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Urban Meyer Omits Pair of Undefeated College Football Powerhouses From Top 5

In mulling over title contenders, two teams were surprisingly left off Urban Meyer's short list.
Coaching legend turned FOX Sports analyst Urban Meyer made a surprising pair of omissions from his list of national title contenders.
Coaching legend turned FOX Sports analyst Urban Meyer made a surprising pair of omissions from his list of national title contenders. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Everybody apparently can't impress Urban Meyer. The former college football coaching star whose resume included winning titles at Florida and Ohio State is now an analyst with FOX Sports and on a recent podcast appearance, discussed the teams that he felt had showed the ability to win the national championship, some of which he was hyping up even before the season.

Meyer was asked on The Triple Option podcast about five teams that had displayed championship ability. Before digging into his five, Meyer named a pair of undefeated top teams that he wasn't willing to consider-- yet.

Two Top Teams Slighted By Meyer

Meyer named Indiana and Miami as two teams that he thinks are really good teams, but acknowledged "I don't know." Meyer framed his top teams as teams that have displayed their championship mettle on the field, as opposed to having the potential to show that mettle.

Meyer dug a bit deeper in discussing Indiana.

The Explanation on Indiana

"Indiana, I don't think those first three games count," said Meyer. I can't remember who they played, but if it's a MAC school, ithat counts, but if it's a lower, lower, lower level, that doesn't count on their record, and I don't count it."

For the record, the Hoosiers opened with a 52-16 win over a 3-2 North Texas team from the AAC. Then they bested FCS member Howard by a 55-0 count, and then took down a 1-4 Western Kentucky team from Conference USA. Week 4 yielded a 29-23 win over Northwestern, which gains some prestige in light of the Wildcats' performance against Penn State in Week 5.

Meyer named his top five title contenders as Texas, Georgia, Ohio State, Florida, and Notre Dame. It's an interesting group, as Georgia opened its season against an FCS team and the same WKU team that Indiana beat. Week 3 featured an easy win over an Arkansas team that's likely the weakest squad in the SEC.

Meyer's Criteria?

The former coach also acknowledged that Florida is probably not one of the five most talented teams in the nation. The Gators opened with AAC Member Florida Atlantic and FCS Campbell before edging past a struggling Auburn team in Week 3.

The logic is further strained by the disrespect for Miami. The Hurricanes played an FCS foe in Week 2, but have otherwise beat an ACC team in Week 1 against Stanford, a league opponent in Wake Forest (who then upset Louisville last week), and won against a MAC team in Week 4.

Suffice it to say that it seems like Urban Meyer's criteria for top teams is consistently inconsistent.

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Joe Cox
JOE COX

Joe is a journalist and writer who covers college and professional sports. He has written or co-written over a dozen sports books, including several regional best sellers. His last book, A Fine Team Man, is about Jackie Robinson and the lives he changed. Joe has been a guest on MLB Network, the Paul Finebaum show and numerous other television and radio shows. He has been inside MLB dugouts, covered bowl games and conference tournaments with Saturday Down South and still loves telling the stories of sports past and present.