Urban Meyer believes the SEC will be something Texas, Oklahoma have 'not experienced'

As a three-time national championship-winning head coach, two at Florida and one at Ohio State, Urban Meyer is quite familiar with the SEC and Big Ten conferences. So, when it comes to questions about Texas and Oklahoma‘s recent move from the Big 12 to the SEC, Meyer is more than qualified to provide some perspective.

On Wednesday’s episode of The Herd with Colin Cowherd, the former Gators and Buckeyes head coach addressed Texas and Oklahoma’s move. Meyer also painted a bit of an uncertain picture for the two programs that were widely considered head and shoulders above everyone else in the Big 12.

“I got educated on the SEC in 2005 when I was in Florida, and we played Tennessee in the swamp,” Meyer said. “And I looked out there and there’s big men that I mean— everybody’s going to have really good skill; some teams have elite, but everybody’s got good skill. The difference is that damn defense line and linebackers. The way they run in the South and in the SEC and the way they take their football.”

According to Meyer, the biggest obstacle for Texas and Oklahoma to overcome is dealing with the size and speed of defensive lines in the SEC. While both the Sooners and Longhorns have squared off against quality defensive lines, it is nowhere near as consistent as it will be when they step into the SEC.

As Meyer continued, he highlighted just how strong the SEC is. Before the conference realignment, you had Texas and Oklahoma in the Big 12, USC in the Pac-12, Florida State, Miami, and Clemson in the ACC, and Ohio State and Michigan, along with independent Notre Dame, who were the non-Southeastern Conference national championship contenders.

In the SEC, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, LSU, and Auburn were programs that were expected to compete for a national championship year in and year out. All except the Volunteers have won a title since the turn of the century. Texas and Oklahoma are only added to the list of programs expecting to win it all every year in the SEC.

“So I count 8— now you add Texas and Oklahoma; I count 10— teams that really their alumni, they’re budgeted, and their fans expect them to compete for a national title,” Meyer said. “In the Big Ten, you got Ohio State and the Wolverines; you got Penn State and now USC in that category… The SEC is a whole different level as far as top to bottom. The teams at the top teams in the Big Ten are as good as anybody; they proved that last year. However, week in and week out, Texas and Oklahoma, and I’ve got respect for those programs and those coaches, but it’s going to be something they’ve not experienced.” 

Meyer is not taking anything away from the Big Ten when it comes to the conference’s ability to compete for a national championship. However, unlike the SEC, an argument could be made that the Big Ten only has six possible programs whose fanbase considers them to be a national championship threat yearly: Michigan, Ohio State, USC, Penn State, Washington, and Oregon. However, only the first three have won at the national championship in the 2000s.

This is not to say that Texas or Oklahoma will not find success in the SEC going forward. Rather, Meyer believes that the road to success for either program will be that much more difficult now that they’re playing in a conference where more than half of the participants expect our championship or bust.