The debate over who the Big Ten’s best team is this season – at least entering the College Football Playoff – was finally settled on the field last weekend.
After trading the top spot with each other in the Big Ten Power Rankings over the course of the season, Ohio State and Indiana met in the Big Ten Championship Game. The Hoosiers came out on top, 13-10, and established themselves as not only the Big Ten’s best team this season but the best team in all of college football, earning the No. 1 seed in the CFP.
The Hoosiers and No. 2 seed Buckeyes lead a contingent of three Big Ten teams in the CFP, also including No. 5 seed Oregon. Nine other Big Ten teams will play in non-playoff bowl games, while six Big Ten teams’ seasons ended two weekends ago when they played their final regular-season games.
With the regular season and conference championship weekend now complete and Washington set to kick off bowl season against Boise State in the LA Bowl on Saturday night, I’ve put together another set of Big Ten Power Rankings, ranking all 18 teams in the conference from No. 1 to No. 18 based on what we saw from each team throughout the regular season, as well as the Big Ten Championship Game for Indiana and Ohio State.
Since we did not publish Big Ten Power Rankings last week in between the final week of the regular season and the Big Ten Championship Game – you can thank the craziness of National Signing Day (and USF hiring Brian Hartline) being the same week as Ohio State playing for a conference title for that – the Previous Rank listed below each team is its ranking from before the final week of the regular season.
These rankings are based on how teams have performed on the field this season, regardless of what’s happened off the field (i.e. Michigan firing Sherrone Moore), taking into account their overall records, conference records, head-to-head results, strength of schedule and margins of victory/defeat across their 12 or 13 games this year.
Playoff Teams
1. Indiana (13-0, 10-0)
Wins: Old Dominion (27-14), Kennesaw State (56-9), Indiana State (73-0), Illinois (63-10), at Iowa (20-15), at Oregon (30-20), Michigan State (38-13), UCLA (56-6), Maryland (55-10), at Penn State (27-24), Wisconsin (31-7), at Purdue (56-3), Ohio State (13-10)
Losses: None
Last Week: 2
CFP Seed: 1
After a dominant regular season, the Hoosiers seized the throne as the king of the Big Ten by upsetting Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship Game, holding the Buckeyes to a season-low 10 points. Ranking in the top five nationally in both scoring defense and scoring offense, Indiana proved with its win over Ohio State that it’s a real national championship contender – and arguably the team to beat.
As the only remaining team in the FBS with no losses this season, paired with wins over both of the Big Ten’s other two playoff teams – one at a neutral site and one on the road – Indiana holds the undisputed crown as the Big Ten’s best team this year right now, though Ohio State and Oregon still have a chance to change that if they can beat the Hoosiers or advance further than the Hoosiers in the CFP.
2. Ohio State (12-1, 9-1)
Wins: Texas (14-7), Grambling State (70-0), Ohio (37-9), at Washington (24-6), Minnesota (42-3), at Illinois (34-16), at Wisconsin (34-0), Penn State (38-14), at Purdue (34-10), UCLA (48-10), Rutgers (42-9), at Michigan (27-9)
Losses: Indiana (13-10)
Previous Rank: 1
CFP Seed: 2
While the Buckeyes’ offensive performance against Indiana was disappointing, it doesn’t change the fact that Ohio State was college football’s most dominant team during the regular season, winning 11 straight games by 18 or more points, including a decisive road win at Michigan to flip The Game back in its favor. Ohio State still has a better résumé than anyone in college football except Indiana – as evidenced by its No. 2 seed in the CFP – and the Buckeyes are still the betting favorite to win the national championship.
If its offense can play up to its potential in the playoff, Ohio State is more than capable of winning its second straight title, thanks to a dominant defense that hasn’t allowed a single opponent to reach 17 points.
3. Oregon (11-1, 8-1)
Wins: Montana State (59-13), Oklahoma State (69-3), at Northwestern (34-14), Oregon State (41-7), at Penn State (30-24), at Rutgers (56-10), Wisconsin (21-7), at Iowa (18-16), Minnesota (42-13), USC (42-27), at Washington (26-14)
Losses: Indiana (30-20)
Previous Rank: 3
CFP Seed: 5
Outside of a loss to Indiana and close road wins over the same Penn State and Iowa teams that also played the Hoosiers close in their home stadiums, Oregon has also been one of college football’s most dominant teams this season, ranking in the top nine nationally in both scoring defense and scoring offense. The Ducks left no doubt that they belonged in the CFP by winning their final six games of the regular season, including decisive wins over USC and Washington to close out November.
They don’t have a true signature win on their résumé, leaving in question how they’ll fare against college football’s best teams in the CFP, but they’ve looked the part of one of college football’s elite teams when they’ve been at their best and will finish the year as a clear-cut top-three team in the Big Ten this season regardless of what happens in the playoff.
Dante Moore and the Oregon Ducks won their final six games of the regular season after losing to Indiana. (Photo: Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
The Eight- and Nine-Win Club
4. USC (9-3, 7-2)
Wins: Missouri State (73-13), Georgia Southern (59-20), at Purdue (33-17), Michigan State (45-31), Michigan (31-13), at Nebraska (21-17), Northwestern (38-17), Iowa (26-21), UCLA (29-10)
Losses: at Illinois (34-32), at Notre Dame (34-24), at Oregon (42-27)
Previous Rank: 5
Bowl Game: Alamo Bowl vs. TCU, Dec. 30 (9 p.m., ESPN)
USC’s season will be remembered most for the games the Trojans didn’t win, as they lost to all of the three best teams they played on the road, which kept them out of the playoff conversation. Still, they’re the clear-cut choice for the No. 4 spot in the year-end Big Ten Power Rankings thanks to their wins over Michigan and Iowa, and they still have a shot at their first 10-win season in three years if they beat TCU in the Alamo Bowl.
Learning how to win away from home will be crucial for the Trojans to take a step forward and contend for a playoff berth next year, as they’re 3-7 on the road in their first two seasons as a Big Ten member.
5. Michigan (9-3, 7-2)
Wins: New Mexico (34-17), Central Michigan (63-3), at Nebraska (30-27), Wisconsin (24-10), Washington (24-7), at Michigan State (31-20), Purdue (21-16), at Northwestern (24-22), at Maryland (45-20)
Losses: at Oklahoma (24-13), at USC (31-13), Ohio State (27-9)
Previous Rank: 4
Bowl Game: Citrus Bowl vs. Texas, Dec. 31 (3 p.m., ABC)
Oh, how things have changed for the Wolverines over the past two weeks. Going into The Game, Michigan still had a chance to make the CFP if it beat Ohio State. Now, the Wolverines’ winning streak against the Buckeyes is over and they’ll playing in a bowl game sponsored by Cheez-It without Sherrone Moore, who was fired by Michigan on Wednesday and spent the last two days in jail awaiting potential charges for an alleged assault.
Even before Moore’s abrupt dismissal, Michigan’s 2025 season was seen as a big disappointment, as the Wolverines lost to the three best teams they played during the regular season while scoring 13 points or fewer in all three games. None of their nine regular-season wins were particularly impressive. The Wolverines remain in the top five of the rankings by virtue of their nine overall wins and seven conference wins, which none of the Big Ten’s other 13 teams have, but they’ll need an upset win over Texas in Orlando to carry any semblance of momentum into 2026.
6. Iowa (8-4, 6-3)
Wins: Albany (34-7), UMass (47-7), at Rutgers (38-28), at Wisconsin (37-0), Penn State (25-24), Minnesota (41-3), Michigan State (20-17), at Nebraska (40-16)
Losses: at Iowa State (17-14), Indiana (20-15), Oregon (18-16), at USC (26-21)
Previous Rank: 6
Bowl Game: ReliaQuest Bowl vs. Vanderbilt, Dec. 31 (Noon, ESPN)
Like USC, Iowa’s season will be remembered most for the games the Hawkeyes didn’t win, as they came within a score of beating Indiana, Oregon and USC yet lost to all of them. They didn’t beat any top-tier opponents in the regular season, but they still won two-thirds of their games while navigating one of the Big Ten’s most difficult schedules, and blew out two teams who finished the season with winning records (Minnesota and Nebraska) without suffering any terrible losses, which puts them at the top of the conference’s eight-win teams.
Iowa will have one more chance at beating a ranked opponent this year when it faces Vanderbilt in the ReliaQuest Bowl on New Year’s Eve. If the Hawkeyes can upset the Commodores, they’ll likely finish the season as a top-25 team nationally. If not, Kirk Ferentz’s squad will finish with exactly eight wins for the third year in a row.
7. Washington (8-4, 5-4)
Wins: Colorado State (38-21), UC Davis (70-10), at Washington State (59-24), at Maryland (24-20), Rutgers (38-19), Illinois (42-25), Purdue (49-13), at UCLA (48-14)
Losses: Ohio State (24-6), at Michigan (24-7), at Wisconsin (13-10), Oregon (26-14)
Previous Rank: 7
Bowl Game: LA Bowl vs. Boise State, Dec. 13 (8 p.m., ABC)
Like Michigan, Washington’s offense sputtered against the best teams it played in the regular season – Ohio State, Oregon and the Wolverines – while the Huskies also suffered an ugly loss to Wisconsin. The only thing keeping the Huskies in the top seven is their win over fellow 8-4 team Illinois, the only FBS team with a winning record they’ve beaten this season.
Otherwise, their regular season was underwhelming, especially considering the explosiveness Washington’s offense, led by Demond Williams Jr., Jonah Coleman and Denzel Boston, showed at its best. That said, the Huskies made progress from a 6-7 season in 2024, and a win over Boise State to start bowl season would be a solid capper to the year.
8. Illinois (8-4, 5-4)
Wins: Western Illinois (52-3), at Duke (45-19), Western Michigan (38-0), USC (34-32), Purdue (43-27), Rutgers (35-13), Maryland (24-6), Northwestern (20-13)
Losses: at Indiana (63-10), Ohio State (34-16), at Washington (42-25), at Wisconsin (27-10)
Previous Rank: 8
Bowl Game: Music City Bowl vs. Tennessee, Dec. 30 (5:30 p.m., ESPN)
The Fighting Illini had College Football Playoff expectations entering the 2025 season, but didn’t come close to meeting those expectations. Their win over USC was a bright spot, but their losses to Indiana, Ohio State, Washington and Wisconsin all came in lopsided fashion, proving Bret Bielema’s squad wasn’t nearly as good as it was expected to be entering the season.
On the bright side, a win over Tennessee would secure Illinois’ second-best season – behind only last season – in the last 18 years.
At Least They’re Going to A Bowl Game
9. Minnesota (7-5, 5-4)
Wins: Buffalo (23-10), Northwestern State (66-0), Rutgers (31-28), Purdue (27-20), Nebraska (24-6), Michigan State (23-20), Wisconsin (17-7)
Losses: at California (27-14), at Ohio State (42-3), at Iowa (41-3), at Oregon (42-13), at Northwestern (38-35)
Previous Rank: 11
Bowl Game: Rate Bowl vs. New Mexico, Dec. 26 (4:30 p.m., ESPN)
It’s been a tale of two seasons for Minnesota, who went 7-0 at home but 0-5 on the road in the regular season. A lot of that has to do with who the Golden Gophers played at home and away from home, as they were beaten soundly on the road by the three best teams they played (Ohio State, Oregon and Iowa), with their only win over a team with a winning record coming against Nebraska.
A win over New Mexico in the Rate Bowl would secure Minnesota’s second straight eight-win season, but P.J. Fleck’s squad certainly fell short of expectations after he said before the season that he thought making the CFP was a “realistic” goal for his team.
10. Penn State (6-6, 3-6)
Wins: Nevada (46-11), Florida International (34-0), Villanova (52-6), at Michigan State (28-10), Nebraska (37-10), at Rutgers (40-36)
Losses: Oregon (30-24), at UCLA (42-37), Northwestern (22-21), at Iowa (25-24), at Ohio State (38-14), Indiana (27-24)
Previous Rank: 12
Bowl Game: Pinstripe Bowl vs. Clemson, Dec. 27 (Noon, ABC)
The Nittany Lions enter bowl season with the Big Ten’s third-longest winning streak after winning their final three games of the regular season, highlighted by a decisive victory over Nebraska. That wasn’t enough for interim coach Terry Smith to land Penn State’s head coaching job, but it was enough for him to land a spot on Matt Campbell’s staff and for the Nittany Lions to make a bowl game.
The Pinstripe Bowl certainly isn’t the game I thought Penn State would be playing Clemson in entering the season, and a win over the Tigers would only make the Nittany Lions the second-most disappointing team in college football this year. But it at least gives them a chance to finish the season on a high note and establish themselves as one of the Big Ten’s top 10 teams this year after falling all the way to the bottom of the Big Ten Power Rankings in October.
Penn State finished the regular season with three straight wins to become bowl-eligible. (Photo: Vincent Carchietta – Imagn Images)
11. Nebraska (7-5, 4-5)
Wins: Cincinnati (20-17), Akron (68-0), Houston Christian (59-7), Michigan State (38-27), at Maryland (34-31), Northwestern (28-21), at UCLA (28-21)
Losses: Michigan (30-27), at Minnesota (24-6), USC (21-17), at Penn State (37-10), at Iowa (40-16)
Previous Rank: 9
Bowl Game: Las Vegas Bowl vs. Utah, Dec. 31 (3:30 p.m., ESPN)
Nebraska might already have some regrets about giving Matt Rhule a contract extension to keep him from returning to his alma mater Penn State. After Nebraska added two years to his contract, the Cornhuskers went just 1-3 in November, finishing the regular season with blowout losses to Penn State and Iowa.
A season-ending injury to Dylan Raiola in their first game of November against USC didn’t help matters, but the dismal finish to the season secured yet another year in which the Cornhuskers fell short of expectations. They lost to the five best teams they faced in Big Ten play, and they’ll finish with fewer than nine wins for the ninth year in a row.
12. Northwestern (6-6, 4-5)
Wins: Western Illinois (42-7), UCLA (17-14), UL Monroe (42-3), at Penn State (22-21), Purdue (19-0), Minnesota (38-35)
Losses: at Tulane (23-3), Oregon (34-14), at Nebraska (28-21), at USC (38-17), Michigan (24-22), at Illinois (20-13)
Previous Rank: 10
Bowl Game: GameAbove Sports Bowl vs. Central Michigan, Dec. 26 (1 p.m., ESPN)
Northwestern’s wins over Penn State and Minnesota paired with its loss to Nebraska made this the toughest quartet of teams to rank, as the Wildcats have a case for being ranked as highly as ninth. They settle in at 12th in the rankings, however, due to their 1-4 finish of the season, including a loss to the same Cornhusker team that the Golden Gophers and Nittany Lions blew out. Penn State and Minnesota are the only teams Northwestern’s beaten this season with more than four wins.
Still, David Braun and his team deserve credit for making a bowl game when they were widely projected to be one of the Big Ten’s two worst teams this season. With a win over Central Michigan in two weeks, Braun would secure his second winning season in three years at Northwestern.
No Bowl Game for You
13. Wisconsin (4-8, 2-7)
Wins: Miami-Ohio (17-0), Middle Tennessee State (42-10), Washington (13-10), Illinois (27-10)
Losses: at Alabama (38-14), Maryland (27-10), at Michigan (24-10), Iowa (37-0), Ohio State (34-0), at Oregon (21-7), at Indiana (31-7), at Minnesota (17-7)
Previous Rank: 13
After a 2-6 start, the Badgers showed heart in the final month of the season by upsetting Washington and Illinois, both of whom were top-25 ranked teams when they lost to the Badgers. In the end, however, Wisconsin’s abysmal first two months of the season were too much to overcome for bowl eligibility.
A stacked schedule that included four College Football Playoff teams (Indiana, Ohio State, Oregon and Alabama), plus Michigan and Iowa, did the Badgers no favors. Their November wins over the Huskies and Fighting Illini validated Wisconsin’s decision to keep Luke Fickell for 2026. But their offense was statistically the second-worst in the entire FBS, ahead of only UMass, so the Badgers must make massive strides on that side of the ball to become more competitive.
14. UCLA (3-9, 3-6)
Wins: Penn State (42-37), at Michigan State (38-13), Maryland (20-17)
Losses: Utah (43-10), at UNLV (30-23), New Mexico (35-10), at Northwestern (17-14), at Indiana (56-6), Nebraska (28-21), at Ohio State (48-10), Washington (48-14), at USC (29-10)
Previous Rank: 15
UCLA had a season of streaks, starting the year with four straight losses then rattling off three straight wins before finishing the year with five more defeats.
Their win over Penn State, which was ranked as a top-10 team in the nation at the time, was one of the season’s most stunning victories and is why the Bruins moved up one spot in their final Big Ten rank for the season ahead of Rutgers, who finished its season by losing to the same Penn State team. Their four lopsided losses to upper-half Big Ten teams in the second half of the season, however, showed that new UCLA coach Bob Chesney will have a lot of work to do to build the Bruins into a conference contender.
15. Rutgers (5-7, 2-7)
Wins: Ohio (34-31), Miami-Ohio (45-17), Norfolk State (60-10), at Purdue (27-24), Maryland (35-20)
Losses: Iowa (38-28), at Minnesota (31-28), at Washington (38-19), Oregon (56-10), at Illinois (35-13), at Ohio State (42-9), Penn State (40-36)
Previous Rank: 14
While Rutgers finished with a better overall record than Wisconsin and UCLA, its only two wins against Power 4 opponents came against the Big Ten’s two worst teams this season. Its only victories this year against teams with winning records came against a pair of MAC schools, Ohio and Miami (Ohio), in the first two weeks of the season.
After back-to-back 7-6 seasons in 2023 and 2024, the 2025 season was a step back for Greg Schiano’s team. While the Scarlet Knights were solid on the offensive side of the ball, they were atrocious on defense, ranking dead last nationally with a whopping 7.6 yards allowed per play.
16. Michigan State (4-8, 1-8)
Wins: Western Michigan (23-6), Boston College (42-40), Youngstown State (41-24), Maryland (38-28)
Losses: at USC (45-31), at Nebraska (38-27), UCLA (38-13), at Indiana (38-13), Michigan (31-20), at Minnesota (23-20), Penn State (28-10), at Iowa (20-17)
Previous Rank: 17
After losing its first eight games of Big Ten play, Michigan State finally earned a win in its final game of the season, snapping its eight-game losing streak by handing Maryland its eighth straight loss to end the year for both teams.
That wasn’t enough to save Jonathan Smith, who was fired the day after the Spartans’ season finale and promptly replaced by Pat Fitzgerald. The Spartans’ only 2025 wins over teams with winning records came against a Group of 5 team (Western Michigan) and a FCS team (Youngstown State), and they’ve now had four straight losing seasons (even when including the wins that were vacated for the 2022-24 seasons for playing with ineligible players).
17. Maryland (4-8, 1-8)
Wins: FAU (39-7), Northern Illinois (20-9), Towson (44-17), at Wisconsin (27-10)
Losses: Washington (24-20), Nebraska (34-31), at UCLA (20-17), Indiana (55-10), at Rutgers (35-20), at Illinois (24-6), Michigan (45-20), Michigan State (38-28)
Previous Rank: 16
The September Terps have never September Terped harder. After starting the season 4-0, Maryland lost its final eight games of the season, including losses to three of the Big Ten’s other five teams with losing records (UCLA, Rutgers and Michigan State).
As a result, Maryland finished the season with a 4-8 overall record and a 1-8 record in conference play for the second year in a row. Maryland chose to retain Mike Locksley rather than change coaches this offseason, but no Big Ten coach will enter 2026 with a hotter seat.
18. Purdue (2-10, 0-10)
Wins: Ball State (31-0), Southern Illinois (34-17)
Losses: at USC (33-17), at Notre Dame (56-30), Illinois (43-27), at Minnesota (27-20), at Northwestern (19-0), Rutgers (27-24), at Michigan (21-16), at Ohio State (34-10), at Washington (49-13), Indiana (56-3)
Previous Rank: 18
For the second year in a row, Purdue was the only team in the Big Ten to finish the season without a single conference win. The Boilermakers finished the year with 10 straight losses, including seven losses by at least 16 points.
After giving Michigan a scare and losing by just five points in Ann Arbor, the Boilermakers ended the year with three straight blowout losses, falling to Ohio State, Washington and Indiana by an average of more than 37 points – and leaving no doubt that they were the worst team in the Big Ten for the second straight season.
