Revisiting all 18 Big Ten football teams' 2025 strength of schedule

The 2026 college football season will be here before fans know it, so it's important to go back and analyze what happened in 2025.

Everyone remembers Indiana's incredible, undefeated season en route to winning their first National Championship in program history.

Even though they went 16-0, their schedule was far from a cakewalk. In fact, all 18 Big Ten teams had a strength of schedule among the top 52 teams in the nation.

To further prove how competitive this conference is, a Big Ten team had the nation's toughest strength of schedule, and five of the ten toughest strength of schedules belonged to Big Ten teams.

No. 52: Maryland

Of the 18 teams in the conference, the 4-8 (1-8) Terrapins had the "weakest" strength of schedule. Maryland only faced two ranked opponents during the season, but it's not like they had it easy having to play No. 2 Indiana or No. 18 Michigan. Oddly enough, their lone conference win came at Wisconsin on September 20, a team that is noteworthy for plenty of reasons when it comes to this list.

No. 42: Nebraska

The Cornhuskers fell to No. 15 Utah in the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl, 44-22, to cap off a 7-6 (4-5) 2025 campaign. Similar to Maryland, they faced just two ranked opponents, but unlike the Terrapins, Nebraska hung in there with both. They hosted both No. 21 Michigan and No. 23 USC and came out of those two games 0-2, but lost by a combined seven points.

No. 41: Washington

Washington capped off its 9-4 (5-4) season with a dominant, 28-point victory over Boise State in the Bucked Up LA Bowl. They were nearly shut out against No. 1 Ohio State on September 27, but they ended the regular season with just a 12-point loss to No. 6 Oregon and notably took down No. 23 Illinois, 42-25.

No. 40: Minnesota

Minnesota's season ended on a high note as they took down Wisconsin, 17-7, and carried that momentum into the Rate Bowl, where they took down New Mexico in overtime. Overall, they finished 8-5 (5-4) with a dominant ranked win over No. 25 Nebraska, 24-6.

No. 38: Northwestern

The Wildcats made sure they finished the 2025 season with a winning record as they took down Central Michigan in the Gameabove Sports Bowl. They were 7-6 overall and 4-5 in conference play, but fell to all three ranked opponents they played during the regular season.

No. 30: USC

Excluding their bowl game loss to TCU, all three of USC's regular-season losses came against ranked teams. That said, the 9-4 (7-2) Trojans had impressive victories over No. 15 Michigan and No. 21 Iowa and will once again be a force to be reckoned with, no matter how their schedule looks in 2026.

No. 26: Rutgers

The Scarlet Knights gave up 82 points in their final two games and that cost them a spot in the postseason. They finished 2025 with a 5-7 (2-7) record, but notably scored 34+ points in all three of their nonconference games.

No. 25: Michigan State

The Spartans cracked the top 25 in terms of toughest strength of schedule in 2025, and it showed. MSU started the year 3-0 but dropped eight straight before finally showing life in their regular-season finale, where they took down Maryland, 38-28, for their lone conference win of the year.

No. 24: Michigan

Offseason drama aside, Michigan fell to Ohio State in the regular season finale and then allowed 41 points to Texas in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl. They still finished 9-4 (7-2), but notably didn't have a single ranked win during the season.

No. 23: Illinois

Illinois put forward a nine-win season despite having one of the toughest schedules in the conference. The Fighting Illini may have given up 63 points at Indiana, but they beat No. 21 USC the very next week and only gave up 34 points against No. 1 Ohio State a few weeks later.

No. 22: Penn State

The Nittany Lions round out a stretch of five straight Big Ten teams in the nation's strength of schedule rankings. After a disappointing 7-6 (3-6) season, Penn State has momentum on its side as it ended the year with four straight wins following a six-game skid that included losses to No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Indiana, and No. 6 Oregon.

No. 20: Ohio State

Speaking of the Buckeyes, OSU started the year 12-0 with three ranked wins before falling to No. 2 Indiana, 13-10, and No. 10 Miami, 24-14. At 12-2 (9-0) overall, Ohio State once again proved just how good they truly are despite a disappointing finish.

No. 16: Iowa

The Hawkeyes' season was defined by their one-score losses to the likes of No. 16 Iowa State, No. 11 Indiana, No. 9 Oregon, and No. 17 USC. It's hard to call them a College Football Playoff contender just yet, but they were on the brink last year with a very tough schedule.

No. 10: Indiana

In no world did the Hoosiers have things easy as they needed to take down No. 9 Illinois, No. 3 Oregon, and then No. 1 Ohio State in the conference championship game. Their non-conference schedule was forgettable, but everything else more than made up for what was a historic season, to say the least.

No. 6: Oregon

Oregon is one of the four Big Ten teams that had a top 10 strength of schedule. The Ducks fell to the Hoosiers twice last season but secured ranked wins over No. 3 Penn State, No. 20 Iowa, and No. 15 USC. Notably, they beat the Nittany Lions and Hawkeyes on the road.

No. 5: UCLA

The Bruins faced a gauntlet last year, and their 3-9 (3-6) record reflects that. UCLA took down No. 7 Penn State, though everyone quickly realized this wasn't your typical Nittany Lions team. Regardless, a win is a win, and UCLA put together a three-win stretch from October 4-18 that masked lopsided losses to No. 2 Indiana, No. 1 Ohio State, and No. 17 USC.

No. 4: Purdue

Purdue didn't have a single conference win, but when you look at their schedule, it's easy to determine why. Not only did they play at No. 24 Notre Dame, but they had to play No. 22 Illinois, No. 21 Michigan, No. 1 Ohio State, and No. 2 Indiana. At the very least, they outscored their two nonconference opponents 65-17.

No. 1: Wisconsin

Luke Fickell's squad struggled mightily last season, but their year is slightly warranted due to the Badgers having the nation's toughest strength of schedule. Wisconsin finished 4-8 (2-7) with both of its wins being against ranked teams. Other than that, they fell to No. 19 Alabama, No. 20 Michigan, No. 1 Ohio State, No. 6 Oregon, and No. 2 Indiana.

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This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Wisconsin tops Big Ten football's list for toughest SOS in 2025