The 2o25 college football season got off to a fast start over the last couple of weeks, including some big games, premier performances, and entertaining chaos. The Big Ten conference is off to a very strong start to the year, continuing to battle with the SEC as the top conference in the country. They are making a strong argument early.

As is always the case, there is going to be some overreactions based off of just one or two games. The Big Ten is no exception to that, both positively or negatively. Here are some of those early opinions, and a little bit of fact or fiction. The majority of those early takes center around the quarterback position.

Ohio State will go back-to-back in 2025

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day proved a lot of folks wrong last season while leading the Buckeyes to a National Championship victory. There were some more doubts this preseason with all the defections that the Buckeyes had from a season ago also. Coach Day and his staff had to replace their starting quarterback, top two running backs, all-time leading wide receiver, starting tight end, three offensive linemen, whole starting defensive line, top tackler, and a starter cornerback. 

Despite that, they were able to start the season off with an impressive 14 to 7 victory against the Texas Longhorns. This team has already proved that they can reload, but I still have my doubts that they will overturn the roster that much and win back-to-back championships in the end. The playing field is leveled even more, and I don’t believe they have the most talented across the country like a season ago. 

FICTION

Dante Moore is an upgrade over Dillon Gabriel 

Dante Moore got the 2025 off to a very strong start against Montana State, throwing for 213 yards and three touchdowns with over a 78 percent completion rate. From a pure talent perspective, Moore is much more physically gifted than Gabriel. While Moore may end up being better long term, experience matters so much at the quarterback position. For the short term, Gabriel is the better player in a similar situation. Let’s see how Moore performs when conference play begins.

FICTION… FOR NOW

Bryce Underwood makes Michigan a contender 

Michigan somehow won eight games last season with one of the worst passing games in recent memory, at least on that high of a level. Between three starting quarterbacks, the Michigan signal callers managed to only throw for 1,678 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions. With an upgrade at the position, and a massive one with Bryce Underwood, it is hard for me to believe that they aren’t a ton better. The future of the Wolverine offense is very bright with the dual threat ability that Underwood brings to the table.

FACT

Drew Allar is ready for elite status 

There have been a lot of excuses made for Drew Allar over the last two seasons. First it was that he was inexperienced. Then it was that his wide receiver room wasn’t good enough, but people never seem to want to mention the outstanding offensive line, dynamic running back room, or All-American tight end he had. There are no more excuses for the 6-5, 235-pound signal caller. I am in pure “prove it to me” mode with Allar. He is nowhere close to elite status right now, no matter what any Penn State fans wants to tell you.

FICTION

Fernando Mendoza is the top QB in the conference

Fernando Mendoza, who was a very good quarterback previously at Cal, came to Indiana with some high expectations. He had some solid moments during his first game against Old Dominion, but that debut did leave a lot to be desired. I still like the chances for the 6-4, 225-pound passer to end up being the top quarterback in the Big Ten conference. That field is wide open right now, including some inconsistent passers like Drew Allar (Penn State), and some younger, but inexperienced talents such as Julian Sayin (Ohio State) and Bryce Underwood (Michigan). Mendoza feels like the ideal combination of experience and untapped tools.

FACT

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