Urban Meyer, just like the rest of the country, could feel it coming.
When Michigan State scored 21 unanswered points in the final quarter of the Cotton Bowl on New Year's Day to shock Baylor, 42-41 — one of two Big 12 teams that felt they should have been in the College Football Playoff instead of Ohio State — the head coach of the Buckeyes felt a wave of confidence permeate through his team.
It was a feeling of excitement, a feeling of "Hey, we can do this" that was also buoyed when Wisconsin pushed passed Auburn in overtime, 34-31, to win the Outback Bowl a few hours earlier.
"There's no doubt that when we saw Wisconsin beat Auburn, that was a major, major moment for us getting ready for this game," Meyer said in the wee hours Jan. 2, after he coached his Buckeyes to a thrilling 42-35 victory against No. 1 Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. "Also I watched the end of the Michigan State game. And we were pulling hard for them. And then our players, you should have seen their face, man, they knew. They knew."
The trifecta of victories by the Big Ten's three best teams against top schools in both the SEC and Big 12 on the first day of 2015 signaled a banner movement in the college football landscape, one that picked up even more speed when Ohio State raced past the Oregon Ducks to win the National Championship 11 days later.
"There was a perception out there — I’m a believer that there’s only one way to eliminate a perception and that’s to get better," Meyer said Thursday on the Big Ten's spring football teleconference.
The Big Ten has gotten better, going a respectable 6-5 in its bowl games this past season, including four wins against ranked opponents — the most for any conference. Big Ten schools have hired better coaches in recent years, causing a shift in power back to the Midwest after it was stuck down south for nearly a decade.
"I think the success of the Big Ten teams had in bowl games, I think it’s the personalities that now are in the conference in the coaching positions," Penn State head coach James Franklin said on the teleconference. "I think it’s the success the school’s have had on a national level."
"There was a perception out there — I’m a believer that there’s only one way to eliminate a perception and that’s to get better."– Urban Meyer
Penn State beat Boston College, 31-30, in overtime, to win the New Era Pinstripe Bowl Dec. 27. Franklin is a rockstar head coach, much like Michigan's Jim Harbaugh, who along with Meyer have all joined the conference within the last three seasons.
Couple that with Michigan State's run at the top of the conference in recent years that included a Big Ten Championship and Rose Bowl victory in 2013, and the East Division is becoming a force to be reckoned with.
"Great football — and all you got to do is look across the board and see who won these games this past year," Spartan head coach Mark Dantonio said on the teleconference. "There’s a lot of competitiveness, there’s a lot of close games, and a lot of times things hanged on the inches. But you have a number of programs in there that have storied traditions and that even makes it more unique. I think it’s a very powerful side of the conference."
Harbaugh hasn't coached a game yet at Michigan, but his personality both in the media and on the recruiting trail is tangible. He's another chip in the East Division — and by extension the Big Ten — that is putting the conference on its way back to the top of college football.
"It's currently very competitive," Harbaugh said Thursday. "Seen numerous teams that will be extremely competitive this year."
Michigan's got a long way to go to get back to respectability, especially in its rivalry against the Buckeyes, who have won the last three games between the two schools and 12 of the last 14.
It appears, though, the Wolverines have the right man for the job — another rung on the competition ladder in the Big Ten's powerful East Division.
"I think our side of the conference is kind of ridiculous right now as far as the quality of teams," Meyer said. "You can see how they did in bowl games and you can see in the future, too, I see a bunch of good recruiting going on in our side of the conference, as well."
Recruiting equates to winning which equates to national respect, something that's been in plain view for the Big Ten ever since that momentous New Year's Day.
"I think Michigan State has done a lot to help the Big Ten conference. They won the Rose Bowl the year before and then they won a big bowl this year," Meyer said. "I think Ohio State’s done our share."
The Buckeyes have, but their head coach is mindful that it can't just be one or two programs resurfacing — there must be others.
"We did not win a bowl game last year, but then Wisconsin beating Auburn. I think, obviously, it’s a one-year cycle and we’ve gotta do this for a while," Meyer said. "I think the SEC had a seven-year cycle going so there’s a lot of pressure on the Big Ten to keep it rolling because it certainly did help change the perception."
