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According to former Ohio State and Florida head coach Urban Meyer, the Big Ten is now the premier conference in college football, ahead of the SEC. But Meyer is taking things one step further, claiming that he is the reason that the Big Ten usurped the SEC.
Meyer made a recent appearance on the Another Dooley Noted Podcast and discussed Big Ten teams winning the College Football Playoff each of the last two seasons. He talked about the growth of the conference and how it is, at least, seemingly on even footing with SEC. But it’s when Meyer got into the “how” of the Big Ten surpassing the SEC that things got interesting.
“Well, you know what the SEC’s done? It’s raised the level,” Urban Meyer said. “But the Big Ten has passed the SEC at the upper part. If you would have told me that 10 years ago, I would’ve said it’s not even close. Because it’s not.”
“When I first got to the Big Ten, even Shelley said, ‘What in the world? This is a slow man’s game up here,’ and I like to think that the Buckeyes really changed that. Then everyone else started investing in their schools,” Meyer continued. “And started recruiting the best player, not just the footprint. As a result, the Wolverine team two years ago was one of the best teams I’ve seen. The Buckeyes team this year is one of the best I’ve ever seen. You’re seeing Penn State, and some of these teams have great success.”
Now, Meyer is probaly being a bit hyperbolic. But he makes a solid points. He came to the Big Ten in 2012. Penn State was dealing with the fallout of the Jerry Sandusky scandal. Michigan was in the dregs of Brady Hoke Era, and Ohio State had just come off sanctions and a 6-7 record under Luke Fickell. So the Big Ten was in a bad spot.
And the Ohio State whipping everyone’s butt under Meyer did serve as the impetus for Michigan hiring Jim Harbaugh and Penn State hiring James Franklin, which reflected significant investments in those programs.
Now Penn State enters the 2025 season as a genuine national title contender and Michigan is coming off a 2023 national championship. Is Meyer self-absorbed? Sure. But it appears he hit the nail on the head this time around.