Indiana finished 11-2 under first-year coach Curt Cignetti and made a run to the first 12-team College Football Playoff. It was a dream season in Bloomington.
Yet the Hoosiers were subject to criticism about their strength of schedule. That won't be the case in 2025. Indiana faces three top-10 teams in Sporting News' Post-Spring Top 25 in No. 4 Penn State, No. 6 Oregon and No. 10 Illinois.
Illinois? That's the team that we're going to be talking about in 2025 when it comes to strength of schedule in the Big Ten. This is Year 2 of the 18-team Big Ten, and we put our strength of schedule to work.
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All you have to do is look at the tough games. Sporting News sorted out those schedules by each team based on three factors.
- Ranked opponents. This is the easiest metric. How many opponents in Sporting News' Preseason Top 25 does each team face? Then we gave points for each opponent in AP Poll style (25 for No. 1, 1 for No. 25). So, Ohio State plays No. 1 Texas in the opener. That's 25 points toward the Buckeyes' strength of schedule.
- Home or road games? We added four points to a school's total for each road game against a ranked opponent. We subtracted four points from that total for a home game against a ranked opponent. Neutral-site games are zero points.
- Totals from hardest to easiest. We totaled those two columns and ranked the 18 Big Ten teams. Teams with the highest point total have the toughest schedules. Teams with the lowest point total have the easiest schedules.
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Big Ten's toughest schedules in 2025
Wisconsin
Luke Fickell is 13-13 at Wisconsin, and the Badgers are the only Big Ten team with five ranked opponents on the schedule, and they are one of three teams that face the Buckeyes and Wolverines. The return game at Alabama on Sept. 13 precedes a brutal October where the Badgers will play Michigan, Iowa, Ohio State and Oregon. Indiana and Illinois are on the November portion of the schedule. Wisconsin is 1-9 as an underdog under Fickell. Will they pull a few upsets against this schedule?
Rutgers
The Scarlet Knights had the easiest schedule in the Big Ten by our metrics last season – and they were a trendy pick to make the playoff run that Indiana did in 2024. A Friday night game on Sept. 19 at Iowa kick-starts a schedule that includes four top-10 teams in Ohio State, Penn State, Oregon and Illinois. The Scarlet Knights are 0-20 against the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions since joining the Big Ten. It's going to be difficult for Greg Schiano to lead Rutgers to a third straight winning season.
USC
The Trojans have one of the top three most difficult schedules in the Big Ten for the second straight season, and that includes two-time-zone-travel games at Notre Dame and Illinois. USC was 0-3 in games where they had to travel two time zones or more last year. A road trip to Oregon and a home game against Michigan are part of yet another demanding schedule for coach Lincoln Riley. This is part of the reason why the annual rivalry with the Irish faces uncertainty moving forward.
BENDER: It is not the Trojans' fault the USC-ND series may be ending
Big Ten's easiest schedules in 2025
Illinois
The Illini are coming off a 10-win season, and Ohio State is the only ranked team on the schedule. This is the opportunity for Bret Bielema to make a CFP run, but the road schedule is a little deceptive. Illinois travels to Duke and Indiana in September and also has road trips to Washington and Wisconsin. Illinois is just 5-5 on the road the last two seasons. That will be the test.
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Michigan State
The Spartans should have a bounce-back season under second-year coach Jonathan Smith knowing the only two ranked opponents on the schedule – Penn State and Michigan – have to come to Spartan Stadium. Michigan State is the only Big Ten team that does not have a road game against a ranked opponent. The Spartans have lost three straight games to the Wolverines and four of the last five to the Nittany Lions. Michigan State does have road trips to USC, Indiana and Nebraska. Will any of those teams be ranked at the time?
Oregon
The Ducks were in a three-way tie for the third easiest schedule, but they have just one ranked opponent in Penn State. That is a two-time-zone-travel game for the Ducks on Sept. 27, and Oregon will have to go to Iowa on Nov. 8. The Hawkeyes could be ranked at that point. Unlike USC, Oregon was 3-0 when traveling two time zones last season. The Ducks should be in position to make another CFP run under Dan Lanning.
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Big Ten 2025 football schedule rankings
Using that formula, here are the Big Ten schedule rankings for the 2025 season, which includes a look at those games against ranked opponents. We ranked those scheduled from the hardest to easiest:
| RANK | SCHOOL | LAST YEAR RANK | RANKED OPPONENTS | TOTAL |
| 1 | Wisconsin | 9(t) | vs. No. 2 Ohio State, at No. 6 Oregon, at No. 8 Alabama, vs. No 10 Illinois, vs. No. 16 Michigan | 92 |
| 2 | Rutgers | 18 | at No. 2 Ohio State, vs. No. 4 Penn State, vs. No. 6 Oregon, at No. 10 Illinois | 82 |
| 3 | USC | 2(t) | at No. 5 Notre Dame, at No. 6 Oregon, at No. 10 Illinois, vs. No. 16 Michigan | 75 |
| 4 | Ohio State | 7 | vs. No. 1 Texas, vs. No. 4 Penn State, at No. 10 Illinois, at No. 16 Michigan | 73 |
| 5 | Purdue | 2(t) | at No. 2 Ohio State, at No. 5 Notre Dame, vs. No. 10 Illinois, vs. No. 16 Michigan | 71 |
| 6 | Washington | 6 | vs. No. 2 Ohio State, at No. 6 Oregon, vs. No. 10 Illinois, at No. 16 Michigan | 70 |
| 7 | Northwestern | 9(t) | at No. 4 Penn State, vs. No. 6 Oregon, at No. 10 Illinois, vs. No. 16 Michigan | 68 |
| 8 | Indiana | 12(t) | at No. 4 Penn State, at No. 6 Oregon, vs. No. 10 Illinois | 62 |
| 9 | Minnesota | 15 | at No. 2 Ohio State, at No. 6 Oregon | 52 |
| 10 | UCLA | 5 | at No. 2 Ohio State, vs. No. 4 Penn State | 46 |
| 11 | Penn State | 16 | at No. 2 Ohio State, vs. No. 6 Oregon | 44 |
| 12 | Iowa | 17 | vs. No. 4 Penn State, vs. No. 6 Oregon, at No. 21 Iowa State | 43 |
| 13 | Nebraska | 14 | at No. 4 Penn State, vs. No. 16 Michigan | 32 |
| 14(t) | Michigan | 1 | vs. No. 2 Ohio State, at No. 24 Oklahoma | 26 |
| 14(t) | Maryland | 11 | at No. 10 Illinois, vs. No. 16 Michigan | 26 |
| 14(t) | Oregon | 12(t) | at No. 4 Penn State | 26 |
| 17 | Michigan State | 4 | vs. No. 4 Penn State, vs. No. 16 Michigan | 24 |
| 18 | Illinois | 8 | vs. No. 2 Ohio State | 20 |
Six more Big Ten schedule takeaways
– Travel is a factor. Washington has three Big Ten road games where they have to travel two time zones or more. USC, Oregon and UCLA have four each. The rest of the 14 Big Ten teams each have one trip to the West Coast in Big Ten play. Is that balanced?
– Ohio State is 101-8 in Big Ten regular-season play since Urban Meyer took over in 2012 – the best conference winning percentage of any team in the FBS. Ryan Day is 46-5 in Big Ten play, and four of those losses are to rival Michigan in the last four years. The opener against Texas is part of a tougher schedule this year that includes a home game against Penn State and road trips to Illinois and Michigan.
– UCLA – led by Tennessee transfer quarterback Nico Iamaleava – has just two games against ranked teams in Penn State and Ohio State. Iamaleava faced four ranked teams last season – including the Buckeyes – and was 2-2 in those starts with victories against Oklahoma and Alabama.
MORE: What we can learn from the Nico Iamaleava saga
– Penn State is 5-8 against ranked teams the last three seasons under James Franklin, and Oregon and Ohio State are the challenges in 2025. The Nittany Lions lost to the Ducks 45-37 in the Big Ten championship game. Penn State's last victory against the Buckeyes was in 2016. Those are the games Franklin will be measured by in 2025.
– Purdue first-year coach Barry Odom will have a tough time against a schedule that includes road trips against Ohio State and Notre Dame and home games against Illinois and Michigan. The Boilermakers allowed 45 or more points in seven games last season.
– Illinois might be the go-to sleeper, but Iowa also could be interesting. Penn State and Oregon have to come to Kinnick Stadium, and the Hawkeyes face Iowa State, Nebraska, Wisconsin and USC on the road. Can Iowa go 4-2 against those teams and avoid an upset the rest of the way? A 10-2 season is in play.