost a lot of guys but added 23 prep signees and 13 transfers. They play Ohio State to end the season but the next toughest game might only be Nebraska or USC, it’s a very favorable schedule.

Ohio State:

You know they will reload and be ready once again next season. I can’t imagine what season 2 of Jeremiah Smith is going to look like. But they have a bit of a tougher schedule with an opener vs Texas, Illinois, Penn State and Michigan. I think we can count on them being in the mix but we’ll need a little more clarity on what pieces Ryan Day will have to work with after this championship game.

Oregon:

I mean we know about the Ducks already. Favorable schedule which is going to be key working in some of the new pieces. Obviously the coaching staff returns and several key players. This team is really going to depend on the new faces at quarterback, offensive line and in the secondary for Oregon. That Penn State game in Happy Valley is already circled.

Illinois:

Next years Indiana perhaps? They have a chance to be pretty solid and they surprised some folks this season. With the schedule they have, they could end up being a bit of a paper tiger. Only real tough games are Indiana (maybe) and Ohio State. And both of those are in September. They could split those and run the table the rest of the season and be a player especially if some of the others beat up on each other.

Indiana:

I mean can they repeat this seasons success? Despite not having any real quality wins on the resume, they won games. They don’t quite have that luxury this season. Illinois, Oregon and Penn State all by early November. Now they did sign roughly 35 players this season between prep and the portal. The Hoosiers will need a little more to get to the conference championship or playoffs next year.