Urban Meyer Puts College Football Playoff Contender on Notice with Stark Warning

The first round of the College Football Playoff rankings provided some concrete clarity to the hunt for those elusive Playoff spots. Virtually everyone had hot takes from the first round of rankings, and former Florida and Ohio State coach Urban Meyer was no exception. Now a FOX commentator, Meyer weighed on the Playoff hunt with a genuine warning for one Playoff hopeful which he delivered on The Triple Option podcast.

Meyer surveyed the Big Ten, admitted that he thought Indiana got a major break with their No. 4 ranking because of their light schedule, indicated that he would have placed No. 8 seed UCLA ahead of Indiana, and then delivered some harsh truth for one of his former programs.

Urban Meyer's Warning

"They [Ohio State] are on life support," said Meyer. "They have to win. I mean, we knew that, but this ranking... and I'll tell you the other one, Notre Dame's got zero room for error."

Coach Meyer doesn't understand why Indiana wasn't punished for their schedule pic.twitter.com/VglKTGDU3Z
— The Triple Option (@3xOptionShow) November 4, 2026

Ohio State's Struggles

Of course, Ohio State was sailing through the season smoothly until recently. Yes, the Buckeyes blew a fourth-quarter lead and lost 24-23 to Texas in Week 2. But prolific QB Julian Sayin was leading Ohio State back, including wins over Iowa and Indiana. But in that Indiana win, Sayin sustained a right arm/should injury. After a bye week, backup QB Luke Fahey took the reigns against USC... and promptly lost 30-18.

Ohio State's spot just outside the CFP field will require no further stumbles. This weekend brings a visit from No. 23 Oregon, which has struggled but certainly has enough talent to be scary. Also ahead on the schedule are Northwestern, Nebraska, and Michigan-- none of which are currently ranked but all of which have winning records and figure to have a puncher's chance-- particularly Nebraska, who will host the Buckeyes on November 21st.

The B1G Playoff Picture

The Big Ten's Playoff picture is already confusing with UCLA at 5-0 in league play and with the inside track to a spot in the B1G title game and the CFP. After the Bruins, though, it gets complicated. Indiana, despite a weak schedule, is 8-1 and after a week off this week, has USC at home as the biggest remaining challenge.

If Ohio State were to miss out, USC is probably the most likely suspect to nab a spot. They did just best the Buckeyes and at 7-2, still have the chance to take down Indiana and UCLA in their remaining action. Considering that the league has claimed the last three CFP titles, the Buckeyes status could very well end up having championship implications.

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