The college football playoffs have provided a different twist over the last two seasons. No SEC team has made it to the championship game and the BIG10 has had the last two champions.
The Michigan Wolverines won it all two years ago and the Ohio State Buckeyes won it all last season. Even with Ohio State won the national title last year, the Oregon Ducks went undefeated in the regular season and Oregon won the BIG10 Conference title against the Penn State Nittany Lions. With the playoffs being expanded, the conference had four teams in the field last year and the SEC only had three teams make it.
College Football Analyst Believes That the BIG10 Conference Is Extremely Deep In 2025 Once Again
Is it possible that the BIG10 Conference could provide five different teams to the college football playoffs in 2025? That is something that could realistically happen. There were days where some think that could happen with the SEC Conference with them sending four to five teams to the playoffs, but the BIG10 seems to be the top dog these days in college football.
Scott Dochterman of The Athletic said about the BIG10 potentially being deep for the 2025 college football season,
“Next wave: It’s really deep
The Big Ten hasn’t enjoyed a collection of depth like this in years, perhaps decades. Traditional powers like Michigan and USC could vault back into CFP consideration, Iowa and Nebraska might battle for a spot on Black Friday, Illinois and Indiana face off in a critical mid-September blockbuster, Washington eyes a return to its 2022-23 form and Minnesota has high expectations.
Two factors likely will separate the teams: quarterback play and schedules. Of this group, Illinois has by far the most experienced Big Ten starter in Luke Altmyer. Michigan snagged the nation’s No. 1 recruit in true freshman Bryce Underwood, who will face a ton of pressure to make an early impact. Jayden Maiava returns as USC’s starter, but five-star true freshman Husan Longstreet will push him. Indiana and Iowa grabbed highly touted transfers Fernando Mendoza and Mark Gronowski, respectively, while Minnesota redshirt freshman Drake Lindsey beat out multiple transfers this spring. Sophomores Dylan Raiola (Nebraska) and Demond Williams (Washington) have sky-high potential.
“I thought we missed some opportunities a year ago, and I’m hopeful that this season, that if we stay healthy, we can capitalize on those same opportunities we missed,” Washington coach Jedd Fisch said. “I think that we’re just in a different place.”
Of the teams in this tier, the Wolverines have the easiest road, with their conference opponents finishing 27-54 in Big Ten play last year. Illinois (33-48) is next, followed by Nebraska, Minnesota and USC (all 37-44). Of that group, Iowa has the most difficult schedule (47-34); its home opponents finished a combined 33-12 in conference play last year.”
The top contenders in the conference will be Penn State, Ohio State, Oregon, Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan. Those six programs are the ones that will be in the playoff discussions. After that, Iowa, Nebraska, USC, and Washington are the next best teams in the BIG10 Conference. There is a chance that there could be some major upsets in the conference this season.
It would not be a surprise to see the BIG10 Conference send four to five teams to the playoffs in 2025. Penn State is the most likely team to be the third different national champion from the conference in the last three seasons. If this conference wins another national title in 2025, this conference is officially the top dog in college football over the SEC, if it has not already.
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