Urban Meyer Makes Bold Claim On Big Ten vs. SEC Rivalry

Before becoming a college football analyst for Fox Sports, coach Urban Meyer has had a taste of both the Big Ten Conference and Southeastern Conference through his 17-year coaching career in the NCAA. He's had stops with the Bowling Green Falcons, Utah Utes, Florida Gators, and Ohio State Buckeyes.

Meyer won multiple national championships with Florida (2006, 2008) and one with Ohio State (2014). He also has three Big Ten titles (2014, 2017, 2018) and two SEC titles (2006, 2008).

“Well, you know what the SEC’s done? It’s raised the level. 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.”
Urban Meyer via Another Dooley Noted

Urban Meyer came to love star quarterback Braxton Miller (5) and the rest of the 2012 Buckeyes, and to this day does not understand why they were punished for NCAA violations committed by predecessors. | Kyle Robertson/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Big Ten has dominated the game as of late with the league having won the last two national championships in the Michigan Wolverines (2023) and Ohio State (2024).

“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... The Wolverine team two years ago was one of the best teams I’ve seen. The Buckeye 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.”
Urban Meyer via Another Dooley Noted

The Big Ten was arguably the most competitive league in college football in 2024, ahead of the SEC. That's simply based on the fact that the Big Ten had four teams invited into the 2024 College Football Playoff field (No. 1 Oregon Ducks, No. 6 Penn State Nittany Lions, No. 8 Ohio State, No. 10 Indiana Hoosiers), one more than the SEC's three teams (No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs, No. 5 Texas Longhorns, No. 9 Tennessee Volunteers).

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"I’m anxious to see the SEC fight back for that because next year’s another year... That SEC-Big Ten fight, the top obviously the last two years goes to the Big Ten. But still, that middle to the bottom, it’s the SEC by far. You’ve got eight teams, nine teams in the SEC that think they can go win a national title, no other conference has ever had that.”
Urban Meyer via Another Dooley Noted

Last season, the leagues had four head-to-head matchups during the non-conference. The USC Trojans beat the LSU Tigers in Las Vegas on Sept. 1, 27-20. Texas took down Michigan in Ann Arbor on Sept. 7, 31-12. The Alabama Crimson Tide beat the Wisconsin Badgers in Madison on Sept. 14, 42-10. The LSU Tigers took down the UCLA Bruins in Baton Rouge on Sept. 21, 34-17.

In the 2025 non-conference, here are all the games between the Big Ten and SEC scheduled:

Texas at Ohio State - Saturday, August 30

Michigan at Oklahoma - Saturday, Sept. 6

Wisconsin at Alabama - Saturday, Sept. 13