Blake Krass gives his prediction, preview and best bets on DraftKings Sportsbook for the 2025 Big Ten football season.
The college football season is just around the corner. The Big Ten has produced two straight National Champions, and will be looking to make it three this year with some major contenders. This is my preview of the conference and the best Big Ten futures to consider at DraftKings Sportsbook.
The Big Ten should have three of the best teams in college football this season. Ohio State, Penn State and Oregon are among the seven teams with the best odds to win the National Championship at DraftKings Sportsbook. Last season, Ohio State won the national title, Penn State had a fourth-quarter lead in the other national semifinal and Oregon was the undefeated conference champion and No. 1 overall seed in the College Football Playoff. All three of those teams should be loaded again, and the 2023 national champions, the Michigan Wolverines, should be improved in Year 2 under Sherrone Moore.
Last season, Indiana was one of the darlings of the college football world, going on a great run to the College Football Playoff. The Hoosiers will hope to make it back to the postseason, but other teams like USC, Illinois and Iowa hope they can be the Indiana of 2025 and sneak into the postseason. The over/under on playoff teams for playoff teams is 3.5 at DraftKings Sportsbook, with the under juiced to -210. That means the oddsmakers at DraftKings Sportsbook expect just three teams, most likely Oregon, Penn State and Ohio State, to make the College Football Playoff this year. While the Big Ten might not have as much top-to-bottom depth as the SEC, those three teams are all legitimate national title contenders.
I predict all three of those teams will make the College Football Playoff. While there is some uncertainty with Ohio State and Oregon both bringing in new young quarterbacks this season, both teams have too much talent across their roster not to make it back to the College Football Playoff. Penn State has to play both of the other teams in the top three this year, hosting Oregon but traveling to Ohio State. That gives Ohio State a leg up in winning the Big Ten regular seasons and making the Big Ten Championship Game, with the winner of Oregon/Penn State likely facing them there.
Best Big Ten Futures
Penn State to win the National Championship (+700)
Penn State is in a prime position to make a run at a national title. The two other top teams in the Big Ten, Ohio State and Oregon, are testing out new quarterbacks. Even other top teams nationally, Georgia, Texas and Alabama, are all starting new quarterbacks this season. Among the top teams in the nation, Penn State is in a unique situation, bringing back a quarterback with as much experience as Drew Allar. Allar has been frustrating at times, not being able to hit his potential in big games. However, he surprisingly returned to Penn State this season after looking like a likely NFL draft pick. He did that because he feels like he still has something to prove.
Along with Allar, Penn State returns their incredible running back duo of Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton. Penn State also brought in a trio of great transfer wide receivers for Allar, Kyron Hudson from USC, Devonte Ross from Troy and Trebor Pena from Syracuse. They also have talented tight ends stepping up to fill Tyler Warren’s shoes. In the second season under offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, the Penn State offense should be the best it’s been in years.
They lost the great Abdul Carter, but just like when they lost Micah Parsons and replaced him with Carter, there is fresh new talent on that side of the ball for the Nittany Lions. They also made arguably the biggest hire of the offseason, stealing defensive coordinator Jim Knowles from Ohio State. After winning a title with the Buckeyes, Knowles will hope to bring the same magic to Happy Valley.
After giving away the national semifinal to Notre Dame last season, Allar and James Franklin are finally ready to break through. They have experience and talent at all the right positions, and two brilliant coordinators. As long as Franklin can stay out of the way, this team is my pick to win the Big Ten and the National Championship.
Michigan to Make the Playoff (+200)
Penn State, Ohio State and Oregon are the three most likely Big Ten teams to make the College Football Playoff. However, there is a chance that either Ohio State or Oregon does not meet expectations due to their question marks at quarterback. The Big Ten could also get four teams into the CFP, like they did last season. Looking at teams with the highest ceiling that could steal a playoff spot, Michigan can’t be ignored.
The Wolverines are likely starting Bryce Underwood at quarterback. Underwood is a true freshman who could take time to reach his ceiling. However, if he clicks right away, Michigan could be a great team. Despite their struggles last season, they were still great on the defensive side of the ball, and should be again this season. If they find a way to beat the Buckeyes again, they could steal the final Big Ten playoff spot.
It could be another tough season ahead for the Terrapins. They went just 4-8 last year, winning only one conference game. There isn’t much to inspire hope that there will be any improvement this season. Maryland will have new coordinators on both sides of the ball and a roster that suffered massive turnover. They rank 112th in the nation in returning production, making it tough to make any real strides forward this season. They could be starting a true freshman at quarterback as well. Their three easiest conference games, UCLA, Rutgers and Michigan State, all come on the road. Even if they steal one of those, that only lands them at four wins, which is why I am taking this under.
Washington is hoping to take a big step forward in the second year under head coach Jedd Fisch. Fisch was hired late in the offseason in 2024, not giving his staff a full offseason to recruit in the transfer portal or install their game plans. The Huskies handed away games against Washington State and Rutgers, but still ended up with six wins and made a bowl game. If they had not made crucial errors to give away those games, they would have been an eight-win team last season. They should be improved and be able to get to that mark this season.
Last season, they lost a massive amount of talent from their playoff team, didn’t get a full offseason and had the hardest schedule in the Big Ten. Quarterback Demond Williams showed flashes of brilliance in the bowl game last year and could be the breakout star of the Big Ten this season. The schedule is much more manageable than it was last season, and after hitting the portal to improve some key positions, expect Washington to reach at least eight wins this season.
The first two seasons of the Luke Fickell era have been very underwhelming. They missed out on a bowl game with just five wins last season. The offensive coordinator hire, Phil Longo, never made sense for Wisconsin. Longo is famous for his air raid offense, something Wisconsin has never run and didn’t match their personnel. After that experiment failed, Fickell made a change at OC, hiring Jeff Grimes. Grimes calls a run-heavy pro-style offense, which should be much more familiar to Badger fans.
Grimes was allowed to hand-pick his quarterback for next season, former Maryland QB Billy Edwards. Edwards is tough and a great runner of the football. He should be the perfect fit for this offense, along with a committee of strong running backs. The Badgers also loaded up on the defensive line in the transfer portal. They have a tough schedule that will restrict their ceiling, but Fickell will find a way to get this team back to a bowl game, winning at least six games.