Urban Meyer Settles SEC vs Big Ten Debate Without Hesitation

By Matt Audilet

Contributing Sports Writer

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Legendary college football coach Urban Meyer has a wealth of experience with both the SEC and the Big Ten, winning two national championships with the Florida Gators and one with the Ohio State Buckeyes.

The Big Ten is home to each of the last two College Football Playoff national champions. Meyer's former Ohio State program claimed last year's title, and the rival Michigan Wolverines won the year prior.

Before Michigan's 2023-24 title, each of the previous four champions hailed from the SEC.

Heading into the final stretch of the 2025 college football season, the SEC and Big Ten hold firm control at the top of the College Football Playoff rankings.

While Ohio State holds the No. 1 spot and the 11-0 Indiana Hoosiers sit at No. 2, the SEC boasts five teams in the top 10. Oregon is the only other Big Ten team in the top 10, holding the No. 7 spot.

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During the most recent episode of "The Triple Option" podcast, Meyer declared the SEC the top conference in college football.

“They’re back,” Meyer said. “Obviously, they’ve got to go win the national title, but as far as strength and depth of conference, it was hard to say for the past two years with the [Michigan] Wolverines and Ohio State winning the National Championship. But from top to bottom, certainly the top was won by the Big Ten. And I watch a lot of it. I watch it on TV, but also on my computer. It’s different. The SEC is back as the top conference in college football.”

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The 10-0 Texas A&M Aggies are the highest-ranked SEC team at No. 3, followed by No. 4 Georgia, No. 6 Ole Miss, No. 8 Oklahoma and No. 10 Alabama. The SEC also features four more teams in the top 25: No. 14 Vanderbilt, No. 17 Texas, No. 20 Tennessee and No. 22 Missouri.

With each week of passing college football action, it's beginning to look more and more likely that this year's champion once again comes from either one of these powerhouse conferences. The last time a national champion came from outside either the Big Ten or SEC was Clemson's title victory in 2018-19.

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