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As the B-10 heads into its 2nd year with 18 teams it is already in danger of setting up to be a league of have’s & have not’s. Their are seven teams that you want/hope to avoid playing in 2025. All of these teams are trying (@ a minimum) to reach the bowl qualifying number of 6 wins & improve on the previous year’s league standing. The seven (7) teams we have identified here leaves 11 teams (minus your team) so 10 teams on the preferred to play list. As a result, it is possible, however unlikely, to build your 9 game schedule without playing one of the seven (7) best B-10 best teams of 2024. Teams to be avoided are Ohio State (14-2), Oregon (13-1), Penn State (13-3), Indiana (11-2) & Illinois (10-3) all of these programs won double digit games in 2024. Two other very dangerous teams, Michigan (beat Ohio State, 13-10 & Alabama, 19-13) & Southern California (beat LSU, 27-20 & Texas A&M 35-31). For the 2025 season, I am referring to Michigan & USC as the Dark Sisters, Fire & Ice, of the B-10 scheduling realm in 2025.
To determine who has the toughest “row to hoe”, we need to know how many of these seven teams, a specific team plays? where are the games played? does the, team in the tie-breaker, have 5 or 4 of their conference games @ home? We will explain the Criteria we will use to evaluate / determine which B-10 team has the most challenging slate in 2025!
So to start, lets look at each of the 18 teams schedules!
Illinois (5) The # in parenthesis () means that IL has 5 home B-10 Conferences Games in 2025): plays one Power Four (P4) team, @ Duke, one Group of Five (G5) program, Western Michigan, & one Football Championship Subdivision FCS opponent, Western Illinois, both of these games are in Champaign. This is what SCFP (Sully’s College Football Page) calls a balanced Non-Conference (NC) Schedule; 1 P4, 1 G5, & 1 FCS). In conference, the Illini open B-10 play with Indiana (11-2 in 24) @ Bloomington & and host, National Champion’s, Ohio State (14-2) on October 11th. IL avoid PSU (13-3), Oregon (13-1), & Michigan (one of the Dark sisters, Fire); yet they do draw the other dark Sister (DS) USC (Ice), @ home, on 9/27. The Illini (being one of the seven, can only, potentially, play six (6) of the seven (7) best in 2024)! U of I plays 3 of the 6 best in 2024!
Indiana (4): plays an exceptionally weak non-conference schedule in 2025, as they ‘kick-it-off; vs 2 G5’s opponents (old Dominion (5-7 in 24) Kennesaw State (2-10) & one FCS squad, Indiana State, a MVFC team, who won 4 games in 2024. I know Cignetti wants to keep his never had a losing season going, yet the Hoosiers NC schedule borders on ridicules! In B-10 play in 2025, IU avoids Ohio State (14-2) & the Dark Sisters, yet draws Oregon (13-1) & PSU (13-3) both games are road trips for IN. They host IL (10-3) on 9/20! IU plays 3 of the 6th best in 2024!
Iowa (5): The Hawks play @ in-state rival, ISU (11-3 in 24), who battled SMU for the B-12 Championship. It should be noted Iowa lost to the Cyclones in 2024,After that, their NC gets simple, U-Mass (2-10), now a G5, MAC program and an FCS team, Albany University (3-8), who plays in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA). In conference, the Hawks host IU on 9/27, Penn State on 10/18 & Oregon on, 11/8, and travel to LA to take on USC (11/15). IA avoids Ohio State, Illinois, & Michigan, a team on a mission in 2025! Iowa plays 4 of the B-10’s 7 best clubs in 2024!
Maryland (4): Another B-10 team that does not “line it up” against a P4 opponent in their 2025 NC schedule. The Terrapins play Florida Atlantic (3-9) an American Athletic Conference (AAC) team, Northern Illinois (8-5) who did shock ND, 16-14, & finally, play an FCS squad, Towson (6-5), who plays in the CAA. In their B-10 encounters they face; Illinois (11/15), in Champaign, while hosting Indiana (11/1) & Michigan (11/22). MD avoids OSU (14-2), PSU (13-3), USC (The Terps only B-10- win, 29-28 in 24) & Oregon (13-1)! Maryland plays 3 of the 7 best in 2024
Michigan (4): I do not believe there is a team more anxious to take the field in 2025 than the Wolverines. Their NC schedule includes a trip (9/6) to Norman, OK, to do battle with OU. They open their 25 season vs New Mexico (5-7) a Mountain West Conference (MWC) team & an in-state MAC team, Central Michigan (4-8) on (9/13). The Wolves will be “getting after the other Dark Sister”, USC in LA & Ohio State in the Big House! MI avoids Oregon 13-1. PSU 13-3, Illinois 10-3, & Indiana 11-2. You are probably doubting this line-up as correct, so did I, yet I assure you, it is accurate! Michigan will be making a lot of noise in 2025! The Wolves play only USC & OSU (2/6) of 2024 highest achieving B-10 teams
Michigan State (4): The Spartans are entering their 2nd year under the tutelage of HC, Jonathon Smith and should be improved. Their NC slate is balanced, as they play one P4 (Boston College / 7-6) it should be noted, in 2024, BC beat MSU 23-19; one G5 (Western Michigan / 6-7), & One FCS team (Youngstown State / 4-7), the Penguins play in the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC). State avoids OSU, Oregon, & Illinois, the Spartans traveling to LA to play Trojans & Bloomington to battle IU. MSU hosts in-state rival Michigan (10/25) & welcomes PSU (11/15) to Spartan Stadium! Michigan State plays 4 of the B-10 seven (7) best in 2024!
Minnesota (5): PJ Fleck and the Golder Gophers ‘rowed the Boat” to a successful season in 2024, going 8-5 (MN beat arch-rival Wisconsin, 24-7, a 10-3 Illinois squad, 25-17, and won their bowl game, 24-10 over a good Virginia Tech club) In 2025, the Gophers NC schedule, like MSU’s is balanced, as they play one P4 California (ACC), one G5, Buffalo (MAC), & one FCS, Northwestern State located in Louisiana (Southland Conference/SLC). In conference tilts, they avoid (5 of 7) PSU, IL, USC, Michigan, & IN, however they do travel to the Horse Shoe to play OSU and then traverse the ‘Oregon Trail’ to battle the Ducks, in one the loudest stadiums in the country! The Gophers do not have a home game vs any one of the Seven! The Golden Gophers, in 2025, play only Two (2) of the B-10 Seven (7) best in 2024!
Nebraska (5): The Huskers are clearly the best unit in the college football in two of its accountable realms: 1) NE has the best traveling fan base in the country, 2) They have a commanding lead as the Nation’s best ‘under achieving Football program! Nebraska, finally, made a bowl appearance in 2024! The Huskers, for the 1st time since 2016 played a game in the post-season and it should be noted that the entire state attended the Game! Nebraska 20 Boston College 15! This year, Nebraska side steps OSU, Oregon, Illinois, & Indiana, while squaring up against the “Dark Sisters” Michigan & USC @ home & Penn State in Happy Valley. Nebraska will play three (3) of the Seven (7) best B-10 Units in 2024!
Northwestern (5): The 3rd team in the B-10 that has made the “sorry decision” not to play a P4 program in their NC schedule. Ok, you can justify that the Cats need wins and often struggle to win games in the B-10! So getting to a bowl game will often be dependent on winning all three (3) NC Games! So why are they taking on Tulane (9-5 in 24)? The Green Wave is currently playing in the AAC and other than Boise State, Tulane is, @ least Arguably, the next best G5 program in the country! For NW to not challenge a P4 program (ok … as mentioned they struggle to win in the B-10) and then, shockingly, turn around and agree to play Tulane, in Louisiana (not Chicago), makes little to no sense for a program that needs wins! Tulane will likely be as good as NW athletically and the venue, the New Orleans Superdome will add to the perception that this is a Big Ten like opponent! They also play ULM (Monroe, Louisiana) & an FCS team, Western IL, @ Home In B-1`0 play NW avoids OSU, the Wildcats play IL, USC, & PSU on the road and Oregon & Michigan in Evanston! NW takes on Five (5) of the Seven (7) Best performing B-10 team from 2024 in the coming 2025 Season!
Ohio State (4): OSU enters 2025 as the defending national Champion and the probable favorite to repeat in 2025. The Buckeyes open their Non-conference play @ home vs Texas. In all likelihood, this game will pit #1 against #2! The Bucks also Grambling State (FCS / HBCU_ team out of the SWAC) and Ohio University out of the MAC. In B-10 play, OSU avoids 2 double digit winning teams in 2024, Oregon 13-1 & Indiana 11-2. Also, the DNP USC, a very dangerous team on any given Saturday (Ask LSU or A&M) They play @ Illinois (10-3) & Michigan (who ended their 2024 campaign with wins over OSU, 13-10 & Alabama, 19-13! The Buckeyes host PSU @ the Shoe on 11/1. Ohio State plays 3 of the 6 B-10 programs, that won 10 or more games in 2024!
Oregon (4): The Ducks went 13-1 in the 2024 season, losing to only the National Champs, Ohio State, 41-21, a team they beat in the regular season, UO 32 OSU 31! In NC play Oregon Challenges two P4, 1st a 5-7 Oregon State (P-12 remnant, who the Ducks beat 49-14), and Oklahoma State (B-12), while OK State struggled in 2024 (3-9), they have been a perennial contender for the B-12 championship. They round out their NC schedule playing an FCS opponent, Montana State (15-1/Big Sky ), who played for & lost the FCS Championship Game to North Dakota State, 35-32!. A respectable NC slate. Two Power 4 teams, Oregon State has beaten Oregon twice in the last five, Ok State will likely challenge for the B-12 crown & Montana State is the 2nd best of 63 scholarship teams!. In conference play, Oregon avoids Ohio State, 14-2, Illinois, 10-3, & one of the Dark Sisters, Michigan! They do play @ PSU 13-3, while hosting IU, 11-2 & the other Dark Sister, USC! OR plays 3 of the 6 best-performing, B-10 teams of 2024 in the coming season (25)
Penn State (4): Sorry to report that the Nittany Lions are the 4th B-10 team not “getting after” a P4 team in their NC schedule. The Lions are playing 2 G5s’ Nevada (3-10 / MWC) & FIU (4-8 / C-USA), neither team qualified for a bowl game in 2024. State also plays, basketball power house, Villanova, a very good FCS team out of the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA)! I should mention that PSU has national championship aspirations in 2025, the last 2 national champions are out of the B-10, and neither OSU or UM played a P4 opponent, in the year they won their respective championship! Food for thought … PSU does not play Illinois or the Dark Sisters, Michigan & USC. They do ‘line-it-up’ @ OSU (14-2) and host Oregon (13-1) & Indiana (11-2). In 2025, PSU gets-after 3 of the B-10 best from 2024!
Purdue (5): In their 3 NC Games, Boilers play national champion, runner-up, ND (14-2), in South Bend, in-state rival, Ball State, a MAC team, and 1 FCS team, Southern Illinois, a MVFC team @ Home! Purdue will face off with Dark Sister (DS) USC, Illinois (10-3), OSU (14-2), & IU (11-2), all in Ross-Ade Stadium. They will pack their bags for a game @/with the other DS, Michigan and avoid dates with PSU and Oregon. Of the 7 B-10 teams we have identified that you would like to avoid playing in 2025 … Sadly, the Boilers are playing five (5) of them.
Rutgers (4): The Scarlet Knights are the 5th and final B-10 team not to play a P4 opponent in 2025. The Knights do battle with 2 G5 teams, Ohio (11-3) & Miami Ohio (9-5) both teams are out of the MAC! Both of these teams are good, evidenced by the fact that they played for the Mid-American Championship! Ohio won big, 38-3, Yet Miami OH won the regular season encounter, 30-20. Both Rufus the Bobcat (OH) & Swoop the Redhawk (M-OH) both won their Bowl Games, OH beat Jacksonville State, an Alabama team, playing in C-USA, while M of OH, pounded Colorado State (MWC). 43-17 . RU also takes on one FCS unit, Norfolk State, a MEAC/HBCU (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) team. In B-10 play, Rutgers avoids the ‘Dark Sisters’ (Michigan & USC) & IU in 2025; however, they play Illinois (10-3) & OSU (14-2) on the road and host Oregon (13-1) & PSU (13-3) @ Shi Stadium. The Knights ‘kick-it-off in 2025 vs Four (4) of the B-10’s Seven (7) best from 2024 campaign!
UCLA (4): The Bruins open the 2025 campaign against a familiar adversary, Utah, a former PAC-12 & South Division rival. They play two G5 squads, UNLV (11-3), who beat Cal in their Bowl game, 24-13. The Rebels played for the MWC Championship/lost to Boise State, 21-7. While their other opponent, New Mexico (5-7 in 24), is a team the UCLANS have played only once, a 27-13 UCLA win in 2002! In B-10 play, the Bruins do not play, Oregon (13-1), Illinois (10-3), & (DS) Michigan (Beat OSU, 13-10 & Alabama, 19-13 to close their 2024 season)! At home, they welcome PSU (10/4) while traveling to Indiana (10/25), OSU (11/15), & the other DS, USC (11/29)! UCLA plays Four (4) of the Seven (7) B-10 opponents you really would like to avoid in 2025!
USC (5): To avoid confusion on SCFP (Sully’s College Football Page), we refer to Southern Cal as USC & South Carolina as SC! That said, USC travels to the heartland for its intersectional, athletic brawl with the Fighting Irish (10/18)! The Trojans play 2 G5 teams, Missouri State (last year Missouri State played as a member of MVFC & FCS) in 2025, the Bears are playing in C-USA & the FBS in 2025! The also play Georgia Southern, a team out of the Sun Belt Conference (SBC) on 9/6/25! USC avoids OSU (14-2), PSU (13-3), & IU (11-2). In one of my favorite B-10 games, the “Dark Sisters” (USC @ home vs Michigan) play on 10/11, the Trojans play @ Illinois (9/27) & @ Oregon (11/22). The ‘Men of Troy” have a stretch where they fly to Illinois to play the Illini, back to LA to take on Michigan, back to the Midwest to play ND, & for good measure, a return to the heartland, to play a dangerous Nebraska team! The Trojans play, in 2025, three (3) of the Six (6) best B-10 clubs in 2025!
Washington (5): In NC Play, WA ‘lines-it-up’ against in-state rival (@) Washington State, on 9/20, a G5 opponent, Colorado State, a Mountain West Conference (MWC) squad on 8/30/25 & an FCS club, UC Davis, a Big Sky Conference (B-Sky) team on 9/6. In B-10 play (or lack their of) the Huskies avoid an 11-2 IU, USC (who beat LSU, 27-20 & Texas A&M, 35-31) & a 13-3 PSU. DNP identified, the Huskies ‘Kick-if-off’ @ Home vs OSU (9/27), they then travel Ann Arbor (10/18) to battle (DS) Michigan, return to Huskie Stadium to face a 10-3, IL team, and end their 2025 season vs Oregon, in Seattle’s Huskie Stadium on 11/29! Washington plays 4 of the B-10’s best from 2024 in the coming season (25)
Wisconsin (5): How the mighty have fallen! Wisconsin, a program, since the early 1990, that has been regarded as one of the B-10’s best, failed to make a Bowl Game for the 1st time in 22 years! Bucky coming off a season (2024), where they had to win one of their final Five (5) games to keep the Bowl streak alive … lost all five games!. A far cry for/from a team that used to see 10 wins and a ‘New Year’s Six’ Bowl Game as an annual goal! The Badgers, in NC Play, are stepping-up for the B-10, as they travel to Tuscaloosa (9/13) to take on Alabama (9-5 in 21024). Bucky completes its NC Schedule vs Miami OH (MAC) & Middle Tennessee (CUSA), both games are in Mad-Town! In B-10 Play, UW avoids only USC & PSU. The Badgers play National Champ, OSU (10/18) & Illinois (11/22) in Camp Randall, while traveling to Michigan (10/4), Oregon (10/25), & IU in (11/15) as part of the 2025 B-10 slate! In 2025, UW plays Five (5) of the Seven (7) best-performing B-10 outfits in 2024!
https://sullyscollegefootballpage.com/Football_Stats/Conference_Listings.cfm?MCID=1&DVID=3
To determine who plays the toughest schedule in the B-10 we looked at 4 Criteria:
1st criteria to determine the winner) Of the Seven (7) best-performing B-10 teams, in 2024 ... whoever plays the most … is da facto playing the toughest Schedule?
2) 1st Tie Breaker: which of the 7 best are you playing …. OSU, Oregon, & PSU would be considered tougher games then those vs IL, IN, USC, & MI.
3) 2nd Tie Breaker : in the event that Badgers, Cats, & Boilers teams are playing the exact same teams, where do you play them … Home or at their place?
4) 3rd Tie Breaker: So Using that criteria as our evaluator and still tied; we now will look @ how many home conference games you play in that season? In the B-10 you, play 9 conference and as a result, Nine (9) B-10 teams have 5 home conference games in a 2-year rotation while 9 others have 4 in their home stadiums., the 1st year & 5 in year Two! Lets take a look!
So, Who is playing the B-10’s most difficult schedule in 2025?
1. Wisconsin, Northwestern, Purdue play 5 of the B-10 best achievers in 2024 … So a push here;
2. All three of the teams are playing 2 home games & 3 road games, against this competitions. so again no real advantage
3. Since Wisconsin has to play both Ohio State 14-2 & Oregon; UW is the winner (sort of) playing the B-10’s most challenging schedule of 2025!
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