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College Football Recruiting, Opinion, and Analysis

Big Ten Teams That Face Terrible Schedules in 2025

Penn State, USC, Wisconsin and Rutgers must enter some of the toughest road environments in the game throughout the upcoming season

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By Micheal Germanese

The 2025 season looks to be one of the most competitive in years. Ohio State, Oregon, and Penn State all look loaded again. Michigan, which won eight games a year ago without a quarterback, looks to have found one. Nebraska brings back a lot of talent and could finally make a big jump. Indiana and Illinois were big surprises in 2024 and could be as good, if not better, in 2025.

But thanks to conference realignment, it’s impossible to balance the schedule for all 18 teams. Some face a relatively easier schedule, like Oregon missing Michigan, Ohio State, Nebraska, and Illinois from their schedule. Then a team like Wisconsin faces one of the most difficult stretches in college football playing Michigan, Iowa, Ohio State, Oregon, Washington, Indiana, and finally Illinois.

The good news is now with the 12-team playoff you can afford to lose a game or two and still make the postseason. The bad news is with the schedule some teams play 2025 looks like a four- or five-loss year. Here are the teams in the Big Ten that face a gantlet in 2025:

Wisconsin Badgers

Miami (OH), Middle Tennessee, at Alabama, Maryland, at Michigan, Iowa, Ohio State, at Oregon, Washington, at Indiana, Illinois, at Minnesota

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Tuscaloosa, Ann Arbor, Eugene, and Bloomington are four of the five road trips Wisconsin takes in 2025. Add in home games against Iowa, Ohio State and Illinois, and you can see why FanDuel has the Badgers win total set at 5.5. When the Big Ten released the 2025 schedules, Luke Fickell had to question what he did to deserve it.

Wisconsin is coming off a 5-7 season and missed a bowl for the first time since 2001. Fickell holds a 12-13 record and is facing pressure to fix the problems that have plagued the Badgers since he arrived. It has been the ineffectiveness of his air raid offense that has fans screaming for the Badgers to go back to their ground-and-pound style.

For Fickell 2025 is simple: Either prove the decision to change Wisconsin’s identity was the right one, or a new face will be leading the Badgers in 2026 most likely,

Penn State Nittany Lions

Nevada, FIU, Villanova, Oregon, at UCLA, Northwestern, at Iowa, at Ohio State, Indiana, at Michigan State, Nebraska, at Rutgers

Penn State is going all in for 2025 and the goal is simple: Win the Big Ten and national championship. Coming back are Drew Allar, Nicholas Singleton, Kaytron Allen and Dani Dennis-Sutton giving this Nittany Lions team the same feel as Michigan in 2023 and Ohio State in 2024. Both teams had key players return which resulted in Michigan winning the Big Ten and national championship in 2023, while Ohio State took home the national championship in 2024. Penn State looks to be built in 2025 the same way, so will 2025 be their year?

If 2025 is going to be the year, James Franklin will have to finally win big games. It’s something he hasn’t been able to do so far at Penn State. Franklin holds a record of 1-15 vs Top 5 teams and 4-20 against Top 10 teams. If Franklin can make it through this schedule in 2025, the can’t-win-big-games narrative will officially be dead.

Penn State has home games against Oregon, Indiana and Nebraska, and road contests against Iowa, and Ohio State. The 2025 season will give Franklin every chance to prove he can beat top teams. Penn State kicks off Big Ten play at home against Oregon, a rematch from last season’s Big Ten Championship. 

Penn State’s toughest stretch will take place from Oct. 18 to Nov. 8 when they play Iowa on the road, visit Ohio State and face Indiana at home. To win on the road at Kinnick is not easy, but to follow that up with a trip to The Shoe is daunting. The Hoosiers reloaded in the transfer portal this offseason and will be looking to prove the success in 2024 was no fluke.

Even with one of the toughest schedules in 2025, there should be no excuse for not winning the Big Ten and at least making it to the national championship game. At some point, Franklin must start winning some of these big games. If Penn State can’t win with this team in 2025, then what will it take for Penn State to win under Franklin?

Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Ohio, Miami (OH), Norfolk State, Iowa, at Minnesota, at Washington, Oregon, at Purdue, at Illinois, Maryland, at Ohio State, Penn State

The 2024 season was supposed to change the fact that Rutgers has seen little to no success since joining the Big Ten. Rutgers avoided Ohio State, Penn State, Oregon, Iowa, and Michigan, yet still finished 7-6 on the season. The Scarlet Knights didn’t get as lucky in 2025 and now face a schedule that could make it a long year for Greg Schiano and his team.

The good news: Rutgers avoids Michigan and Indiana in 2025. The Bad news: Iowa, Oregon, Illinois, Ohio State and Penn State are all on the schedule. Rutgers will get Iowa, Oregon, and Penn State at SHT stadium in Piscataway. The games against Illinois and Ohio State are on the road.

The last two weeks will be the hardest two-game stretch Rutgers faces all year. Rutgers will be in Columbus on Nov. 22 to face Ohio State, then head to play Penn State on Nov. 29th.

USC Trojans

Missouri State, Georgia Southern, at Purdue, Michigan State, at Illinois, Michigan, at Notre Dame, at Nebraska, Northwestern, Iowa, at Oregon, UCLA

The heat in Los Angeles will be at an all-time high in 2025 and it won’t be because it’s summer in California. Lincoln Riley finds his seat hot after a disappointing three years at USC. Since taking over in 2022, Riley has yet to deliver a conference championship or playoff appearance, causing fans to grow very impatient. In Riley’s first three seasons at USC he has already accumulated 14 losses; at Oklahoma in five seasons he only had 10 losses.

After finishing ninth in the Big Ten, Riley will need to win and win big in 2025. The wins won’t come easy for USC with games against Illinois, Michigan, Notre Dame, Nebraska, Iowa, and Oregon. If there is any positive that can come out of the scheduler it’s that USC won’t play Ohio State, Penn State, and Indiana in 2025. But even with three of the top teams missing, they still face one of the hardest schedules in the Big Ten in 2025.

This season the Trojans’ home schedule will be much more favorable than their road schedule. USC only plays two difficult home games against Michigan and Iowa. They will play in three of the hardest road environments in college football when they head to South Bend, Lincoln, and Eugene. Add in another road game in Champaign, and USC’s road schedule could make for a long year in 2025.

USC fans, alumni and former players are expecting a big turnaround in 2025, but with a 7.5 win total set at FanDuel, disappointment on the horizon.

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