Who Headlines the Best of the Rest in the Big Ten?

By Jay Holahan

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In part two of this Big Ten outlook, we look at which teams will finish toward the end of the conference and who will be looking for a fresh start in 2026. Here is how I see the standings and team records shake out in 2025.

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Talked to Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza on why he picked the Hoosiers, the back-breaking loss he thinks led to the Cal talent exodus this offseason and much more.

Mendoza could be the biggest QB pickup of the offseason: https://t.co/Goqf2Zfye7 pic.twitter.com/wrJXAkLmzc

— John Talty (@JTalty) June 26, 2025

10. Indiana Hoosiers (8-4, 5-4)

Indiana was college football’s “media darling” last season. Without Kurtis Rourke, who threw for more than 3,000 yards last year, 29 touchdowns and just five interceptions, Cal transfer Fernando Mendoza has some large shoes to fill, and while he also passed for more than 3,000 yards, he struggled against the upper echelons of the ACC. How will he fair against the Big Ten’s best?

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11. Washington Huskies (8-4, 5-4)

It was always going to be a learning curve for Jedd Fisch’s group, but going from the ACC to the Big Ten appeared to be overwhelming for Fisch. His team lost all their road games, and their only win against their new Big Ten foes came at home against Michigan (no small feat). In year two, the schedule is challenging but should be manageable. A “quality win” would be important for a Washington team looking to build for 2026. That win might come against Illinois at home, with the Illini facing Ohio State at home the week before, going on the road to the West Coast might be too much, so it wouldn’t be crazy to assume the Huskies get it done. However, that game is sandwiched between road games against Michigan and Wisconsin. Knowing how the Huskies played last year when they came East, it will get difficult, but the drought should end earlier in the year when they play the lowly Maryland Terrapins in College Park, Md. An above .500 conference record could be important for the Huskies heading into 2026.

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12. Michigan State Spartans (5-7, 2-7)

It won’t be viewed as a fun fall for the Spartans in 2025, but that’s due in part to the tough schedule Michigan State faces. Playing USC, Nebraska, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Penn State and Iowa will be daunting. However, if they can keep those games relatively close and maybe sprinkle in a win in there, it could be promising for Jonathan Smith’s second season.

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13. UCLA Bruins (5-7, 2-7)

Year two in DeShaun Foster’s tenure will be tough for the Bruins faithful. Things were looking up after 2023, Chip Kelly’s last as head coach, but after a surprise departure to become Ohio State’s offensive coordinator in February 2024, Foster had less time to prepare as a first-year head coach. With a full off-season and a veteran quarterback in Nico Iamaleava, Foster’s team should be more competitive against the Big Ten’s best. However, UCLA unfortunately has a lot of games this year against the best teams in the Big Ten. The two games I confidently see UCLA winning are against Northwestern and Maryland. Depending upon how the Bruins fare against the Big Ten’s best in 2025, it should ultimately determine if Foster returns for 2026.

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14. Wisconsin Badgers (4-8, 2-7)

Head coach Luke Fickell has been inconsistent throughout his first two years at Wisconsin. It feels like something is missing from his Badgers over the past few years. This season will be much of the same for Fickell’s crew. The first two years featured a Wisconsin offense that was less than impressive, so Fickell brought in Maryland transfer quarterback Billy Edwards Jr., who is coming off an otherwise underwhelming season. He will have three of five returning starters on the offensive line, an offensive line that allowed only 13 sacks last year. With a defense that was 41st in the country, returning five of its starters on defense, Wisconsin should look primed for success, right? Well, the schedule says otherwise, Alabama in week three after the first two games against the Group of 5’s Miami (Ohio) and Middle Tennessee State will be the moon for Edwards. How will he recover once he faces the Big Ten opponents he’ll face? Wisconsin faces Michigan and Oregon on the road, but it’s the home games that concern me: Ohio State, Illinois and Iowa will be tough wins to manage, but maybe Wisconsin proves me wrong. However, it feels like this Wisconsin might need to head in another direction for 2026.

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15. Northwestern Wildcats (3-9, 1-8)

Pat Fitzgerald left head coach David Braun with quite the mess heading into 2023, but Braun made egg salad out of you know what. However, this is a Wildcats team that only returns seven starters on offense and defense—quarterback Preston Stone, who transfers from SMU in favor of Kevin Jennings. Stone will use that chip as a motivation, but it likely won’t make a difference with the cast around him. Purdue might be the lone win for the Wildcats this year. Whether or not Braun can keep the locker room together and weather a tough storm in the 2025 season will determine whether he’s back for 2026.

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16. Rutgers Scarlet Knights (4-8, 1-8)

It’s going to be rough sledding for the Scarlet Knights this upcoming season. The competition that Rutgers is playing is their biggest detriment. Rutgers begins conference play against Iowa in Piscataway, N.J., Minnesota and Washington on the road, and then Oregon back in New Jersey. A probable 0-4 mark to begin conference play, to go along with their only two starters returning on defense. When going up against some of the top teams in the conference, Rutgers’ defense will need to be on its “A game,” and with two returning starters, that likely won’t happen, and starting 0-4 will kill morale in the locker room.

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17. Maryland Terrapins (3-9, 0-9)

I wrote about it last year that if Maryland didn’t finish among the top teams in the conference, it would be the end of the Mike Locksley era. Well, turns out I was wrong, Locksley is back for his seventh season. Maryland is only returning four starters between their offense and defense. The ‘Terps open up conference play on the road against Wisconsin, then have two home games against Washington and Nebraska. That will be stiff competition for Maryland, because they’ll open their out-of-conference play against Florida Atlantic, Northern Illinois and Towson. Even if the ‘Terps look good in those games, those teams are high school teams compared to what Maryland will be playing in conference. I believe the ‘Terps get blown out in those early conference games and won’t recover.

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18. Purdue Boilermakers (2-10, 0-9)

A new era in West Lafayette, Ind., as Barry Odom, the former UNLV head coach, who led the Rebels to back-to-back six-win seasons and a 10-win season last year. Odom also coached Missouri from 2016-2019, and led the Tigers to bowl appearances in two of his four seasons. The talent right now in the Big Ten will be too much for Purdue to handle this year. Now, while I predict the Boilermakers not to win a conference game, that doesn’t mean a foundation of success won’t be laid down. Hopefully, the Boilermakers can keep it close against the upper tiers of the Big Ten.