The national champion has come out of the Big Ten Conference the last two seasons in Michigan and Ohio State. These two bitter rivals aren’t the only show in town. The Big Ten has done a great job raising its level from top to bottom in attempts to displace the stranglehold that the SEC had on the sport for over a decade.
Now, the B1G is a bona fide power player and has everyone’s respect. Today, FBSchedules highlights the top five most difficult schedules B1G teams face in this gauntlet of a super-conference.
Iowa plays four of the top 17 ranked teams in the country in its 2025 schedule. Fortunately for the Hawkeyes, they get three of those four opponents at home in Kinnick Stadium. Those three tough home games are against Indiana, Oregon, and Penn State. The fourth of those highly ranked opponents is rival Iowa State. The Cyclones have won that rivalry game in two of the last three seasons, and 11 points have decided the previous three contests. Iowa State has a lot of momentum as a program after making the Big 12 Championship game a season ago. Kirk Ferentz’s team must also travel to Nebraska, Rutgers, USC, and Wisconsin. UAlbany, Minnesota, Michigan State, and UMass round out the home contests.
Ohio State, as defending national champions, faces a treacherous 2025 schedule that could derail its repeat hopes. The Buckeyes open against Texas, an SEC foe, in a rematch from the 2025 Cotton Bowl earlier this year. Ohio State won that game 28-14, thanks to some Jack Sawyer heroics. Big Ten road trips to Illinois, Michigan, Washington, and Wisconsin will test the Buckeyes both mentally and physically. Despite winning the national title, Ohio State lost to Michigan for a fourth straight season in 2024 and will now be in The Big House. Can Ryan Day get his team over that mental hurdle? Home games offer little relief, and hosting Penn State and Rutgers will be challenging for differing reasons. Penn State is hungry to beat Ohio State and is on par with the Buckeyes from a talent standpoint. Rutgers is just a week before the Michigan contest, and the Buckeyes cannot afford to overlook the Scarlet Knights, who are a well-coached team. The difficulty of Ohio State’s schedule overall is knocked down a good bit by playing FCS school Grambling in Week 2.
Purdue has a brutal road schedule. The Boilermakers must travel to Notre Dame, Michigan, and Washington. Those three teams have all played in the national championship game over the past two seasons. Things don’t get much easier at home with a revamped Lincoln Riley team in Southern Cal, a tough-as-nails Illinois team, the defending national champion Ohio State, and an Indiana squad with renewed confidence under Curt Cignetti all coming to West Lafayette. Purdue’s 2025 schedule is a relentless gauntlet that will test their depth, resilience, and physicality. The culture under new head coach Barry Odom’s leadership will be forged the hard way.
Rutgers faces one of the most grueling 2025 football schedules in the Big Ten and the entire country. The Scarlet Knights’ road games include a brutal ending to their regular season playing at Ohio State, the defending national champions, and turning around the next week and hosting Penn State. Rutgers has a similarly daunting stretch to open up conference play by having home games against Iowa and Oregon that sandwich two road contests at Minnesota and Washington. Throw in a tough road contest versus an up-and-coming Illinois team, and there doesn’t seem to be much of a reprieve. Even the non-conference schedule is no cakewalk. Ohio and Miami (Ohio) combined for a 20-8 record a year ago and played each other in the MAC Championship game. These programs know how to win, and Greg Schiano’s team will be tested from the jump.
Wisconsin faces the most challenging 2025 football schedule in the Big Ten, with a gauntlet of elite opponents that could challenge even the strongest teams. The Badgers’ road slate is brutal, featuring trips to Alabama, a perennial SEC powerhouse; Michigan, a consistent Big Ten contender; Oregon, the defending B1G Champions; and Indiana, which is coming off a College Football Playoff appearance. Home games don’t offer much relief, as Wisconsin hosts Ohio State, the defending national champions, and top-15 program Illinois. This lineup means Wisconsin will battle top-tier talent week after week, with little margin for error. The combination of non-conference opponents like the mighty Alabama Crimson Tide and even the pesky Miami (Ohio) RedHawks (9-5 in 2024) and a Big Ten slate loaded with Oregon, Michigan, and Ohio State set Wisconsin up for a grueling season.
Ohio State schedule will be easy ngl
I agree. They´ll just bulldoze through it like it´s nothing. Of course, they´ll lose to Michigan like always do but there´s no reason they shouldn´t win the rest of their games on here.
Michigan Wolverines will resurrect in 25 Go Blue!!!
I´m cautiously optimistic about Michigan. I think they will be much better than last year but I´m still not quite convinced they have a great shot at the B1G championship or CFP.