Biggest Question Marks – Top Big Ten Teams

Ohio State – Coordinator Carousel

A new year brings new questions, especially in the transfer portal era of college football. Here is a look at the biggest question marks for the top teams in the Big Ten going into the 2025 football season:

The best the reigning National Champs could do is Matt Patricia, really? The reigning National Champions, although not reigning Big Ten champs, have new faces all over. Ohio State has another new starting quarterback and has to fill a couple sets of big shoes at running back – but their biggest question doesn’t come from those playing on the field. “New” Offensive Coordinator, Brain Hartline takes over the reins since Chip Kelly moved on. Hartline looks to prove they won’t skip a beat offensively and that he is more than just an elite recruiter. Matt Patricia comes in as the Defensive Coordinator after a year off as a coach/coordinator. This questionable hire may leave some Big Ten offense with hopes of hanging big numbers on Ohio State as Ohio State has done to so many teams.

Penn State – Is it Drew Allar or the weapons?

Can Penn State beat an elite team? Seems to be the question every single year – and the answer continues to be an astounding “no”. Drew Allar, who needs to prove he’s elite and not just a good college quarterback, returns along with arguably the best running back duo in the country. They are back to change their own perception, and possibly even James Franklin’s and the university’s. As far as questions of the roster – their biggest question is the pass catchers. They’ve added three high level weapons at receiver to put them over the top: Devonte Ross comes in from Troy after a 1,000 yard season, Tebor Pena from Syracuse who was 60 yards short of a 1,000 yard season last year, and a talented Kyron Hudson from USC. But will they be able to replace Tyle Warren and then some to make PSU a title contender?

Oregon – Can Dante Moore play?

Oregon enters this year with a quarterback under 30 years old for the first time in forever (it feels like). There is one simple question for Oregon this offseason – What is Dante Moore? After a very average (maybe below?) freshman year at UCLA in 2023, he got to sit and learn at Oregon last year. Oregon, whose last two quarterbacks have been some of the most experienced in NCAA history, now hand the position over to an unknown commodity. Is Dante Moore going to show why he was a coveted 5-star or be another highly rated prospect that never lives up to expectations?

Michigan – Bryce Underwood to the Rescue?

Will Michigan have more passing yards than the Navy Midshipmen this year? The easiest question for Michigan would be: is the Bryce Underwood hype train going to be for real? But that’s not the best question to ask for this team. Bryce Underwood being very mediocre would still be a large improvement for the service-academy-type football style Michigan was forced to play with last year due to lackluster play calling and lack of quarterback talent. The real question is: who will and how good are the weapons that the top rated Michigan quarterback recruit ever will be throwing to? Donovan McCulley, Frederick Moore, Semaj Morgan, and some young unknowns look to answer that question for everyone this year.