Big Ten Media Day: Urban Meyer places Ohio State-Michigan as the ‘greatest rivalry in all of sports’

The first day of Big Ten Media Days left the best for last, as Urban Meyer stepped up to the podium to address the media. Meyer talked about a wide array of topics, including the wide receiver and right guard spots, the loss to Clemson, and the rivalry with Michigan.

On the topic of Michigan, Meyer admitted that he tried to recreate the rivalry at past coaching stops. Like when he was at Bowling Green, he tried to make BGSU-Toledo the rivalry, and attempted to do the same thing with Utah’s rivals when he was there for two seasons. While Meyer also said he was biased in calling ‘The Game’ the greatest rivalry in all of college football and sport, some facts remain true, like his undefeated record against Michigan since taking control of the Buckeyes.

Since coming to Ohio State, Meyer has gone 61-6—which is some video game-esque stat. However, one of those losses was the worst in his career: last season’s debacle to Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl. It would make sense that Meyer and crew would’ve used that loss to the eventual national champions as fuel for this season. However, Meyer said at the podium at Media Day that they’ve “let the loss go...that ship has sailed.”

That loss featured six Buckeyes who would later go onto the NFL. Meyer addressed the holes left by his former starters, and said that spots are left in the tight end, defensive back and wide receiver positions. With this new crop of starters and leadership improvements, this Buckeye squad is expected to be just as good as last year. In fact, Meyer said the leadership among the team is some of the strongest he’s seen since taking over the program in 2012.

Consistency has been the key for OSU, which is a good thing, as the Big Ten East is once again going to be a battle. Meyer talked about how he thought the Big Ten and SEC didn’t really have a gap between the talent among teams.

The college football season can’t get here fast enough.