COLLEGE FOOTBALL SEASON KICKS OFF WITH THRILLING MATCHUPS AND HIGH STAKES
After a long and busy season for college athletics, the football season arrives with a host of tantalizing angles. A look at some of the big games among the top teams, what’s at stake and the hurdles that must be cleared on the way to the national championship.
When does college football start?
A handful of games kick off the season Aug. 23, with the most intriguing a Big 12 matchup between No. 22 Iowa State and No. 17 Kansas State that will take place in Dublin, Ireland. Both teams are considered contenders in their wide-open conference. Kansas State quarterback Avery Johnson threw for a school-record 25 touchdowns last season and ran for seven more. Iowa State played in the conference title game last year.
The following weekend has some doozies: No. 9 LSU faces No. 4 Clemson, No. 6 Notre Dame visits No. 10 Miami and defending champion No. 3 Ohio State hosts No. 1 Texas. Before the College Football Playoff expanded to 12 teams last year, a game like that might have been make or break. Now, teams have second chances and can afford three (maybe four) losses and still get in.
Who are the favorites?
The AP Top 25 and the coaches poll both list Texas as the preseason No. 1 team and the Longhorns are currently the favorite (plus-450, or 9-2 odds) to win the national championship, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. Ohio State is right behind them (plus-525), followed by No. 5 Georgia and No. 2 Penn State (both 7-1) and then Clemson and No. 7 Oregon (both 9-1).
Key games to watch
Preseason No. 7 Oregon visits No. 2 Penn State on Sept. 27 in a rematch of last season’s Big Ten title game. Penn State also has a game against Ohio State on Nov. 1. …. Speaking of the Buckeyes, the national title helped them get over their fourth straight loss to preseason No. 14 Michigan. That rematch is in its usual spot, Thanksgiving weekend, Nov. 29 at the Big House. … TCU at North Carolina (Bill Belichick’s coaching debut) on Sept. 1 … Oklahoma vs. Texas on Oct. 11 … USC at No. 6 Notre Dame on Oct. 18 … LSU at No. 8 Alabama on Nov. 8 … No. 11 Arizona State at Colorado on Nov. 22.
The 12-team playoff
The College Football Playoff remains at 12 teams this year with one significant tweak: Unlike last year, conference champions will not be guaranteed a bye in the first round. But the best five conference champions are still guaranteed spots in the tournament.
Seeds 5-8 will host first-round games against 9-12 on Dec. 19 (one game) and Dec. 20 (three games). The quarterfinals will be at the Cotton Bowl on Dec. 1, then at the Orange, Rose and Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1. The semifinals will be Jan. 8 at the Fiesta Bowl and Jan. 9 at the Peach Bowl.
The title game will take place at Hard Rock Stadium outside of Miami on Jan. 19.
Heisman watch
Keep in mind that last year’s winner, Travis Hunter, didn’t show up in the watch list in this very space last year. With that said, the early favorites include quarterbacks Arch Manning (Texas), Garrett Nussmeier (LSU) and Cade Klubnik (Clemson), along with Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith and, for those looking for a longshot, Alabama receiver Ryan Williams.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL 2025: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEW SEASON
College football stayed very much in the news throughout the offseason, with details emerging almost weekly about changes in the way the sport works, both on and off the field.
With the kickoff of the 2025 campaign less than a week away, here’s a quick cheat sheet on all that’s changed (and also what hasn’t):
How come players are getting paid now?
This has been developing for decades. It’s rooted in a handful of lawsuits in which players sued to be able to profit from their name, image and likenesses — say, for instance, on the covers of a video game or the back of a team jerseys.
Starting this season, the schools themselves will be able to pay the players directly for using their NIL, which further blurs the line between amateur and professionalism.
What still isn’t allowed is “pay for play” — where a school simply signs a player to play for them — though many people argue these NIL deals are simply pay for play in disguise under the term “revenue sharing.”
There have been, however, persistent calls for players to be treated more like employees — for instance, through collective bargaining — and that figures to be the next big debate to play out.
How much money do the players make? And who pays?
Contracts range from several million dollars for top quarterbacks such as Arch Manning of Texas to four-digit deals for players far down on the depth chart.
Schools are allowed to share 22% of a portion of their revenue this school year, which amounts to $20.5 million that has to be split among all sports, but mostly goes to football and men’s basketball.
Who pays? Well, often it’s us, the fans, one way or another. Some schools are increasing the cost of tickets and ticket licenses; others are upping concession prices and a few more have added athletic surcharges to tuition bills.
Most every big school has been hitting up boosters to fill in the gaps that the $20.5 million and added scholarship costs will create. Some sports departments are getting extra funding from government.
Did Deion Sanders stay at Colorado?
He did. Though there was speculation wide and far that Sanders might follow his sons Shedeur and Shilo out the door after two years, the coach insisted he was with the Buffs for the long-haul. Just as preseason camp was warming up, Sanders disclosed he’d been diagnosed with bladder cancer, which he said had been treated.
“I’m healthy, I’m vibrant,” Sanders said.
His team? Who knows? Replacing a star quarterback and a Heisman Trophy winner in Travis Hunter is never a sure thing. The over/under on the CU win total this year is 6.5 according to the MGM Sportsbook.
Why is Bill Belichick coaching in college?
The 73-year-old, six-time Super Bowl winner with the New England Patriots said he was looking for a new challenge and a place to build a program the way he wanted, instead of the way NFL teams he interviewed with were telling him.
He also cited the close connection he had to his new school, North Carolina, where his father served as an assistant coach in the 1950s.
What about Alabama?
The Crimson Tide’s four losses in coach Kalen DeBoer’s first season were the most since Nick Saban’s debut in 2007. The Tide’s hopes for a turnaround rest on quarterback Ty Simpson, who won the starting job this month after sitting on the sideline for his first three seasons in Tuscaloosa.
Simpson is a rarity — a five-star recruit who didn’t bail on his school in search of more playing time and potentially more money.
Alabama’s opener is Aug. 30 at Florida State.
When do the games start?
Things kick off Saturday, with Big 12 rivals Kansas State and Iowa State meeting in Ireland. Big games next weekend include No. 1 Texas at No. 3 Ohio State, No. 9 LSU at No. 4 Clemson and No. 6 Notre Dame at No. 10 Miami.
Anything new about the College Football Playoff?
This is the second year of the 12-team playoff. There will be four rounds of games, starting Dec. 19 and ending exactly a month later at Hard Rock Stadium near Miami.
The five best conference champions will earn automatic bids into the tournament, but in a tweak from last year, the four best among them will not be guaranteed a top-four seed and a first-round bye. Instead, they’ll be slotted in by how the 13-person selection committee ranks them.
So, for instance, if Texas and Alabama are CFP No. 1 and 2 heading into the SEC title game and Texas wins a close one, but Alabama only falls to No. 4, the Tide would still get the 4 seed and a first-round bye.
How to keep track of who’s good and not good
After Labor Day, the AP releases its weekly Top 25 poll every Sunday. The CFP selection committee starts releasing its weekly rankings the first week of November. Its last poll, on Dec. 8, will slot the teams into the playoff bracket.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL’S NEW ERA: BIG MONEY, SAME OLD POWERHOUSES LINE UP AS THE FAVORITES
Headline after headline during the offseason spoke to the same reality for college football: Millions of dollars are headed directly into the pockets of players and only programs that can nimbly recalibrate and replenish their resources will succeed.
Now, with preseason camps winding down and opening kickoffs approaching, a different reality hits: The more things change, the more they stay the same.
The preseason AP Top 25 for 2025 could have just as easily come from 1975. The first official season of revenue sharing between schools and their players in the new name, image and likeness era of college sports is sorting programs into familiar categories.
The first includes college football’s biggest brands, which are dominating the list of favorites once again: No. 1 Texas, No. 2 Penn State, No. 3 Ohio State and No. 4 Clemson.
Second are teams we’ve talked about over the past few decades that are using money and celebrity coaches to elbow their way into the conversation: Colorado, North Carolina and No. 23 Texas Tech.
And then there are those who see the second year of the 12-team playoff and a different playing field created by revenue sharing and think they might be able to fashion a turnaround not unlike No. 20 Indiana’s worst to (almost) first resurgence last year: Pick a name, any name, but a good starting point might be UCLA (now with star QB Nico Iamaleava ) or Virginia (which, like Indiana last year, avoids pretty much every top team on its conference schedule).
Jeffrey Kessler, the attorney who helped broker the massive legal settlement that compelled virtually all schools eligible for the playoff to share millions with their athletes, says these times remind him of the early 1990s, when the NFL introduced unrestricted free agency and the salary cap.
“It’s a big change,” Kessler said. “But I think the system will adapt and the better-managed athletic departments will do well, as they always do. And athletic departments that are poorly managed won’t do so well, and probably didn’t do so well in the old system, either.”
Heisman watch equals title watch
Pay or no pay, one thing hasn’t changed in college football or any sport: Great players win games.
It’s no big surprise, then, to see Texas at the top of almost everyone’s watch list. Leading the Longhorns is none other than Arch Manning, the sophomore quarterback with the reported $6 million-plus NIL deal, and the latest burgeoning star in a family that has produced lots of them, from Archie to Peyton to Eli.
“For Arch, he grew up in this era of seeing high-level football,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “He’s watched Super Bowls. He’s watched gold jackets getting put on. He’s been to playoff games. He’s been recruited at the highest level as the No. 1 player in the country.”
Though it doesn’t always work out, there are plenty of schools where a player with hopes of winning the Heisman Trophy also will have a legitimate chance to win the CFP.
Besides Manning, other favorites include receiver Jeremiah Smith, whose success with defending champion Ohio State figures to depend a lot on whether the Buckeyes’ next quarterback, Julian Sayin, who is also in the Heisman mix, is as good as advertised.
Clemson QB Cade Klubnik is among the favorites, as are the Tigers for a repeat title in the ACC.
Quarterback Drew Allar is in his fourth season at Penn State, where the Nittany Lions are expected to face Ohio State for the Big Ten title (They play Nov. 1, and coach James Franklin is 1-10 against the Buckeyes).
Meanwhile, LSU appears to be only a secondary threat to Texas as Georgia and Alabama are in the SEC, but Garrett Nussmeier is in that Heisman mix and can stay there with a good performance against Klubnik and Clemson on Aug. 30.
Is the hype machine same as the win machine?
Nobody has defined this new era of NIL as much as Colorado coach Deion Sanders.
Sanders brought his unapologetic swagger to a program that had been in the dumps for decades. He made the Buffaloes relevant, producing TV ratings, celebrity sightings, a Heisman winner in Travis Hunter and maybe the most talked-about player in the sport in his own son, Shedeur, whose tumble to the fifth round of the NFL draft said as much about his talent as the football-loving public’s reaction to a new era in which players hold more power.
Winning? That was another thing. Deion Sanders is 13-12 over his two seasons, and now that Hunter and Shedeur are gone, the only big expectations for CU are coming from Boulder.
“The next phase is we’re going to win differently, but we’re going to win,” Sanders said.
Another celebrity coach, Bill Belichick, will start answering the question of whether fans and wins will follow him to North Carolina, a school where the excitement often doesn’t ramp up until basketball season.
The 73-year-old coach said he was building an NFL-style program — meaning everything he does, from nutrition to training to, yes, contracts, will look more like the pros. It was the sort of notion that used to be spoken softly but can now be used as a selling point.
“Everything we do here is predicated on building a pro team,” said Carolina’s new general manager, Mike Lombardi, who worked with Belichick in the pros. “We consider ourselves the 33rd (NFL) team because everybody who’s involved with our program has had some form or aspect in pro football.”
Over in Lubbock, Texas, the Texas Tech athletic program has never been afraid to swing big.
The program that gave us swashbuckling coach Mike Leach and Super Bowl quarterback Patrick Mahomes is being bankrolled by the billionaire head of its board of regents, Cody Campbell, who now has the school’s football field named after him.
Texas Tech has made a series of high-profile and expensive player signings — some for high schoolers who haven’t arrived yet — and is estimated to be spending more on NIL than any program in the country besides Texas.
“I know there’s a lot of expectations on this team,” said coach Joey McGuire, who is coming off an 8-5 season. “We look at it as opportunities.”
Do new payrolls mean even footing for everyone?
The new world of revenue sharing and an expanded playoff does give more reason for hope across the country.
When searching for blueprints of how that can work, most long-suffering programs will look to Indiana.
The Hoosiers were an also-ran for decades, with one Rose Bowl appearance ever and one winning record in a non-COVID-19 season since 1995. Then coach Curt Cignetti arrived, brought 54 new players from the transfer portal and turned Indiana into a winner overnight.
It was a remarkable turnaround that ran counter to the realities seen in these stats:
— There are 70 teams that make up the Power Four conferences, plus Pac-12 leftovers Oregon State and Washington State.
— Since 2000, 36 of those teams have captured a total of 137 outright or shared league titles that have been won between the five largest conferences.
— Of those 137 titles, 92 (67%) have been captured by 10 programs that have won five or more. The other 26 have combined to win 45.
— That leaves 34 programs (48.5%) that haven’t won any. In the NFL over the same period, only 10 teams (31%) have failed to reach the Super Bowl.
Those numbers reflect how hard it is to break through in big-time college football but also the size of the glass ceiling that could be shattered in this new era of college sports.
“I think the rev-share world definitely has a chance to bring things to a more balanced circumstance,” said Purdue athletic director Mike Bobinksi, whose football program has a new coach, Barry Odom, after going 1-11 last season. “Will there always be some programs that operate in a little bit of a different reality? Of course. But we’re not concerned about that, nor are we crying in our beer about that. We’ve just got to find a way.”
VOLS TAB JOEY AGUILAR AS STARTING QB AFTER NICO IAMALEAVA TRANSFER
A former UCLA quarterback has been named the starter for Tennessee after the Volunteers lost their star QB to the Bruins during the offseason.
Joey Aguilar was named QB1 for Tennessee on Sunday, replacing former Volunteer Nico Iamaleava, who transferred to UCLA in April. Aguilar, who played for Appalachian State in 2023-24, initially transferred to the Bruins and was expected to take over as the starting quarterback.
But a day after the Big Ten program landed Iamaleava, Aguilar decided to leave for Knoxville, Tenn.
Volunteers coach Josh Heupel said on Friday that the senior QB was “handling himself extremely well,” noting that Aguilar seemed “extremely comfortable” guiding the Tennessee attack.
Aguilar, who beat out redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger for the starting role, threw for 6,760 yards and 56 touchdowns in two seasons with Appalachian State.
He looks to continue where Iamaleava left off after Tennessee finished No. 7 in the final College Football Playoff rankings before falling to eventual champion Ohio State in the first round of the playoffs last season.
The Volunteers open their regular-season schedule against Syracuse in Atlanta on Aug. 30.
2025 BIG 10 FOOTBALL PREVIEW
PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH
1 PENN STATE…NATIONAL RANKING #2…2024 RECORD: 13-3, 8-1 BIG 10
2025 PENN STATE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
AUG 30 NEVADA
SEPT 6 FIU
SEPT 13 VILLANOVA
SEPT 20 OPEN DATE
SEPT 27 OREGON
OCT 4 AT UCLA
OCT 11 NORTHWESTERN
OCT 18 AT IOWA
OCT 25 OPEN DATE
NOV 1 AT OHIO STATE
NOV 8 INDIANA
NOV 15 AT MICHIGAN STATE
NOV 22 NEBRASKA
NOV 29 AT RUTGERS
NOT ON THE SCHEDULE:
ILLINOIS, MARYLAND, MICHIGAN, MINNESOTA, PURDUE, USC, WASHINGTON, WISCONSIN
2 OHIO STATE…NATIONAL RANKING #3…2024 RECORD: 14-2, 8-2 BIG 10
2025 OHIO STATE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
AUG 30 TEXAS
SEPT 6 GRAMBLING STATE
SEPT 13 OHIO
SEPT 20 OPEN DATE
SEPT 27 AT WASHINGTON
OCT 4 MINNESOTA
OCT 11 AT ILLINOIS
OCT 18 AT WISCONSIN
OCT 25 OPEN DATE
NOV 1 PENN STATE
NOV 8 AT PURDUE
NOV 15 UCLA
NOV 22 RUTGERS
NOV 29 AT MICHIGAN
NOT ON THE SCHEDULE:
INDIANA, IOWA, MARYLAND, MICHIGAN STATE, NEBRASKA, NORTHWESTERN, OREGON, USC
3 OREGON…NATIONAL RANKING #9…2024 RECORD: 13-1, 9-0 BIG 10
2025 OREGON FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
AUG 30 MONTANA STATE
SEPT 6 OKLAHOMA STATE
SEPT 13 AT NORTHWESTERN
SEPT 20 OREGON STATE
SEPT 27 AT PENN STATE
OCT 4 OPEN DATE
OCT 11 INDIANA
OCT 18 AT RUTGERS
OCT 25 WISCONSIN
NOV 1 OPEN DATE
NOV 8 AT IOWA
NOV 15 MINNESOTA
NOV 22 USC
NOV 29 AT WASHINGTON
NOT ON THE SCHEDULE:
ILLINOIS, MARYLAND, MICHIGAN, MICHIGAN STATE, NEBRASKA, OHIO STATE, PURDUE, UCLA
4 MICHIGAN…NATIONAL RANKING #15…2024 RECORD: 8-5, 5-4 BIG 10
2025 MICHIGAN FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
AUG 30 NEW MEXICO
SEPT 6 AT OKLAHOMA
SEPT 13 CENTRAL MICHIGAN
SEPT 20 AT NEBRASKA
SEPT 27 OPEN DATE
OCT 4 WISCONSIN
OCT 11 AT USC
OCT 18 WASHINGTON
OCT 25 AT MICHIGAN STATE
NOV 1 PURDUE
NOV 8 OPEN DATE
NOV 15 AT NORTHWESTERN
NOV 22 AT MARYLAND
NOV 29 OHIO STATE
NOT ON THE SCHEDULE:
ILLINOIS, INDIANA, IOWA, MINNESOTA, OREGON, PENN STATE, RUTGERS, UCLA
5 INDIANA…NATIONAL RANKING #16…2024 RECORD: 11-2, 8-1 BIG 10
2025 INDIANA FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
AUG 30 OLD DOMINION
SEPT 6 KENNESAW STATE
SEPT 13 INDIANA STATE
SEPT 20 ILLINOIS
SEPT 27 AT IOWA
OCT 4 OPEN DATE
OCT 11 AT OREGON
OCT 18 MICHIGAN STATE
OCT 25 UCLA
NOV 1 AT MARYLAND
NOV 8 AT PENN STATE
NOV 15 WISCONSIN
NOV 22 OPEN DATE
NOV 29 AT PURDUE
NOT ON THE SCHEDULE:
MICHIGAN, MINNESOTA, NEBRASKA, NORTHWESTERN, OHIO STATE, RUTGERS, USC, WASHINGTON
6 ILLINOIS…NATIONAL RANKING #17…2024 RECORD: 10-3, 6-3 BIG 10
2025 ILLINOIS FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
AUG 30 WESTERN ILLINOIS
SEPT 6 AT DUKE
SEPT 13 WESTERN MICHIGAN
SEPT 20 AT INDIANA
SEPT 27 USC
OCT 4 AT PURDUE
OCT 11 OHIO STATE
OCT 18 OPEN DATE
OCT 25 AT WASHINGTON
NOV 1 RUTGERS
NOV 8 OPEN DATE
NOV 15 MARYLAND
NOV 22 AT WISCONSIN
NOV 29 NORTHWESTERN
NOT ON THE SCHEDULE:
IOWA, MICHIGAN, MICHIGAN STATE, MINNESOTA, NEBRASKA, OREGON, PENN STATE, UCLA
7 IOWA…NATIONAL RANKING #27…2024 RECORD: 8-5, 6-3 BIG 10
2025 IOWA FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
AUG 30 UALBANY
SEPT 6 AT IOWA STATE
SEPT 13 UMASS
SEPT 20 AT RUTGERS
SEPT 27 INDIANA
OCT 4 OPEN DATE
OCT 11 AT WISCONSIN
OCT 18 PENN STATE
OCT 25 MINNESOTA
NOV 1 OPEN DATE
NOV 8 OREGON
NOV 15 AT USC
NOV 22 MICHIGAN STATE
NOV 29 AT NEBRASKA
NOT ON THE SCHEDULE:
ILLINOIS, MARYLAND, MICHIGAN, NORTHWESTERN, OHIO STATE, PURDUE, UCLA, WASHINGTON
8 NEBRASKA…NATIONAL RANKING #28…2024 RECORD: 7-6, 3-6 BIG 10
2025 NEBRASKA FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
AUG 30 VS CINCINNATI (IN KANSAS CITY)
SEPT 6 AKRON
SEPT 13 HOUSTON CHRISTIAN
SEPT 20 MICHIGAN
SEPT 27 OPEN DATE
OCT 4 MICHIGAN STATE
OCT 11 AT MARYLAND
OCT 18 AT MINNESOTA
OCT 25 NORTHWESTERN
NOV 1 USC
NOV 8 AT UCLA
NOV 15 OPEN DATE
NOV 22 AT PENN STATE
NOV 29 IOWA
NOT ON THE SCHEDULE:
ILLINOIS, INDIANA, OHIO STATE, OREGON, PURDUE, RUTGERS, WASHINGTON, WISCONSIN
9 USC…NATIONAL RANKING #34…2024 RECORD: 7-6, 4-5 BIG 10
2025 USC FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
AUG 30 MISSOURI STATE
SEPT 6 GEORGIA SOUTHERN
SEPT 13 AT PURDUE
SEPT 20 MICHIGAN STATE
SEPT 27 AT ILLINOIS
OCT 4 OPEN DATE
OCT 11 MICHIGAN
OCT 18 AT NOTRE DAME
OCT 25 OPEN DATE
NOV 1 AT NEBRASKA
NOV 8 NORTHWESTERN
NOV 15 IOWA
NOV 22 AT OREGON
NOV 29 UCLA
NOT ON THE SCHEDULE:
INDIANA, MARYLAND, MINNESOTA, OHIO STATE, PENN STATE, RUTGERS, WASHINGTON, WISCONSIN
10 WASHINGTON…NATIONAL RANKING #38,,,2024 RECORD: 6-7, 4-5 BIG 10
2025 WASHINGTON FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
AUG 30 COLORADO STATE
SEPT 6 UC DAVIS
SEPT 13 OPEN DATE
SEPT 20 AT WASHINGTON STATE
SEPT 27 OHIO STATE
OCT 4 AT MARYLAND
OCT 11 RUTGERS
OCT 18 AT MICHIGAN
OCT 25 ILLINOIS
NOV 1 OPEN DATE
NOV 8 AT WISCONSIN
NOV 15 PURDUE
NOV 22 AT UCLA
NOV 29 OREGON
NOT ON THE SCHEDULE:
INDIANA, IOWA, MICHIGAN STATE, MINNESOTA, NEBRASKA, NORTHWESTERN, PENN STATE, USC
11 MINNESOTA…NATIONAL RANKING #42…2024 RECORD: 8-5, 5-4 BIG 10
2025 MINNESOTA FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
AUG 30 BUFFALO
SEPT 6 NORTHWESTERN STATE
SEPT 13 AT CAL
SEPT 20 OPEN DATE
SEPT 27 RUTGERS
OCT 4 AT OHIO STATE
OCT 11 PURDUE
OCT 18 NEBRASKA
OCT 25 AT IOWA
NOV 1 MICHIGAN STATE
NOV 8 OPEN DATE
NOV 15 AT OREGON
NOV 22 AT NORTHWESTERN
NOV 29 WISCONSIN
ILLINOIS, INDIANA, MARYLAND, MICHIGAN, PENN STATE, UCLA, USC, WASHINGTON
12 RUTGERS…NATIONAL RANKING #43…2024 RECORD: 7-6, 4-5 BIG 10
2025 RUTGERS FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
AUG 30 OHIO
SEPT 6 MIAMI UNIVERSITY
SEPT 13 NORFOLK STATE
SEPT 20 IOWA
SEPT 27 AT MINNESOTA
OCT 4 OPEN DATE
OCT 11 AT WASHINGTON
OCT 18 OREGON
OCT 25 AT PURDUE
NOV 1 AT ILLINOIS
NOV 8 MARYLAND
NOV 15 OPEN DATE
NOV 22 AT OHIO STATE
NOV 29 PENN STATE
NOT ON THE SCHEDULE:
INDIANA, MICHIGAN, MICHIGAN STATE, NEBRASKA, NORTHWESTERN, UCLA, USC, WISCONSIN
13 WISCONSIN…NATIONAL RANKING #44…2024 RECORD 5-7, 3-6 BIG 10
2025 WISCONSIN FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
AUG 30 MIAMI UNIVERSITY
SEPT 6 MIDDLE TENNESSEE
SEPT 13 AT ALABAMA
SEPT 20 MARYLAND
SEPT 27 OPEN DATE
OCT 4 AT MICHIGAN
OCT 11 IOWA
OCT 18 OHIO STATE
OCT 25 AT OREGON
NOV 1 OPEN DATE
NOV 8 WASHINGTON
NOV 15 AT INDIANA
NOV 22 ILLINOIS
NOV 29 AT MINNESOTA
NOT ON THE SCHEDULE:
MICHIGAN STATE, NEBRASKA, NORTHWESTERN, PENN STATE, PURDUE, RUTGERS, UCLA, USC
14 MICHIGAN STATE…NATIONAL RANKING #53…2024 RECORD: 5-7, 3-6 BIG 10
2025 MICHIGAN STATE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
AUG 30 WESTERN MICHIGAN
SEPT 6 BOSTON COLLEGE
SEPT 13 YOUNGSTOWN STATE
SEPT 20 AT USC
SEPT 27 OPEN DATE
OCT 4 AT NEBRASKA
OCT 11 UCLA
OCT 18 AT INDIANA
OCT 25 MICHIGAN
NOV 1 AT MINNESOTA
NOV 8 OPEN DATE
NOV 15 PENN STATE
NOV 22 AT IOWA
NOV 29 MARYLAND
NOT ON THE SCHEDULE:
ILLINOIS, NORTHWESTERN, OHIO STATE, OREGON, PURDUE, RUTGERS, WASHINGTON, WISCONSIN
15 UCLA…NATIONAL RANKING #62, 2024 RECORD: 5-7, 3-6 BIG 10
2025 UCLA FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
AUG 30 UTAH
SEPT 6 AT UNLV
SEPT 13 NEW MEXICO
SEPT 20 OPEN DATE
SEPT 27 AT NORTHWESTERN
OCT 4 PENN STATE
OCT 11 AT MICHIGAN STATE
OCT 18 MARYLAND
OCT 25 AT INDIANA
NOV 1 OPEN DATE
NOV 8 NEBRASKA
NOV 15 AT OHIO STATE
NOV 22 WASHINGTON
NOV 29 AT USC
NOT ON THE SCHEDULE:
ILLINOIS, IOWA, MICHIGAN, MINNESOTA, OREGON, PURDUE, RUTGERS, WISCONSIN
16 NORTHWESTERN…NATIONAL RANKING #71…2024 RECORD: 4-8, 2-7 BIG 10
2025 NORTHWESTERN FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
AUG 30 AT TULANE
SEPT 6 WESTERN ILLINOIS
SEPT 13 OREGON
SEPT 20 OPEN DATE
SEPT 27 UCLA
OCT 4 ULM
OCT 11 AT PENN STATE
OCT 18 PURDUE
OCT 25 AT NEBRASKA
NOV 1 OPEN DATE
NOV 8 AT USC
NOV 15 MICHIGAN
NOV 22 MINNESOTA
NOV 29 AT ILLINOIS
NOT ON THE SCHEDULE:
INDIANA, IOWA, MARYLAND, MICHIGAN STATE, OHIO STATE, RUTGERS, WASHINGTON, WISCONSIN
17 MARYLAND…NATIONAL RANKING #78,,,2024 RECORD: 4-8, 1-8 BIG 10
2025 MARYLAND FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
AUG 30 FLORIDA ATLANTIC
SEPT 6 NORTHERN ILLINOIS
SEPT 13 TOWSON
SEPT 20 AT WISCONSIN
SEPT 27 OPEN DATE
OCT 4 WASHINGTON
OCT 11 NEBRASKA
OCT 18 AT UCLA
OCT 25 OPEN DATE
NOV 1 INDIANA
NOV 8 AT RUTGERS
NOV 15 AT ILLINOIS
NOV 22 MICHIGAN
NOV 29 AT MICHIGAN STATE
NOT ON THE SCHEDULE:
IOWA, MINNESOTA, NORTHWESTERN, OHIO STATE, OREGON, PENN STATE, PURDUE, USC
18 PURDUE…NATIONAL RANKING #104…2024 RECORD: 1-11, 0-9 BIG 10
2025 PURDUE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
AUG 30 BALL STATE
SEPT 6 SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
SEPT 13 USC
SEPT 20 AT NOTRE DAME
SEPT 27 OPEN DATE
OCT 4 ILLINOIS
OCT 11 AT MINNESOTA
OCT 18 AT NORTHWESTERN
OCT 25 RUTGERS
NOV 1 AT MICHIGAN
NOV 8 OHIO STATE
NOV 15 AT WASHINGTON
NOV 22 OPEN DATE
NOV 29 INDIANA
NOT ON THE SCHEDULE:
IOWA, MARYLAND, MICHIGAN STATE, NEBRASKA, OREGON, PENN STATE, UCLA, WISCONSIN
BIG 10 CHAMPIONSHIP: PENN STATE OVER OHIO STATE
GAMES TO WATCH
AUGUST 30 TEXAS AT OHIO STATE
SEPTEMBER 6 IOWA AND IOWA STATE
SEPTEMBER 27 MORGAN AT PENN STATE
OCTOBER 11 OHIO STATE AT ILLINOIS
OCTOBER 11 MICHIGAN AT USC
OCTOBER 11 INDIANA AT OREGON
OCTOBER 18 USC AT NOTRE DAME
NOVEMBER 1 PENN STATE OHIO STATE
NOVEMBER 8 INDIANA AT PENN STATE
NOVEMBER 28 NEBRASKA AT IOWA
NOVEMBER 29 OREGON AT WASHINGTON
NOVEMBER 29 OHIO STATE AT MICHIGAN STATE
RECRUITING RANKINGS BY SCHOOL
1 OREGON
2 OHIO STATE
3 MICHIGAN
4 PENN STATE
5 USC
6 NEBRASKA
7 WASHINGTON
8 WISCONSIN
9 RUTGERS
10 MARYLAND
11 IOWA
12 ILLINOIS
13 UCLA
14 MICHIGAN STATE
15 MINNESOTA
16 INDIANA
17 NORTHWESTERN
18 PURDUE
TOP RECRUITS
QB BRYCE UNDERWOOD MICHIGAN
WR DAKORIEN MOORE OREGON
QB HUSAN LONGSTREET USC
WR QUINCY PORTER OHIO STATE
OT ANDREW BABAOLA MICHIGAN
CB NA’EEM OFFORD OREGON
CB DEVIN SANCHEZ OHIO STATE
TAIVEN ST. CLAIR OHIO STATE
TE ANDREW OLESH PENN STATE
S TREY MCNUTT OREGON
ALL BIG 10 TEAM
OFFENSE
QB DREW ALLAR PENN STATE
RB NICHOLAS SINGLETON PENN STATE
RB MAKHI HUGHES OREGON
AP KAYTRON ALLEN PENN STATE
WR JEREMIAH SMITH OHIO STATE
WR ELIJAH SARRATT INDIANA
WR CARNELL TATE OHIO STATE
TE MAX KLARE OHIO STATE
C LOGAN JONES IOWA
OL OLAIVAVEGA IOANE PENN STATE
OL JC DAVIS ILLINOIS
OL RILEY MAHLMAN WISCONSIN
OL GENNINGS DUNKER IOWA
DEFENSE
DL MIKAIL KAMARA INDIANA
DL DANI DENNIS-SUTTON PENN STATE
DL MAYAYO UIAGALELEI OREGON
DL DERRICK MOORE MICHIGAN
LB BRYCE BOETTCHER OREGON
LB GABE JACAS ILLINOIS
LB AIDEN FISHER INDIANA
LB SONNY STYLES OHIO STATE
DB D’ANGELO PONDS INDIANA
DB DILLON THIENEMAN OREGON
DB CALEB DOWNS OHIO STATE
DB KOI PERICH MINNESOTA
SPECIALISTS
K DOMINIC ZVADA MICHIGAN
P RHYS DAKIN IOWA
KR/PR KADEN WETJEN IOWA
TOP TRANSFERS
QB NICO IAMALEAVA UCLA
OL ISAIAH WORLD OREGON
S DILLON THIENEMAN OREGON
RB MAKHI HUGHES OREGON
QB FERNANDO MENDOZA INDIANA
CB TACARIO DAVIS WASHINGTON
QB MARK GRONOWSKI IOWA
WR TREBOR PENA PENN STATE
WR DANE KEY NEBRASKA
RB JUSTICE HAYNES MICHIGAN
