Unranked Big Ten teams that could be in the top 25 at season's end

The 2024-25 college football season is right around the corner. That means that preseason polls are now published and in both the Coaches Poll and the A.P. Poll, USC sits at No. 23.

Of course, we all know that any ranking released before games have been played will be flawed. In fact, on Monday, college football insider Brett McMurphy shared an interesting note about the rankings on social media

McMurphy reported that in 28 of the past 30 seasons, at least one team has gone from unranked in the preseason to being ranked in the top 10 by season's end. That should give hope to a number of fan bases who believe their team is being slighted to begin the season.

While USC is ranked to begin the year, the Trojans are nowhere near where they eventually want to be in the polls. Of course, a number of other quality Big Ten teams are on the outside looking in. So let's look at three unranked Big Ten teams that could end up in the top 25 by the time January rolls around.

The Washington Huskies

It is unusual for a program to go from being the national runner-up to unranked in the course of one offseason. However, that's the case for the Huskies of Washington.

Of course, that program suffered massive losses after last season. The departures of head coach Kalen DeBoer to Alabama as well as wide receivers Rome Odunze and Jalen McMillan, and QB Michael Penix Jr. to the NFL will leave their mark.

However, the Huskies made a nice move by bringing in head coach Jedd Fisch from Arizona who went 10-3 last season with the Wildcats. Also, the Huskies have added QB Will Rogers from Mississippi State to run the offense. He's thrown for over 12,000 yards in his career with all of that coming against SEC opponents. Thus, the Huskies have found a more than capable replacement for Penix.

What's more, wide receiver Jeremiah Hunter has arrived after leading Cal in receiving for the last two seasons. Thus, if Washington can find some answers on the offensive line, there should be plenty of offense again this year for the Huskies.

The schedule also sets up for Washington to get off to a great start. The first five games are against unranked teams so the Huskies could be undefeated (and potentially ranked) heading to their October 5 home game against No. 9 Michigan. If the Huskies can win that game, they'll certainly be in the polls the next week.

However, the back half of the season will be tough. Five of Washington's final seven opponents will begin the season ranked. Still, if the Huskies can be squarely in the top 25 by the time the season hits the halfway mark, they could navigate the final six games well enough to earn a top 25 ranking by the end of the season.

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights

It might seem odd to see so many people around the nation billing Rutgers as a sleeper team. After all, the program has had just one winning season in the last nine years. What's more, that one season was a 7-6 mark last year.

However, Rutgers is now in year two of head coach Greg Schiano's second tour of duty. That could mean they are able to take another step forward in 2024.

The Scarlet Knights return the Big Ten's leading rusher, Kyle Monangai. He posted 1,262 yards and eight TDs on the ground last fall and he should be in for another huge year. That means that Minnesota transfer QB Athan Kaliakmanis only has to be serviceable for Rutgers to move the ball this year. Additionally, six defensive starters return from one of the best defenses in the Big Ten in 2023.

Another reason Rutgers is a trendy dark-horse pick this season is the schedule. Only one of their opponents in 2024 will begin the season ranked and that's No. 23 USC. That means the Scarlet Knights avoid playing Ohio State, Oregon, Michigan, or Penn State, the four top teams in the conference. Therefore, don't be shocked to see Rutgers finish the year with enough wins to be a top-25 team.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers

Finally, don't sleep on the Nebraska Cornhuskers. That's a program on the rise in year two of Matt Rhule's tenure.

Yes, the Huskers went just 5-7 a year ago. However, five of their losses were one-score affairs. Though winning close games has long been an issue for Nebraska, at some point that trend has to turn around and perhaps Rhule (who is a proven winner at the college level) will be the coach to figure that issue out this season.

Also, remember that the Huskers will feature a dynamic player at QB in Dylan Raiola, a 5-star signee who was the No. 2 high school QB in the class of 2024. If he adjusts quickly to the college game, the Huskers will be rather potent on offense.

Nebraska's schedule is light on ranked teams as well. They only have three opponents who will open 2024 in the top 25 and two of those teams, USC and Iowa, are ranked 23rd and 25th respectively. So keep the Huskers in mind as a team that could make a sizable leap this year. Rhule has already proven he can win at places like Temple and Baylor so it shouldn't be a shock if he gets Nebraska back on track as well.