The month of May is a quiet time on the college football calendar. Spring practices and the spring transfer window have recently concluded. The sport now sits still as programs prepare for the upcoming summer recruiting blitz.
May brings little when it comes to news, other than final transfer decisions from the uncommitted players. The month is mostly utilized as a reflection on the spring session. We take notable player movement, such as UCLA landing Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava, and practice headlines, like Wisconsin losing starting left tackle Kevin Heywood to a season-ending injury, and use them as information points to recraft projections for the upcoming season.
Several familiar teams lead that projection for the Big Ten Conference in 2025. Ohio State, Oregon and Penn State again profile as the conference’s ‘Big 3,’ while Michigan and Illinois shouldn’t be too far behind. For our exact outlook on those conference powers, plus how every team slots after the top tier, here are our updated post-spring 2025 Big Ten football power rankings:
Note: Each team is listed with its 2024 record, as well as its schedule difficulty ranking. Those schedule rankings, released in February, factor in both a team’s conference and non-conference slate. When searching for breakthrough teams in 2025, find the highly ranked groups that also face a bottom-ranked schedule. Illinois perfectly represents that dynamic
18. Purdue Boilermakers
2024 Record: 1-11 (0-9 Big Ten)
Schedule Difficulty Ranking: No. 2
Analysis: Purdue’s combination of coming off a one-win season, with a new head coach, after undergoing a complete roster overhaul, facing one of the toughest schedules in the conference usually does not lead to positive results. New coach Barry Odom should at least lead the team to an improvement on that 1-11 2024 campaign. But it would be bold to expect much more.
17. Northwestern Wildcats
2024 Record: 4-8 (2-7 Big Ten)
Schedule Difficulty Ranking: No. 7
Analysis: Northwestern made a major upgrade at quarterback in SMU transfer Preston Stone. He alone should help raise the Wildcats’ floor. But David Braun followed his 8-5 debut season with a 4-8 campaign in 2024. It’s hard not to look at the latter as the norm. The Wildcats are disadvantaged in the sport’s transfer portal era. The program will need a vintage Northwestern ‘do more with less’ performance to return to bowl eligibility.
16. Maryland Terrapins
2024 Record: 4-8 (1-8 Big Ten)
Schedule Difficulty Ranking: No. 15
Analysis: Maryland gets a favorable draw in 2025, avoiding Oregon, Ohio State and Penn State. The question is, will the team be good enough to take advantage? The Terrapins need a major step forward along the offensive line after the group struggled mightily last season. Football Championship Subdivision transfer Rahtrel Perry is a big name to know in that regard. He’ll be blocking for a yet-to-be-named starting quarterback after 2024 starter Billy Edwards Jr. left for Wisconsin.
15. Rutgers Scarlet Knights
2024 Record: 7-6 (4-5 Big Ten)
Schedule Difficulty Ranking: No. 3
Analysis: A Rutgers regression feels likely this season. The team is off consecutive bowl trips in 2023 and 2024, thanks in part to easy schedules in both seasons. That flips in 2025, as the Scarlet Knights play Oregon, Ohio State, Penn State, Illinois, Iowa and others. The team returns starting quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis, which bodes well for its chances of success on offense. But Greg Schiano was tasked with replacing most of his defense this offseason. That unit will have its hands full with a gauntlet group of opponents.
13. Wisconsin Badgers
2024 Record: 5-7 (3-6 Big Ten)
Schedule Difficulty Ranking: No. 1
Analysis: Wisconsin is trending negatively after spring practice. The team’s gauntlet schedule, which was already known, could be the thing that keeps it from returning to bowl eligibility. That’s an aside from the major spring headline, mentioned in the article’s introduction: the Badgers lost starting left tackle Kevin Heywood to a season-ending knee injury. They have several options to fill that role, none of whom project to be as good as Heywood. As the season nears, the questions surrounding the team, on both sides of the football, outweigh than the possible answers.
13. Michigan State Spartans
2024 Record: 5-7 (3-6 Big Ten)
Schedule Difficulty Ranking: No. 9
Analysis: Michigan State is likely to be a middle-of-the-pack team again in 2025, barring a significant progression from promising young quarterback Aidan Chiles. The team will be relying on transfer starters at center, right guard and right tackle to make that happen. Either that trio hits and the Spartans’ offense leads the team to a bowl game, or the group becomes a reason the team misses the postseason for the second time in as many seasons under Jonathan Smith.
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12. Minnesota Golden Gophers
2024 Record: 8-5 (5-4 Big Ten)
Schedule Difficulty Ranking: No. 12
Analysis: Minnesota appears to have solidified its floor at bowl eligibility, even in the challenging new Big Ten landscape. The team returns significant experience on both sides of the football. However, it was tasked with replacing ace defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman and 2024 starting quarterback Max Brosmer this offseason. Fill-ins Danny Collins and Drake Lindsey, respectively, will each play major roles in whether the Gophers can jump into the tier of long-shot contenders.
11. UCLA Bruins
2024 Record: 5-7 (3-6 Big Ten)
Schedule Difficulty Ranking: No. 5
Analysis: UCLA is a big riser after the spring session, as it landed former Tennessee quarterback and five-star recruit Nico Iamaleava. His addition instantly improves the Bruins’ ceiling. While the team received a tough scheduling draw for the second straight season, it will look to continue momentum built during the second half of the 2024 campaign. That 2024 in-season improvement, an offensive coordinator upgrade and Iamaleava’s arrival have the program’s arrow pointed in the right direction.
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10. Indiana Hoosiers
2024 Record: 11-2 (8-1 Big Ten)
Schedule Difficulty Ranking: No. 16
Analysis: 2025 will likely be a correction year for Indiana. That isn’t to say the team won’t be good — Curt Cignetti appears to have raised the program’s floor considerably. But another perfect storm, 11-1 regular season against an easy schedule, shouldn’t be the expectation. However, Cal transfer QB Fernando Mendoza could be among the Big Ten’s best signal-callers. If a few more transfer additions hit, Indiana could play its way to an eight-win season.
8. Nebraska Cornhuskers
2024 Record: 7-6 (3-6 Big Ten)
Schedule Difficulty Ranking: No. 13
Analysis: Maybe this is the year for Nebraska? The team finally has momentum after breaking its bowl streak last season, then defeating Boston College in that postseason matchup. All the Cornhuskers need to break through is a second-year jump from former five-star quarterback Dylan Raiola and another top-20 defense. Nine wins is the team’s ceiling.
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8. Washington Huskies
2024 Record: 6-7 (4-5 Big Ten)
Schedule Difficulty Ranking: No. 11
Analysis: Washington is our breakthrough pick this season. The team has one of the conference’s better young quarterbacks in Demond Williams Jr. He’s set to lead an offense full of returning contributors, including running back Jonah Coleman and wide receiver Denzel Boston. Six transfer starters on defense, including top cornerback Tacario Davis, could define the Huskies’ season. Head coach Jedd Fisch got a full offseason of player movement this time around, which is a stark difference from last year’s late-cycle sprint to field a roster.
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7. USC Trojans
2024 Record: 7-6 (4-5 Big Ten)
Schedule Difficulty Ranking: No. 10
Analysis: Lincoln Riley has quieted questions surrounding his tenure with a nation-best start to the 2026 recruiting cycle. While not directly related, it’s reasonable to expect a similar breakthrough on the field in 2025. The team enters its second year under defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn. If the offense clicks with either Jayden Maiava or five-star freshman Husan Longstreet under center, we could finally see the Trojans live up to the high expectations that followed Riley’s arrival.
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6. Iowa Hawkeyes
2024 Record: 8-5 (6-3 Big Ten)
Schedule Difficulty Ranking: No. 6
Analysis: Iowa should finish the season no higher than fifth on these power rankings, but also no lower than 10th. It embodies a high-floor, low-ceiling contender. The team made a significant move at quarterback this offseason, landing top FCS transfer Mark Gronowski. His arrival brings high expectations for the team’s offense entering year two under coordinator Tim Lester. Replacing star running back Kaleb Johnson will be key to the Hawkeyes keeping their eight-win pace.
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5. Michigan Wolverines
2024 Record: 8-5 (5-4 Big Ten)
Schedule Difficulty Ranking: No. 17
Analysis: Michigan’s schedule is tougher than it appears on paper, even with the team avoiding Penn State and Oregon. An early nonconference game against Oklahoma will be a big test for the team beginning year two under Sherrone Moore, possibly with true freshman QB Bryce Underwood starting under center. The Wolverines will then kick off Big Ten play against Nebraska without Moore on the sideline. That game proceeds a post-bye stretch of contests against Wisconsin, USC and Washington. Those three and the Nebraska matchup are all coin-flip games. Unless the Wolverines start 6-1 or 7-0, they shouldn’t be mentioned with the top contenders.
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4. Illinois Fighting Illini
2024 Record: 10-3 (6-3 Big Ten)
Schedule Difficulty Ranking: No. 18
Analysis: You have likely seen this ranking expressed elsewhere. Illinois is a perfect combination of a veteran team with significant returning production, real momentum after a terrific season, and set to face the easiest schedule in the conference. Former Wisconsin defensive linemen Curt Neal and James Thompson Jr. were key transfer additions. If the team has a weakness anywhere, it may be along the defensive front.
3. Oregon Ducks
2024 Record: 13-1 (9-0 Big Ten)
Schedule Difficulty Ranking: No. 8
Analysis: No teams in the Big Ten match the talent of our top trio. Even after Oregon saw most of its top 2024 contributors depart for the NFL, it still is part of that category. Sophomore quarterback Dante Moore has big shoes to fill after Heisman-caliber seasons from Bo Nix (2023) and Dillon Gabriel (2024). Another undefeated regular season and Big Ten title would be a lofty expectation. But Oregon should still at least compete for a College Football Playoff berth.
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2. Penn State Nittany Lions
2024 Record: 13-3 (8-1 Big Ten)
Schedule Difficulty Ranking: No. 14
Analysis: Penn State has national title expectations entering 2025, with quarterback Drew Allar and running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen all back to lead the team. Spring transfer addition wide receiver Trebor Pena (Syracuse) could be one of the cycle’s underrated additions. After Penn State has spent several years searching for a top wideout, he may be the program’s missing piece in its quest for a national title appearance.
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1. Ohio State Buckeyes
2024 Record: 14-2 (7-2 Big Ten)
Schedule Difficulty Ranking: No. 4
Analysis: Ohio State lost a ton from its 2024 national championship, including 14 players to the NFL draft and defensive coordinator Jim Knowles to Penn State. While that team’s dominant CFP run will be hard to replicate, the Buckeyes still project as the conference’s best entering 2025. Superstar wide receiver Jeremiah Smith should help former five-star quarterback Julian Sayin ease into the starting position. The team’s question comes on defense, after several top linemen left for the NFL.
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This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Updated Big Ten football power rankings after spring practice, transfer cycle
Reporting by Ben Kenney, Badgers Wire / Badgers Wire
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