Urban Meyer declares which college football conference is 'back'

The College Football Hall of Famer said the SEC is "back" as the top conference in college football.

Former Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Urban Meyer has officially planted his flag in the SEC camp again. On the latest episode of "The Triple Option" podcast, the College Football Hall of Famer said the SEC is "back" as the top conference in college football, ending a two-year stretch in which he publicly leaned toward the Big Ten.

The SEC is all over the CFP Top 25

Meyer pointed to the depth of the conference rather than just the top-end teams. This week's College Football Playoff rankings feature nine SEC teams in the top 25, including Texas A&M at No. 3, Georgia at No. 4, Ole Miss at No. 6, Oklahoma at No. 8 and Alabama at No. 10. If the season ended today, five of the 12 playoff spots would belong to SEC programs, with Texas A&M and Georgia currently in position for first-round byes.

"The SEC is back as the top conference in college football," Meyer said on the show, while adding that the conference still needs to finish the year with a national championship to truly validate that status.

Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed celebrates with wide receiver Ashton Bethel-Roman | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

He used Alabama's path to the CFP as a reason for the declaration. The Crimson Tide have faced five ranked opponents in seven SEC games and gone 4-1 in those contests, with wins over Georgia, Vanderbilt, Missouri and Tennessee before last weekend's narrow loss to Oklahoma. Meyer wondered how the playoff committee is supposed to weigh that grind against teams in other conferences playing "relatively" weaker schedules.

The Big Ten won't go away quietly

What makes this turn especially notable is how recently Meyer was saying the opposite. Back in January, he argued that the SEC's run of dominance was "over" for the 2023 and 2024 seasons and called the SEC a "non-factor" in that window while declaring the Big Ten had moved ahead.

The Big Ten still holds the top two spots in the current CFP rankings with Ohio State at No. 1 and undefeated Indiana at No. 2, while Oregon sits at No. 7. USC (No. 15) and Michigan (No. 18) both log in at 8-2, along with Illinois at 7-3 and ranked No. 21. But the SEC's sheer volume of teams is too much to ignore.

Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Meyer is as qualified as anyone to weigh in on that debate. He won two national titles at Florida in the SEC and another at Ohio State in the Big Ten, and he is now one of the biggest media voices in the sport.

This obviously won't settle the SEC-Big Ten argument. The committee will ultimately judge resumes, and fans will keep screaming about bias no matter who earns the top seeds. But Meyer's message is clear, and now we sit back and watch.

Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson | David Leong-Imagn Images