Every Big Ten has completed at least one game, and for the most part, the conference acquitted themselves well. Sixteen teams won their first game, with two teams losing (more on that momentarily). Below are some initial thoughts on where things stand within The Big Ten after week one ~
- Whew, That Was Close: Rutgers defeated Ohio University 34-31 and Nebraska defeated Cincinnati 20-17, in closer than expected games. In the words of Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule, “There’s going to be a lot of good. There’s going to be a lot of things we want to correct…We’ll be in there tomorrow and start getting better for next week.”.
- Pitching A Shutout: Wisconsin defeated Miami University 17-0, while Purdue defeated Ball State 31-0. Both Wisconsin and Purdue are coming off disappointing 2024 seasons, so winning their respective first games via shutouts probably provided a boost of confidence. Both Wisconsin and Purdue will need it, with both teams having among the most challenging 2025 schedules within The Big Ten.
- Slugfest: Ohio State defeated Texas 14-7 in a game dominated by strong defensive performances by both teams. Reflecting on the first game of the 2025 season, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said, “When you start a season, you want to set the tone…There’s a lot of guys who are stepping into roles for the first time ever. And for these guys to step in and really have great energy about them, I thought they were poised. I thought the moment was not too big for them.”.
- Happy With The Win, But There’s Room For Improvement: Minnesota defeated Buffalo 23-10, Michigan State defeated Western Michigan 23-6, Indiana defeated Old Dominion 27-14, Michigan defeated New Mexico 34-17, and Washington defeated Colorado State 38-21. While all of those teams won their games, each had their respective moments that their respective coaching staffs will be able to identify as areas to improve upon between week one and week two.
- No Debate About The Dominance: Illinois throttled Western Illinois 52-3, Penn State overpowered Nevada 46-11, Oregon smashed Montana State 59-13, Maryland walloped Florida Atlantic 39-7, Iowa clobbered UAlbany 34-7, and USC crushed Missouri State 73-13. No matter how many words I could search instead of “defeated”, it was a perfect springboard of confidence for each of these teams to start off 2025 in a dominant fashion. Congratulations to Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz, as he tied legendary Ohio State head coach Woody Hayes with his 205th victory. One more win for Ferentz and he will have the record to himself.
- Back To The Drawing Board: As written up above, two of The Big Ten’s teams lost in week one. Tulane handled Northwestern 23-3, while Utah came into The Rose Bowl and never were threatened by UCLA, winning 43-10. Both the Wildcats and Bruins need to figure things out in a hurry to keep their respective 2025 seasons from spiraling downward.
