This was a dominant opening week for the Big Ten. Throughout the slate of Week 1 matchups, the notion that the Big ten was the best conference in college football was confirmed, including USC, which did its part with a 60-point win over Missouri State. Other Big Ten teams did not score anything close to 73 points.
The Big Ten being superior was not the only thing that was confirmed last week. Here are my 5 takeaways from Big Ten football and its first full weekend in 2025:
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UCLA be a bottom-tier Big Ten team
Nico Iamaleava leaving Tennessee for UCLA is looking like the worst decision of the NIL era. Utah made UCLA look like one of the worst team in college football saturday. UCLA’s offensive line looked poor, so did just about everything else. Most importantly Nico is not the answer to UCLA’s problems. We could see UCLA end up finishing at the bottom of the Big Ten.
Maryland could be better than expected
Maryland lost every Big Ten game last season except for winning a stunner against USC. This season true freshman Malik Washington gives hope for much more. In his debut only playing in the first half Washington threw for three touchdowns and 258 yards, Washington might be the key to saving Michael Locksley’s job and Maryland as a whole.
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Luke Fickell could be fired this season
Wisconsin got the victory 17-0 versus Miami (OH), but it was not that impressive of a victory on the offensive side of the ball. Their defense looked phenomenal but Fickell came in to help the offense get to where it needs to be. He hasn’t gotten it right with his offensive coordinator hires. The Badgers finished 7-6 in his first season, 5-7 last season, and if they have similar 6 win season I could see Fickell getting the boot.
USC’s other rival looks dominant
Notre Dame got outmatched by Miami but USC’s other rival Oregon looked like it didn’t skip a beat. Dante Moore Jr. had 3 touchdowns passes and 10 different receivers caught a pass from him. The Ducks also dominated on the ground with 253 total rushing yards. The Trojans got lucky not having to face Oregon last season, but this season November 22 should be a game of the year-caliber battle.
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Illinois will be a tough matchup for Trojans
Illinois dominated the Western Illinois Leathernecks in every facet of Saturday’s game. The Fighting Illini look like they have all the tools on offense to go along with their experienced quarterback Luke Altmyer. Bret Bielema is a great coach. He has this team ready to compete for a playoff bid even with a tough schedule. Illinois could be this season’s Indiana; the Trojans will have their hands full against them at the end of the month.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Observations of the Big Ten football landscape in Week 1
