Big Ten on CBS 2025 schedule: Penn State, Michigan, Oregon among teams featured in early season action

Both the defending Big Ten champions and last year’s runner-up will step into the spotlight with early showdowns as some of the first teams picked for the Big Ten on CBS schedule for 2025.  

CBS Sports announced its college football schedule for 2025 on Thursday, which included among other highlights the selections for the first four weeks of the Big Ten on CBS. Both Penn State’s first game of the season and Oregon’s toughest non-conference game get things started in Week 1 and Week 2, before Big Ten conference play steps into the iconic 3:30 p.m. ET slot with USC at Purdue for Week 3 and Michigan at Nebraska for Week 4. 

Week 4 also features the first doubleheader of the season for CBS Sports’ college football coverage for 2025, as the Apple Cup rivalry between Washington and Washington State will get a primetime kickoff at 7:30 p.m. ET. 

The college football schedule on CBS gets started in Week Zero with a primetime showdown between Stanford at Hawaii in Honolulu and throughout the season will feature three legs in the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy rivalry between Army, Navy and Air Force. Army-Navy, of course, will be in its historic spot on the calendar, this year taking place on Dec. 13 in Baltimore. 

Check out the full schedule below, and then below the table a closer look at the matchups that will be featured as part of the early Big Ten on CBS schedule. 

Fall 2025 CBS college football schedule

Now let’s highlight the announced games for Big Ten on CBS in 2025. 

Nevada at Penn State (8/30)

Penn State hype train makes its first stop

The 2025 season is arguably the most-anticipated season of Penn State football in the James Franklin era. 

Prior to last year this was a program with zero College Football Playoff appearances and now it has two College Football Playoff wins, with the starting quarterback and a handful of other key contributors returning for another run at the title after falling a few plays short of making the title game. Penn State will start as a top four team in the country and put that status of title contender on the line every week, starting with the Week 1 visit from Nevada. 

If Drew Allar and a Penn State offense that’s been solidified in the transfer portal can show out early in this non-conference spot, it will only boost the excitement for what could be a special season in Happy Valley. 

Oklahoma State at Oregon (9/6)

A time to shine for Oregon QB Dante Moore 

It will not be hard for Oregon to have a chip on its shoulder as it prepares for Year 2 in the Big Ten. The Ducks rolled through the conference unbeaten in the regular season and outlasted Penn State in the Big Ten title game, but getting bounced by Ohio State in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals brought an otherwise historic 2024 campaign to an unsatisfactory conclusion. 

Oregon said goodbye to a school record number of NFL Draft picks from last year’s squad and now our attention turns to the next man up, particularly at quarterback where former blue chip prospect Dante Moore steps in for Dillon Gabriel. Moore was initially committed to Oregon out of high school before signing with UCLA, but transferred in after his freshman season and spent last year backing up Gabriel. 

Now after a couple of years it’s time to see what so many Oregon fans have imagined with the Dante Moore era in Eugene. That era will officially start against FCS Montana State in Week 1, but Oregon’s Week 2 showdown against Oklahoma State will be the first good test for Moore and a reloaded offense that carries the expectations of competing for championships again in 2025.    

USC at Purdue (9/13)

A visit from USC for Barry Odom’s Big Ten debut   

USC and Purdue have played just four times ever in football and not once in the 21st Century (last meeting in 1998), but in Week 3 the Trojans’ tour of the Big Ten continues with a visit to West Lafayette to play the Boilermakers. And while this game, and the 2025 season in general, will provide some key results for setting expectations for Lincoln Riley’s program within the Big Ten it also marks the beginning of a new era for Purdue football as Barry Odom’s Big Ten debut. 

The Boilermakers chose to move on from Ryan Walters after a disappointing 1-11 showing in 2024, and hired Odom, who returns to the power conference level after two successful seasons leading UNLV. Purdue opens the year against Ball State and FCS Southern Illinois, so it’s possible this could be a game between two undefeated teams to open their conference schedules. 

Michigan at Nebraska (9/20)

Two blue bloods hoping to be Big Ten dark horses

The Big Ten opener for both Michigan and Nebraska could serve as a launching point for either program to jump into the Big Ten title race as a squad capable of disrupted the perceived order of power at the top. Both teams have early season power conference tests that will set some expectations heading into conference play — Michigan against Oklahoma in Week 2, Nebraska against Cincinnati in Week 1 — and this game, in Lincoln, will either affirm or reverse the notion that either team can compete with some of the best in the conference. 

The game also could feature two of the most notable quarterbacks from recent recruiting cycles, as Nebraska’s Dylan Raiola looks to take a step forward in this second season as a starter and Michigan’s Bryce Underwood is set to compete for QB1 duties in Ann Arbor. 

Washington at Washington State (9/20)

Apple Cup rivalry in hostile territory for the Huskies 

The Apple Cup rivalry has gotten even more heated since Washington and Washington State are no longer in the same conference, and that makes this early season non-conference road trip a bit trickier for the Huskies to navigate. Jedd Fisch did good work reloading Washington’s roster in 2024 and now after getting settled the expectation is for a strong season in 2025 with quarterback Demond Williams taking over the full-time starter role. 

While this game is Week 4 it will be just the third game of the season for the Huskies who have Week 3 off after starting the season with home games against Colorado State and FCS  UC Davis. And as if the road rivalry angle wasn’t enough for Washington to weigh, this game will also set the tone for a visit from Ohio State on Sept. 27. 

Iowa at Nebraska (11/27)

Expect a close one on Black Friday

Iowa and Nebraska have delivered thrills nearly every Thanksgiving weekend for the last decade, and the small margins between the two programs has always packed intensity into their respective regular season finales. The interesting twist here is that while nine of the last 11 games in the rivalry have been decided by seven points or less, nine of the last 11 games have also been won by Iowa. 

If Matt Rhule and the Cornhuskers are going to have a true breakthrough season in 2025 it doesn’t need to include a win over the Hawkeyes necessarily, but it would definitely help the vibes to finish the regular season by snapping this recent run of struggles.

CBS Sports will announce additional details on its 2025 roster of game and studio announcers at a later date