Meyer Declares Big Ten College Football's New Power Conference
Urban Meyer says the Big Ten has overtaken the SEC as college football's top conference, pointing to three straight national championships and the league's recent dominance in College Football Playoff games. Meyer, who has won national titles in both conferences, made the case on the Week 1 broadcast of "Big Noon Kickoff."
Meyer noted that the SEC won 13 of 17 national championships over a stretch of nearly two decades, a run he said ended three years ago when Michigan, Ohio State and Indiana each captured the title in consecutive seasons. He also cited the Big Ten's record in the College Football Playoff - 4-0 in playoff games against the SEC - along with four wins in five non-playoff bowl matchups against SEC opponents. Meyer extended the argument beyond the field, noting that the Big Ten produced more first-round NFL Draft picks than the SEC last year after the SEC had led the draft for years. disc golf betting
The Big Ten's playoff results back up part of that claim. The conference sent four teams to the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff in 2024, then three in 2025, with Indiana and Ohio State earning the top two seeds and first-round byes. Indiana and Oregon both reached the semifinals, and Indiana went on to win the championship. In the 2025 NFL Draft, Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza went No. 1 overall to the Las Vegas Raiders - the first Big Ten player taken with the top pick since Michigan's Jake Long in 2008 - and three more Big Ten players went in the top 10: Ohio State's Carnell Tate, Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles.
Meyer's own résumé spans both leagues. He led Ohio State to a national title in 2014 and went 83-9 over seven seasons in Columbus from 2012 to 2018. Before that, he coached Florida from 2005 to 2010, winning two SEC titles and two national championships, in 2006 and 2008. Entering Week 1 of the 2026 season, the Big Ten holds three teams in the AP Top 10 - Ohio State, Oregon and Indiana - and eight overall in the Top 25, including USC, Michigan, Washington, Penn State and Iowa.
