Former Ohio State Coach Has Bold Take On Big Ten And SEC Takeover Of CFP

The Big Ten and SEC are the "big dogs" of the College Football Playoff era, and they're always hungry for more.

Jan 20, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes defensive end Jack Sawyer (33), defensive end JT Tuimoloau (44), head coach Ryan Day, safety Lathan Ransom (8), tight end Gee Scott Jr. (88) and running back TreVeyon Henderson (32) celebrate with the trophy after defeating the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the CFP National Championship college football game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff was a ton of fun, and it was especially fun in Columbus, Ohio. The Ohio State Buckeyes rolled through Tennessee, Oregon, Texas and Notre Dame to ultimately win the CFP Championship.

That's good stuff, especially for the television networks and the Big Ten, because OSU winning it all is ratings gold. Either you're tuning in to root for the Buckeyes, or you're tuning in to hate-watch them.

As with anything in college football, though, it ultimately comes down to money. There are always ways to make more money, and right now the two conferences in charge of holding those purse strings are the two conferences that are the biggest: The Big Ten and the SEC.

It so happened this past season that the Big Ten got four teams into the CFP while the SEC felt that it was stiffed a bit with only three in the field. The idea of expanding the playoffs is a real possibility because an expanded playoff would only increase the number of Big Ten and SEC teams playing for the championship, though.

If that is to happen, there are rumors that the two conferences are pushing for four automatic bids each. That's not yet a guarantee, but someone who knows a thing or two about winning championships as well as the Big Ten — former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer — believes it basically is.

“I made a phone call when I saw this and it is going to happen,” Meyer said on The Triple Option Podcast on Wednesday (h/t On3). “This is not maybe. Remember, in the fall, that the commissioner of the SEC and the commissioner of the Big Ten get together. Those are the big dogs and it really is unchallengeable."

Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti and SEC commissioner Greg Sankey will play nice with the likes of the ACC, Big 12, Group of Five and Independents (aka Notre Dame), but ultimately, Meyer is predicting a power grab by the two "super conferences". In fact, he thinks it's already happening.

"I can imagine Commissioner Sankey and Petitti at the Big Ten just said ‘You know what? We’re going to make some decisions here.’ I know this is pretty bold but it’s probably not a conversation. It’s ‘We’re going to demand this. We are going to do this or we take the ball and go play,'" Meyer explained.

These changes could come into play as soon as 2025, but that would require a unanimous vote from all the parties involved. The ACC and Big 12 wouldn't have much reason to go along with it, but to Meyer's point, they don't have much leverage when the SEC and Big Ten could essentially start their own playoff that would be a massive draw over anything the "lesser" conferences could offer.

As Meyer said, the SEC and Big Ten are the "big dogs", and they're always hungry for more