# 2025 Big Ten Conference football season
The 2025 [Big Ten Conference](https://www.edgepedia.org/big-ten-conference) football season was the 2025 NCAA Division I FBS football campaign for the Big Ten's 18 member programs, played under the conference's non-divisional scheduling format and culminating in Indiana's 13-10 victory over Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship Game on December 6, 2025.[1](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/conferences/big-ten/2025-schedule.html) • [2](https://bigten.org/news/2025/9/10/2025-discover-big-ten-football-championship-game-37933.aspx) Indiana went on to win the national championship, beating Miami (FL) 27-21 in the [College Football Playoff National Championship](https://www.edgepedia.org/college-football-playoff-national-championship) game on January 19, 2026.[3](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/conferences/big-ten/bowls.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Conference champion | Indiana, which won the championship game 13-10 over Ohio State[1](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/conferences/big-ten/2025-schedule.html) |
| Championship game | December 6, 2025, 8 p.m. ET kickoff, Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis; 15th annual title game, televised on FOX[2](https://bigten.org/news/2025/9/10/2025-discover-big-ten-football-championship-game-37933.aspx) |
| Preseason rankings | Ohio State No. 1 and Penn State No. 2 in the first regular-season AP Top 25; the Big Ten placed six teams in that poll[4](https://apnews.com/article/e4b7aa3946a8f697cb36666203e0fba2) |
| Ranked teams | Seven Big Ten teams were ranked late in the season: Ohio State, Indiana, Oregon, USC, Penn State, Washington, and Iowa[5](https://apnews.com/article/11b750c72b3fd709a9eaa008f4b570eb) |
| Playoff participation | Three Big Ten teams reached the 12-team College Football Playoff, and nine more won at least six games to become bowl eligible[6](https://www.si.com/college-football/big-ten-2025-college-football-bowl-games-record-full-schedule) |
| National champion | Indiana, which defeated Miami (FL) 27-21 on January 19, 2026[3](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/conferences/big-ten/bowls.html) |
| Conference record | 137-97 overall (.585), second of 10 conferences[7](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/conferences/big-ten/2025.html) |
## Preseason outlook
The Big Ten entered the season with the top two teams in the AP Top 25: Ohio State at No. 1 and Penn State at No. 2, followed by Oregon at [No. 6](https://www.edgepedia.org/no-6), Illinois at No. 11, Michigan at No. 15, and Indiana at No. 23.[4](https://apnews.com/article/e4b7aa3946a8f697cb36666203e0fba2) The conference had put four teams in the inaugural 12-team [College Football Playoff](https://www.edgepedia.org/college-football-playoff) the year before, and preseason projections again gave the league a strong chance at a large playoff presence, with Penn State, national champion Ohio State, and Oregon seen as near-locks and the fourth spot open.[8](https://theanalyst.com/articles/big-ten-football-predictions-2025)
The championship picture was complicated by the conference's standings rules. Because the Big Ten plays a non-divisional schedule with 18 teams, tiebreakers revised in 2024 determine which two teams reach the title game: head-to-head results, then record against common conference opponents, then combined record of conference opponents, then the SportsSource Analytics Team Rating Score, and finally a random draw.[9](https://www.profootballnetwork.com/cfb/big-ten-tiebreakers-everything-to-know/)
## Regular season
Ohio State opened the season against Texas, which was ranked No. 1 at the time, and won 14-7 in Columbus; the Buckeyes moved from No. 3 to No. 1 in the AP poll and stayed there for the rest of the regular season.[5](https://apnews.com/article/11b750c72b3fd709a9eaa008f4b570eb) Indiana, unheralded in the preseason poll, rose to No. 5 and ran an undefeated regular season, while Ohio State, Oregon, USC, Penn State, Washington, and Iowa also held Top 25 positions as the season progressed; five Big Ten teams still had College Football Playoff hopes in the final weeks.[5](https://apnews.com/article/11b750c72b3fd709a9eaa008f4b570eb) • [10](https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/final-big-ten-power-rankings-021809965.html)
**Penn State's collapse** was the season's notable negative storyline. The Nittany Lions began the year at No. 2 but finished with a losing conference record, and [CBS Sports](https://www.edgepedia.org/cbs-sports) assigned them an "F-" grade for the collapse.[4](https://apnews.com/article/e4b7aa3946a8f697cb36666203e0fba2) • [11](https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/big-ten-grades-2025-college-football-season-penn-state-indiana/) Oregon, by contrast, again performed near the top of the league: in two seasons as a Big Ten member the Ducks had dropped only one non-postseason game to a conference opponent, and that lone 2025 setback came against Indiana.[11](https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/big-ten-grades-2025-college-football-season-penn-state-indiana/)
## Championship game
The top two teams in the final standings, Indiana and Ohio State, met in the 2025 Discover Big Ten Football Championship Game at [Lucas Oil Stadium](https://www.edgepedia.org/lucas-oil-stadium) on December 6, 2025, the 15th edition of the title game.[2](https://bigten.org/news/2025/9/10/2025-discover-big-ten-football-championship-game-37933.aspx) Indiana won 13-10, taking the Amos Alonzo Stagg Championship Trophy and the conference's automatic place in the College Football Playoff.[1](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/conferences/big-ten/2025-schedule.html) • [2](https://bigten.org/news/2025/9/10/2025-discover-big-ten-football-championship-game-37933.aspx) Ohio State, which had been No. 1 in the AP poll since beating Texas in the opener, lost the top spot with the defeat.[5](https://apnews.com/article/11b750c72b3fd709a9eaa008f4b570eb)
The result gave Indiana its second straight season as a top program after a playoff appearance in 2024, and the Hoosiers earned an "A+" grade from CBS Sports as conference champion.[11](https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/big-ten-grades-2025-college-football-season-penn-state-indiana/) It was a sharp change from 2024, when Oregon won the title with a 45-37 victory over Penn State.[2](https://bigten.org/news/2025/9/10/2025-discover-big-ten-football-championship-game-37933.aspx)
## Postseason
Three Big Ten teams made the 12-team College Football Playoff bracket, and nine additional teams won at least six games to become bowl eligible.[6](https://www.si.com/college-football/big-ten-2025-college-football-bowl-games-record-full-schedule) In the playoff's first round on December 20, Oregon, the No. 5 seed, beat No. 19 [James Madison](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-madison) 51-34.[7](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/conferences/big-ten/2025.html) Among the bowl results, Northwestern beat Central Michigan 34-7 in the GameAbove Sports Bowl on December 26, 2025.[7](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/conferences/big-ten/2025.html)
Indiana advanced through the playoff to the national championship game, where it defeated Miami (FL) 27-21 on January 19, 2026.[3](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/conferences/big-ten/bowls.html) That victory made the Big Ten champion national champion for a third consecutive year, following Michigan (2023) and Ohio State (2024).[5](https://apnews.com/article/11b750c72b3fd709a9eaa008f4b570eb) The conference finished the season with a 137-97 overall record, a .585 winning percentage that ranked second among the ten FBS conferences.[7](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/conferences/big-ten/2025.html)
## Aftermath
The season's outcomes shaped the following year's outlook. USC, after reaching a bowl game, secured the nation's No. 1 recruiting class for 2026.[11](https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/big-ten-grades-2025-college-football-season-penn-state-indiana/) Indiana entered the 2026 season as a returning national champion, and Ohio State and Oregon opened that preseason ranked 1-2, giving the Big Ten the top two spots in the preseason poll for the first time since 1961.[12](https://apnews.com/article/bd5dd1c058fab6047510f09e18b035f1) Off the field, the College Football Playoff continued discussions with ESPN over media rights for a potential expansion of the field from 12 to 24 teams, with Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti among the officials expressing optimism about the larger format.[13](https://apnews.com/article/ccb8d5da818258ba1eecd2f4a5bbfbf2)
## References
1. [2025 Big Ten Conference Schedule and Results, Sports-Reference](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/conferences/big-ten/2025-schedule.html)
2. [2025 Discover Big Ten Football Championship Game, Big Ten Conference](https://bigten.org/news/2025/9/10/2025-discover-big-ten-football-championship-game-37933.aspx)
3. [Big Ten Conference Bowl Games, Sports-Reference](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/conferences/big-ten/bowls.html)
4. [College football latest: AP Top 25 poll ranks Ohio State in the top spot, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/e4b7aa3946a8f697cb36666203e0fba2)
5. [LSU cracks top 10, Oregon slips and Wolverines fall out of AP Top 25 after second-chance Hail Mary, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/11b750c72b3fd709a9eaa008f4b570eb)
6. [How Big Ten Has Fared in 2025 College Football Bowl Games, Sports Illustrated](https://www.si.com/college-football/big-ten-2025-college-football-bowl-games-record-full-schedule)
7. [2025 Big Ten Conference Year Summary, Sports-Reference](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/conferences/big-ten/2025.html)
8. [Big Ten Football Predictions: Will Four Teams Reach the College Football Playoff Again?, Opta Analyst](https://theanalyst.com/articles/big-ten-football-predictions-2025)
9. [Big Ten Tiebreakers: Everything to Know About the Latest Regulations, Pro Football Network](https://www.profootballnetwork.com/cfb/big-ten-tiebreakers-everything-to-know/)
10. [Final Big Ten Power Rankings: Where each team ranks at the end of 2025, Yahoo Sports](https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/final-big-ten-power-rankings-021809965.html)
11. [Big Ten football grades for 2025: Penn State fails miserably, Indiana gets 'A+', CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/big-ten-grades-2025-college-football-season-penn-state-indiana/)
12. [Ohio State and Oregon are 1-2 in the AP preseason Top 25, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/bd5dd1c058fab6047510f09e18b035f1)
13. [CFP and ESPN extend discussion of media rights for possible expansion from 12 to 24 playoff teams, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/ccb8d5da818258ba1eecd2f4a5bbfbf2)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Rugby and other football codes › College, minor, and international American football › College football programs › 2025 season articles*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license