2025 Football Schedules for the B1G as League looks to defend Ohio State's National Championship

March 5, 2025 by CollegeFootballPoll.com Staff

The Big Ten Conference 2025 football schedule marks the second season with 18 teams, no divisional format and the use of the Flex Protect XVIII model.

Ohio State, which won the 2024 season National Championship by defeating Notre Dame 34-23, opens August 30th in the Horseshoe against Texas. The two teams met in the semifinals in the Cotton Bowl with the Buckeyes prevailing 28-14.

Ohio State, naturally, topped the Final 2024 Congrove Computer Rankings while Notre Dame finished 3rd and Texas wound up at No. 4.

Oregon was 2nd in the final poll, finishing just 3/10ths of a ratings point behind the Buckeyes after a 13-1 campaign in which the Ducks split a pair of games with Ohio State. In the first game, Oregon won 32-31 in Corvallis on October 12 in a regular season contest, but Ohio State easily eliminated Oregon from the playoffs by rolling to a 41-21 victory in a quarterfinal game at the Rose Bowl.

Penn State (13-3) was 5th after falling 27-24 to the Irish in the semifinal game in the Orange Bowl.

Meanwhile, Indiana went 11-2 and was ranked 8th after losing 27-17 at Notre Dame in the first round of the playoffs. It was the first 10-win season in history for the Hoosiers as they managed that feat in Curt Cignetti's first season in Bloomington after he moved over from James Madison..

Illinois was No. 22 after a 10-3 season that closed with a 21-17 win over South Carolina in the Cheez-It Bowl.

The model features a combination of protected opponents and rotating opponents for universities. Each member institution will continue to play nine intraconference games per season, and teams will play every other conference opponent at least twice – once home and once away – and will play rotating opponents no more than three times in a five-year period.

The 2025 season will conclude with the annual Big Ten Football Championship Game at Lucas Oil Stadium, which will feature the top two teams in the overall conference standings at the end of the regular season, with the winner earning the Big Ten Championship.

Selected Saturday games in the 2025 season may be adjusted to select Fridays and other special dates, including Labor Day Sunday and Black Friday. The 2026 football schedule will be announced in the future.

The conference announced on February 21 that it will hold its football Media Days from July 22-24 in Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. Indianapolis will still host a conference championship game, but the league is among many who are looking at the sense of staging such contests going forward when they can easily force the ouster of the loser from the bigger picture, which is the college football playoff.

Illinois

8/30 Western Illinois (FCS)
9/6 at Duke
9/13 Western Michigan
9/20 at Indiana
9/27 USC*
10/4 at Purdue*
10/11 Ohio State*
10/25 at Washington*
11/1 Rutgers*
11/15 Maryland*
11/22 at Wisconsin*
11/29 Northwestern*

Indiana

8/30 Old Dominion
9/6 Kennesaw State
9/12 Indiana State (FCS)
9/20 Illinois*
9/27 at Iowa*
10/11 at Oregon*
10/18 Michigan State*
10/25 UCLA*
11/1 at Maryland*
11/8 at Penn State*
11/15 Wisconsin*
11/28 at Purdue*

Iowa

8/30 Albany (FCS)
9/6 at Iowa State
9/13 Massachusetts
9/19 at Rutgers*
9/27 Indiana*
10/11 at Wisconsin*
10/18 Penn State*
10/25 Minnesota*
11/8 Oregon*
11/15 at USC*
11/22 Michigan State*
11/28 at Nebraska*

Maryland

8/30 Florida Atlantic
9/6 Northern Illinois
9/13 Towson (FCS)
9/20 at Wisconsin*
10/4 Washington*
10/11 Nebraska*
10/18 at UCLA*
11/1 Indiana*
11/8 at Rutgers*
11/15 at Illinois*
11/22 Michigan*
11/29 Michigan State* (Detroit)

Michigan

8/30 New Mexico
9/6 at Oklahoma
9/13 Central Michigan
9/20 at Nebraska*
10/4 Wisconsin*
10/11 at USC*
10/18 Washington*
10/25 at Michigan State*
11/1 Purdue*
11/15 at Northwestern*
11/22 at Maryland*
11/29 Ohio State*

Michigan State

8/29 Western Michigan
9/6 Boston College
9/13 Youngstown State (FCS)
9/20 at USC*
10/4 at Nebraska*
10/11 UCLA*
10/18 at Indiana*
10/25 Michigan*
11/1 at Minnesota*
11/15 Penn State*
11/22 at Iowa*
11/29 Maryland* (at Detroit, Ford Field)

Minnesota

8/28 Buffalo
9/6 NW State, LA (FCS)
9/13 at California
9/27 Rutgers*
10/4 at Ohio State*
10/11 Purdue*
10/17 Nebraska*
10/25 at Iowa*
11/1 Michigan State*
11/14 at Oregon*
11/22 at Northwestern*
11/29 Wisconsin*

Nebraska

8/28 Cincinnati (Kansas City)
9/6 Akron
9/13 Houston Christian (FCS)
9/20 Michigan*
10/4 Michigan State*
10/11 at Maryland*
10/17 at Minnesota*
10/25 Northwestern*
11/1 USC*
11/8 at UCLA*
11/22 at Penn State*
11/28 Iowa*

Northwestern

8/30 at Tulane
9/5 Western Illinois (FCS)
9/13 Oregon*
9/27 UCLA*
10/4 ULM
10/11 at Penn State*
10/18 Purdue*
10/25 at Nebraska*
11/7 at USC*
11/15 Michigan* (Wrigley)
11/22 Minnesota* (Wrigley)
11/29 at Illinois*

Ohio State

8/30 Texas
9/6 Grambling (FCS)
9/13 Ohio
9/27 at Washington*
10/4 Minnesota*
10/11 at Illinois*
10/18 at Wisconsin*
11/1 Penn State*
11/8 at Purdue*
11/15 UCLA*
11/22 Rutgers*
11/29 at Michigan*

Oregon

8/30 Montana State (FCS)
9/6 Oklahoma State
9/13 at Northwestern*
9/20 Oregon State
9/27 at Penn State*
10/11 Indiana*
10/18 at Rutgers*
10/25 Wisconsin*
11/8 at Iowa*
11/14 Minnesota*
11/22 USC*
11/29 at Washington*

Penn State

8/30 Nevada
9/6 Florida International
9/13 Villanova (FCS)
9/27 Oregon*
10/4 at UCLA*
10/11 Northwestern*
10/18 at Iowa*
11/1 at Ohio State*
11/8 Indiana*
11/15 at Michigan State*
11/22 Nebraska*
11/29 at Rutgers*

Purdue

8/30 Ball State
9/6 Southern Illinois (FCS)
9/13 USC*
9/20 at Notre Dame
10/4 Illinois*
10/11 at Minnesota*
10/18 at Northwestern*
10/25 Rutgers*
11/1 at Michigan*
11/8 Ohio State*
11/15 at Washington*
11/28 Indiana*

Rutgers

8/28 Ohio
9/6 Miami (Ohio)
9/13 Norfolk State (FCS)
9/20 Iowa*
9/27 at Minnesota*
10/10 at Washington*
10/18 Oregon*
10/25 at Purdue*
11/1 at Illinois*
11/8 Maryland*
11/22 at Ohio State*
11/29 Penn State*

UCLA

8/30 Utah
9/6 at UNLV
9/12 New Mexico
9/27 at Northwestern*
10/4 Penn State*
10/11 at Michigan State*
10/18 Maryland*
10/25 at Indiana*
11/8 Nebraska*
11/15 at Ohio State*
11/22 Washington*
11/29 at USC*

USC

8/30 Missouri State (FCS)
9/6 Georgia Southern
9/13 Purdue*
9/20 Michigan State*
9/27 at Illinois*
10/11 Michigan*
10/18 at Notre Dame
11/1 at Nebraska*
11/7 Northwestern*
11/15 Iowa*
11/22 at Oregon*
11/29 UCLA*

Washington

8/30 Colorado State
9/6 UC Davis (FCS)
9/20 at Washington State
9/27 Ohio State*
10/4 at Maryland*
10/10 Rutgers*
10/18 at Michigan*
10/25 Illinois*
11/8 at Wisconsin*
11/15 Purdue*
11/22 at UCLA*
11/29 Oregon*

Wisconsin

8/28 Miami (O)
9/6 Middle Tennessee
9/13 at Alabama
9/20 Maryland*
10/4 at Michigan*
10/11 Iowa*
10/18 Ohio State*
10/25 at Oregon*
11/8 Washington*
11/15 at Indiana*
11/22 Illinois*
11/29 at Minnesota*