Urban Meyer calls out Michigan, Penn State and USC for being ‘nonfactors’ in College Football Playoff rankings

The first College Football Playoff Rankings were released Tuesday night, with Big Ten teams Ohio State and Indiana rounding out the top two spots. After that, the conference saw representation at No. 9 (Oregon), No. 19 (USC), No. 20 (Iowa), No. 21 (Michigan), and No. 23 (Washington).

The SEC, however, boasted teams 3-6 (Texas A&M, Alabama, Georgia, and Ole Miss), along with No. 11 (Texas), No. 12 (Oklahoma), No. 16 (Vanderbilt), No. 22 (Missouri), and No. 25 (Tennessee). That gives the Big Ten five teams inside the top-25, while the SEC had nine teams present.

During ‘The Triple Option College Football Playoff Ranking Reaction,’ College Football Hall of Famer Urban Meyer called out No. 19 USC, No. 21 Michigan, and Penn State. Meyer accused the schools of being non-factors in the CFP race when comparing the Big Ten to the SEC.

“SEC has now surpassed the Big Ten again,” Meyer said. “I went with the Big Ten the last two years. As of right now, I know there’s a lot of ball left, but I’m staring at this. The SEC is better than the Big Ten and here’s why. The (Michigan) Wolverines, Penn State, and USC are a non-factor right now.”

USC and Michigan could rise up polls with big victories in coming weeks

“That has really hit the Big Ten hard,” Meyer continued. “With the SEC, they have six of the top ten. Remains to be seen, but whenever you have (Michigan), Penn State, and USC kinda messing around 21, 19, and one not ranked. That’s why the SEC is better.”

Penn State opened the season ranked No. 2 in the AP Poll, but has now dropped five consecutive games since winning its first three games of the season (all against non-power four competition). This resulted in James Franklin‘s firing, which completely disrupted the season. Interim head coach Terry Smith took over, but hasn’t quite added a win to the win column yet.

As for Michigan and USC, both programs have just one loss in Big Ten play. The Wolverines’ loss came to USC earlier this season, while USC fell to Illinois via a last-second field goal in its third conference game of the season. These programs have major opportunities to climb the rankings; however, as Michigan has its yearly game against No. 1 Ohio State remaining on the schedule, while USC will face No. 9 Oregon and No. 20 Iowa in the coming weeks.