Welcome to a new episode of Land-Grant Podcast Network’s I-80 Football Show. On this show, we travel down I-80 to talk all things Big Ten Football. This is the only Big Ten Podcast that’ll cover all 18 teams. After every week of action, we will catch you up on all the conference’s games and look ahead at the matchups, storylines, and players you should be paying attention to for the next week. My name is Jordan Williams, and I am joined by my co-host Dante Morgan.

Oregon is officially the Big Ten Champs after beating Penn State 45-37 in a surprising shootout in Indianapolis. Oregon, the only West Coast team who seemed prepared for the Big Ten, entered the conference with a loaded roster and National Championship expectations. They finish their first season as champs with a 13-0 record and the no. One seed in the college football playoffs. With a few weeks off before a date with the winner of the Ohio State-Oregon game, the Ducks are in prime position to compete for a national championship despite having the hardest path to the championship game. It was a banner season for the Ducks, the only question is can they finish the season a perfect 16-0 and win the first national championship in the history of their program?

The coaching carousel, while muted due to the lack of big-time jobs, is in full swing as Purdue has found their new head coach by hiring Barry Odom away from UNLV. Nebraska reloaded at defensive coordinator by promoting John Butler. Michigan and Wisconsin also filled their vacant offensive coordinator positions by hiring Chip Lindsey from UNC and Jeff Grimes from Kansas respectively. There are still a few vacant coordinator roles but the Big Ten officially has all 18 coaches, unless Ohio State decides to move on from Ryan Day with a poor showing in the playoffs. 

In other news, the Big Ten released its 2025 football schedule. There are a couple of key games we’re looking forward to starting with Ohio State-Texas in week one. Ohio State welcomes Penn State into the Shoe and will be hoping to end their losing streak in the big house. Oregon plays Penn State in a championship game rematch, while USC-UCLA is being moved back to its rightful place, rivalry week. Overall the conference looks to have fewer marque matchups than this season but it will be hoping to recreate the magic with upstarts like Indiana and end the season with at least four teams in the 12-team playoff field. 

In their weekly pitstop, Jordan is on the fence about the Yankees losing Juan Soto. On one hand, a 15-year contract for any player doesn’t make sense and it is so much money when you don’t know how a player will age. On the other hand, Soto is one of the best younger players in the game and a truly generational talent. Losing him to the Mets makes it even worse. The Yankees must find a way to rebound after losing Soto to their crosstown rival. 

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