Oct 15, 2016; Madison, WI, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer exits Camp Randall Stadium prior to the game against the Wisconsin Badgers. Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

Urban Meyer thinks teams on Wisconsin Badgers schedule are tougher than SEC schools

Originally posted on Wisconsin Badgers on SI
By Lorin Cox | Last updated May 23, 2025 7:45 AM ET

The Wisconsin Badgers have a really difficult schedule for the 2025 season.

Urban Meyer thinks it would be a little easier for them if they played in the SEC instead.

The former Ohio State and Florida head coach was a guest on the Another Dooley Noted Podcast, where he said he believes the top teams in the Big Ten have surpassed the best of the SEC.

The latest another duly noted podcast with the other head ball coach who won a national title.https://t.co/zEUVle7Cu7
— Pat Dooley (@pat_dooley) May 15, 2025

"You know what the SEC's done? It’s raised the level,” Meyer said on the podcast. “But the Big Ten has passed the SEC, at the upper part. If you would have told me that 10 years ago, I would’ve said it’s not even close."

He wasn't ready to say the Big Ten conference as a whole is now better than the entirety of the SEC, but all you have to do is look at the recent National Championships for Ohio State and Michigan to see which conference is succeeding more.

This year's expanded College Football Playoff had four teams from the Big Ten (Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Indiana) and three from the SEC (Texas, Georgia, Tennessee).

The problem for Wisconsin is that they face three of those in-conference playoff teams on their schedule.

They also face a historic SEC powerhouse on the schedule in Alabama, but the Crimson Tide's drop-off last season speaks to Meyers point about that conference as a whole.

Luke Fickell can't escape the challenges of either league right now, and it's clear his Badgers will be tested as much as any team in the country in 2025.