The defending national champions are certainly one of the favorites to win the Big Ten next year. What other teams should be in that conversation?
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Who are the contenders to win the Big Ten in 2025 besides Ohio State?
The defending national champions are certainly one of the favorites to win the Big Ten next year. What other teams should be in that conversation?
The Ohio State football team is the defending national champions. They won the national title without winning the Big Ten, though. That honor went to Oregon after they went undefeated in the regular season. Then, they got smacked by the Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl.
Ohio State will be one of the favorites to win the Big Ten next season. Despite the fact they lost a lot of talent from the national title-winning team, they still have Jeremiah Smith and Caleb Downs on the team. Those two players make them contenders to win the conference next year.
Other than the Ohio State Buckeyes, which other teams are in contention to win the Big Ten? Looking around the conference, there are three main foes that the Buckeyes need to worry about next season as they chase their first Big Ten title since 2020 and try to repeat as national champions.
These teams are the Ohio State football team's biggest threats in the Big Ten
Penn State is the biggest threat to the Buckeyes next season. They bring back a lot of talent, including Drew Allar, Kaytron Allen, and Nick Singleton. The biggest issue for them is that they don't have any good receivers. Still, they are very talented on defense as well.
Oregon will be a contender again, although they won't be as good as they were in 2024. The Ducks have a very easy schedule, avoiding both Ohio State and Michigan. How well Dante Moore plays in his first year as starting quarterback will go a long way to determining if they are true contenders.
Michigan is not nearly as talented as Ohio State, Penn State, or Oregon. With that being said, they have what might be the easiest schedule in the Big Ten.
* Their toughest game is against Ohio State, and they get the Buckeyes at home. There's a good chance they enter that game either 10-1 or 11-0.
Those three teams have the best shot to keep the Buckeyes from winning the Big Ten. Those three teams will also have a shot to make the College Football Playoff, too.
*Just sayin': Let's just hope that scUM is on a postseason ban in 2025 due to the NCAA cheating violations.
