The Big Ten has plenty of talented teams vying to challenge Ohio State at the top of the conference — Illinois, Nebraska, Oregon, Penn State and Michigan, among others — but former OSU head coach Urban Meyer believes there’s one team specifically that is the Buckeyes’ biggest threat.
During Fox’s “Big Noon Kickoff” on Saturday morning, Meyer made the case that the USC Trojans are the second-best team in the Big Ten behind the Buckeyes, but his reasoning may turn a few heads.
“As of three to four games into the season, I think it’s the hire of the year in (defensive coordinator) D’Anton Lynn,” Meyer said. “They hired him from crosstown rival UCLA. This was a team that averaged double digit missed tackles. We’re talking about the USC’s defense. And I had no idea, I started watching them on Big Ten Network, getting ready to watch and I think, ‘Wait a minute, this is an excellent tackling team.’”
Despite having Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams at QB last season, USC finished 8-5 with a 5-4 record in conference. The knock on the Trojans in 2023 was how bad their defense was, allowing 34.4 points and 433 yards per game.