As one of the Power 4 conferences in college football, the Big Ten is well represented across the 2025 postseason.
Of the Big Ten’s 18 programs, three claimed spots in the 12-team College Football Playoff bracket and an additional nine teams won at least six games to become bowl eligible. Just six teams missed out on the postseason entirely: Rutgers (5–7), Wisconsin (4–8), Maryland (4–8), Michigan State (4–8), UCLA (3–9) and Purdue (2–10).
Big Ten newcomer Washington kicked off the entire bowl schedule Dec. 13 with a 38–10 blowout win over Boise State at SoFi Stadium. And since then, the Big Ten hasn’t looked back. Oregon cruised to a 51–34 victory over James Madison in the first round of the College Football Playoff, and Northwestern and Minnesota earned wins Dec. 26 in the GameAbove Sports Bowl and Rate Bowl.
Let’s take a closer look at how these Big Ten teams are performing in the postseason:
SEC bowl game record | ACC bowl game record | Big 12 bowl game record
Through Friday, Dec. 26, the Big Ten’s record in bowl games this season is 4–0. Last year, the Big Ten went 11–6 in bowl games and boasted the national champion Ohio State Buckeyes, who won four games in the College Football Playoff en route to the title.
Final scoresUpcoming bowl games
Saturday, Dec. 27
Tuesday, Dec. 30
Wednesday, Dec. 31
Thursday, Jan. 1
Thursday, Jan. 8
Friday, Jan. 9
Monday, Jan. 19
The Big Ten has posted a winning record in bowl games for the last nine years, dating back to a 3–7 finish in 2016.
YEAR
RECORD
WIN %
2016
3-7
.300
2017
7-1
.875
2018
5-4
.556
2019
4-5
.444
2020
3-2
.600
2021
6-4
.600
2022
5-4
.556
2023
6-4
.600
2024
11–6
.647
2025
4–0
1.000
More College Football on Sports Illustrated
FREE NEWSLETTER. SI BTN Newsletter. Start off your day with SI:CYMI. dark