Urban Meyer Has Issue With Texas vs. Ohio State Matchup Next Season

Urban Meyer recently shared his thoughts on the scheduling debate surrounding the matchup between the Texas Longhorns and Ohio State Buckeyes next season.

Former head coach Urban Meyer watches from the sideline during the NCAA football game between the Michigan Wolverines and the Ohio State Buckeyes at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian has already made it clear that the program will be honoring its future non-conference matchups against the Ohio State Buckeyes and Michigan Wolverines.

But Urban Meyer doesn't think next season's Texas vs. Ohio State matchup in Austin on Sept. 12 should be played.

The Longhorns are set to host the Buckeyes during the second half of the home-and-home series, though Meyer is taking the side of those that feel future non-conference games against high-level opponents should be cancelled in order to preserve a respectable record in the eyes of the College Football Playoff committee.

Urban Meyer: "Don't Play That Game"

Former Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer broadcasts on Fox's Big Noon Kickoff prior to the NCAA football game between the Buckeyes and the Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

From Ohio State head coach Ryan Day's perspective, Meyer thinks cancelling the Texas game would be beneficial to the Buckeyes in order to avoid any risk of missing the College Football Playoff due to lack of wins.

“If I’m Ryan Day, I don’t play that game at Texas next year," Meyer said in an interview with Dan Dakich of Outkick. "I’m going to the Athletic Director and saying I’m not playing that game. Give me Old Dominion, Indiana State and Kennesaw State.”

This also appears to be somewhat of a jab at the Indiana Hoosiers, who played a weak non-conference schedule during the regular season that included the three teams Meyer mentioned: Old Dominion, Indiana State and Kennesaw State. Indiana won all three games by a combined scoring margin of 156-23.

The Hoosiers more than earned the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff but their soft non-conference slate certainly left more to be desired.

But as it pertains to Ohio State, the Buckeyes have already show that they have Texas' number after securing two wins over the Longhorns in a seven-month span.

Coming out with a win in Austin next season will be no easy task for Ohio State, but it remains a huge opportunity for both teams. And with Sarkisian already confirming that the Longhorns don't plan on cancelling the matchup, it's hard to see a Ryan Day-led program not following suit.

"We're going to honor Ohio State and Michigan," Sarkisian said. "We went there, we went to Ann Arbor, went to Columbus. We're going to honor those return trips. So for the next two years, we know what our non-conference schedule is going to look like, and that's the right thing to do. We made the commitment to play them, and will honor that commitment for them to come play us here."