The Big Ten has produced college football’s last two national champions with Michigan winning it all in 2023 and Ohio State claiming last year’s title in the first year of the 12-team playoff format. In 2025, the conference is set to be highly competitive once again, with multiple teams that could make a run at giving the conference three national champions in a row.
ESPN’s Bill Connelly recently projected where each Big Ten team is projected to finish this upcoming season, giving the Wolverines an 11.7% chance to claim their fourth conference title in five seasons.
Overall, Michigan checks in at fourth in the Big Ten (10th in the nation) behind Ohio State, Penn State and Oregon in that order. The Buckeyes come in at No. 1 in the nation, while the Nittany Lions check in at No. 3 in the country. The Ducks project as the nation’s No. 7 team heading into the season, according to Connelly’s rankings.
Michigan is also projected at 7.2 conference wins, with a 27.3% chance to get to 11 or more wins as a team. Here are Connelly’s full projections on how he sees the Big Ten shaking out in 2025:
1. Ohio State
2. Penn State
3. Oregon
4. Michigan
5. Illinois
6. Indiana
7. Iowa
8. USC
9. Nebraska
10. Wisconsin
11. Washington
12. Minnesota
13. Rutgers
14. UCLA
15. Michigan State
16. Maryland
17. Northwestern
18. Purdue
