When trying to predict how the College Football Playoffs will unfold, it’s best to start with the Big 10 Conference Football odds. Last year, we saw four Big 10 squads enter the big dance, with one of them (Ohio State) winning it all.

You don’t necessarily need to bet on the College Football Championship just yet, but when you do, you should keep the Big 10 in mind. That isn’t to say this year’s national champion will for sure come out of this conference, but starting with some of the biggest powerhouses in the country does make a lot of sense.

Whether you’re on the Buckeyes for winning the national championship or you think Oregon can win the conference again, there’s a lot to digest. I’ll go over the top contenders and my favorite value en route to my Big 10 conference predictions.

What Teams Are In The Big 10 Conference?

• Wisconsin Badgers: joined 1896
• Minnesota Golden Gophers: joined 1896
• Northwestern Wildcats: joined 1896
• Purdue Boilermakers: joined 1896
• Illinois Fighting Illini: joined 1896
• Michigan Wolverines: joined 1896
• Indiana Hoosiers: joined 1899
• Iowa Hawkeyes: joined 1899
• Ohio State Buckeyes: joined 1912
• Michigan State Spartans: joined 1949
• Penn State Nittany Lions: joined 1990
• Nebraska Cornhuskers: joined 2011
• Maryland Terrapins: joined 2014
• Rutgers Scarlet Knights: joined 2014
• Oregon Ducks: joined 2024
• UCLA Bruins: joined 2024
• USC Trojans: joined 2024
• Washington Huskies: joined 2024

When Is The Big 10 Championship Football Game? 

This year’s Big 10 title game will be played on Saturday, December 6th, 2025 and will air on FOX on 8:00 pm EST.

Big 10 Conference Odds

Check out the latest NCAAF odds for the Big 10 Conference, courtesy of the top sports betting sites:

The Big 10 title odds are long for quite a few teams, rendering this four-team race, at best. The oddsmakers give the likes of Indiana, Iowa, and Nebraska faint chances of putting up a fight, but they’re all unlikely to make serious noise.

Instead, we’re almost certainly looking at another season dominated by the likes of Oregon, Ohio State and Penn State. The question is who will actually win the 2025 Big 10 conference championship of that trio.

Beyond that, bettors can look for more value with an outlier. There are a ton of other teams in this conference, and before the season starts, they’ll all think they can rise up and challenge the heavyweights.

I’ll go over the Big 10 title favorites and touch on some values, but be sure to get extra help beyond my picks via the top sports betting handicappers available online.

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Big 10 Conference Favorites

The following College Football teams are considered the favorites to win the Big 10 Conference: 

Ohio State Buckeyes (+190)

The Ohio State Buckeyes are the defending national champions, so no matter which way you slice it, you better believe they’re in contention for the Big 10 title (and then some).

Nothing is guaranteed, of course. While the coaching and talent is there for them to again achieve whatever they’d like, there are two things for bettors to keep in mind. First, this is not the same team that won the national title in 2024. Will Howard, Quinshon Judkins, TreyVeyon Henderson and Emeka Egbuka are all gone. Yes, the Buckeyes have quality replacements that should feast in their own way, but they’re not all proven yet.

Secondly, don’t forget that the Buckeyes won the College Football Playoff despite not being the Big 10 conference champ in 2024. Heck, they didn’t even get to play for it.

Still, nobody has more raw talent than the Buckeyes and the defending champs get the benefit of the doubt. It’s fair to wonder if that means you should actually bet on them, though.

Penn State Nittany Lions (+240)

The Penn State Nittany Lions are my favorite contender of the lot. They come in with a slightly better price than Ohio State, and they were incredibly close to hosting the Big 10 title trophy in 2024.

Unlike Ohio State, Penn State was in that game, and they ultimately fell to the Oregon Ducks in a wild 45-37 shootout. You better believe that they will be eager to get the monkey off their back, and I feel that could propel them to get back there to finish the job – if not a lot more.

Penn State has something up their sleeve that Oregon and Ohio State don’t; continuity. They have the coaching and overall talent of those programs, but returning star quarterback Drew Allar gives them the edge they need.

The Nittany Lions did lose stud tight end Tyler Warren to the NFL Draft, but Allar still has plenty of weapons to work with. In addition, Penn State has a gritty defense to bail Allar out when he’s struggling.

Of course, the biggest thing aiding Penn State’s Big 10 championship plight is their reasonably soft schedule. They could always get tripped up randomly, but they really only have two matchups – Ohio State and Oregon – to be overly concerned about.

On paper, the Nittany Lions could very well be the better team in both matchups. If that ends up being true, they could coast to the Big 10 title game and once there, they simply need to deliver.

Oregon Ducks (+300)

Before I crown Penn State, I have to touch on the Oregon Ducks. Yes, they do lose some quality talent. Stud running back Jordan James and quarterback Dillon Gabriel are now in the NFL, but this team is the defending Big 10 champ and they’ll be back to defend that crown.

Oregon’s coaching is as good as it gets, and they’ve once again recruited well and also brought in some strong options via the transfer portal. In addition, their favorable Big 10 odds suggest they will once again be in the mix to reach the final game – if not win it.

To be frank, the Ducks even still have title aspirations. They won it all two years ago, and despite some serious turnover, they could be in position to do something similar again in 2025.

Few teams have the elite balance Oregon does. This was a top-10 scoring offense, while their defense limited opponents to just 19.8 points per contest. Assuming they can prevent a big offensive dip, Oregon will absolutely be a threat to claim the Big 10 conference championship again.

Michigan Wolverines (+750)

Lastly, we have the Michigan Wolverines, who definitely aren’t as scary as they were with Jim Harbaugh roaming the sidelines with his khakis, but they’re still formidable enough.

That was the case last year, as the Wolverines combatted Harbaugh’s departure and the loss of numerous key starters to still go 8-5. Obviously that isn’t what the Michigan faithful have grown accustomed to, and they’re still breaking in new coaching.

Having said that, we know Michigan still owns one of the nation’s nastiest defenses (17th in scoring last year), and they can run the ball effectively. The big key for them will be establishing some consistency under center, as this team was simply not a factor through the air in 2024.

Michigan’s running game and defense keep them in the conversation. If their offense can return to producing on a close-to-elite level, we could have a serious Big 10 value bet on our hands.

The Best Big 10 Conference Betting Value

The Indiana Hoosiers are easily the best Big 10 betting value as things stand. They come in with pretty appealing +2800 Big 10 championship odds despite going 8-1 inside the conference in 2024 and finishing the year with a stout 11-2 mark.

The Hoosiers tied for the second best record in the Big 10, while Oregon is the only team that had fewer losses overall on the year within the conference.

College football is understandably a “what have you done for me lately” business, of course, especially when you consider the roster turnover with the transfer portal. That said, Indiana had one of the nastiest offenses in the entire nation last year, finishing second in scoring with 38.3 points per game.

The offense could easily take a dip with Kurtis Rourke now in the NFL, but Cal transfer Fernando Mendoza gives them a chance to remain a prolific bunch. 

Fortunately, even if Mendoza can’t pick up where Rourke left off, the Indy offense has plenty of talent to work with, plus it’s backed by an elite defense. The Hoosiers were stingy in 2024, ranking 7th in points per game allowed (16.7), while boasting the nation’s 34th best sack rate.

If the defense can pick up the slack early on, Indiana could be looking at another solid season. If Mendoza can be anywhere close to as productive as his predecessor was, the Hoosiers could really take flight and challenge for the conference title.

Not having to face the Buckeyes during the regular season doesn’t hurt, either.

The Top Big 10 Conference Longshot

Want a crazy team to roll the dice on this year? My favorite Big 10 conference championship sleeper isn’t just one team, though; it’s two. Both priced at +3300, the Nebraska Cornhuskers and Illinois Fighting Illini look like viable options.

Could you go even further and bet on some of the teams priced at +10000 or worse? Sure, but I think we’re just throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks at that point. Truth be told, the Big 10 title game is almost definitely coming down to the top teams in the conference. But that doesn’t mean a few teams a bit below them can’t make some noise.

Nebraska stands out due to solid leadership from head coach Matt Rhule, as well as Patrick Mahomes impersonator, quarterback Dylan Raiola. He really does do a good impersonation of the iconic Kansas City Chiefs passer, but he’s also simply a good quarterback. Raiola led a solid passing attack that stands to mature in his second full season at the helm.

The Cornhuskers should see growth on offense, and if you combine that with a suffocating defense (20th fewest points allowed in 2024), they could be a sleeper worth targeting.

There’s also Illinois. The Fighting Illini come with the same Big 10 football betting odds, but they were the far better team a season ago. They were one of just five teams to win 10+ games in the conference, and they were also a solid 6-3 in Big 10 play.

The Fighting Illini were a balanced bunch in 2024, but they admittedly struggled to blow you away in any one area. They did a fantastic job taking care of the football and ranked inside the top-40 in red-zone scoring.

Given their balance and efficiency, any amount of improvement could make Illinois an amazing value at their current price.

Big 10 Conference Predictions

Now is the time to start finalizing your NCAAF picks for the 2025 college football season, and it’s reasonable to expect that predicting the Big 10 title winner is among the wagers you’re perusing.

If so, you should narrow your options down to three teams, with Oregon, Ohio State, and Penn State being the most viable candidates. Oregon and Ohio State won the whole dang thing the past two years and are excellent choices. The talent is there, the coaching is top shelf, and both teams are equipped to make deep runs once they get to the CFP.

But the CFP isn’t the Big 10 and Penn State is absolutely in the race – both for this conference and a heck of a lot more. I put a lot of value in a top tier passer, and that’s precisely what the Nittany Lions have in Drew Allar.

On top of that, Penn State has an elite defense and plenty of playmakers for Allar to go to war with. The Nittany Lions will be tested in 2025, but they have strong odds to give it a go, and nearly did just that in 2024. I think they will rise up and get it done this year.

Bet: Penn State Nittany Lions (+240)

The Best Big 10 Win Total Bets

• Penn State Nittany Lions Over 9.5 Wins (+200)
• Indiana Hoosiers Over 8.5 Wins (+110)
• Ohio State Buckeyes Under 10.5 Wins (-135)

Penn State went 13-3 last year, so this feels like a smash value. The only issue is they only have 12 regular season games scheduled, so the margin for error could be razor thin.

The Nittany Lions should be able to live up to the hype, however, and they know a 10-win season is likely what they need to be in contention to win the Big 10.

Indiana may not be quite as good as they were in 2024, but nine wins is still within reach. Indy won 11 games last season, and going into 2025 they open up with a super easy schedule. A 3-0 start is a near certainty, while they should have a good chance to get past Illinois and Iowa to get to 5-0 before facing off with Oregon.

After that, a date with Penn State presents Indiana with their only monstrous challenge, giving them a real shot to win nine or more games.

Ohio State is capable of making me look very silly. However, as I mentioned already, they lost a ton of good bodies to the NFL. They will be tested from the jump against a top-10 team in the Texas Longhorns, while tough games with Penn State and Michigan await later in the year.

The Buckeyes could very well be fine, but 11 wins could be a tall order given the loss of reliable talent.

Bet: Penn State Nittany Lions Over 9.5 Wins (+200), Indiana Hoosiers Over 8.5 Wins (+110), and Ohio State Buckeyes Under 10.5 Wins (-135)

Which Big 10 Teams Will Make the Playoffs?

Four Big 10 teams made the College Football Playoffs in 2024, and a similar result could occur again in 2025. Right now three teams inside the Big 10 have odds at -260 or better, while another comes in at +210. Six others have odds north of +1000.

That doesn’t mean most of those teams can or will make a CFP run. It just means this is one of the deepest conferences in the country.

It’s worth noting that while the top tier teams often stay at the top, there is still going to be some turnover. A few teams definitely could be hurting in the talent department, and continuity is a thing we may see give several squads some trouble.

Ohio State could very well be one of them, but I still assume they will get to the College Football Playoff, and I find it hard to envision a tourney where Penn State and Oregon also don’t make the cut.

The last team in will probably be Michigan, but they are where I start to have doubts. For now, I’d really only feel comfortable betting on Oregon, Penn State, and Ohio State to get in

Bet: Ohio State Buckeyes (-400), Penn State Nittany Lions (-300), and Oregon Ducks (-260)

Big 10 Conference Winners

The following is a list of the most recent Big 10 Conference football winners: