Move Over, Nick Saban—Urban Meyer Is the Best Coach in College Football

Times change quickly. Eras change. History changes. You have to sort through the fads. So college football had its first playoff, and who won? The old classic.

No, I'm not talking about Ohio State. This is about Urban Meyer. It's about Urban renewal. When Ohio State beat Oregon 42-20 to win the national championship Monday, Meyer vaulted into history. Or back into it, maybe.

Let's just say this up front: Urban Meyer is now the greatest coach of his era. He has passed Nick Saban and even done the impossible: made Saban look old and the SEC outdated.

"The chase is complete," Meyer said on ESPN while he was still on the field. "It's done. It's over."

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VINE - Urban Meyer and the College Football Playoff Trophy #OSU #OREvsOSU https://t.co/IppmSzB2KA

— FanSided GIF (@FanSidedGIF) January 13, 2015"

He was talking about his team's chase for a championship. I'm talking about Meyer's. He had already won two titles at Florida before stepping away for his health, mental and physical. But this is different. The game has changed in the past few years. And no one has done this with a third-string quarterback.

That doesn't mean college football's great coaching rivalry will stay this way. Saban has four titles and Meyer only three. And Saban will desperately try to punch back. Two weeks ago, he was still a genius. Now, he's fallen behind.

It always felt as if Saban had won the battle with Meyer, and even pushed him out of coaching. Meyer had lost so much weight. He was flipping out. Saban was just too big of an obstacle, a permanent pressure. That pressure seemed to consume Meyer and overwhelm him. So Meyer ran.

	Meyer	Saban
Seasons	13	19
Record	142-26	182-59-1
Winning %	84.5%	75.4%
Postseason record	9-2	8-8
National titles	3	4

Right? He fled, albeit for the right reasons of family and health.

But look now. Saban was frazzled by trying to stop the modern offense and Johnny Manziel. He complained that it should have been banned under rules. He traveled the country to talk with coaches about how to stop it. He brought in Lane Kiffin to modernize the offense, to remodel.

Just two years ago, Saban and Alabama were a dynasty. Now, they haven't been to a title game in two years. That doesn't sound long, but it is significant. He's adjusting, and Meyer is ahead of him. Ohio State beat Alabama in the playoffs, and then Oregon. The truth is, Ohio State crushed both of them. Both teams, both styles, both eras.

Any Midwesterner watching Monday had a tear in his eye. The physical pummeling? Catching and slowing down that blazing speed? That style had been looking like caveman stuff. But the cold-weather, Rust Belt part of the country identifies with it.

While everyone gushes today over running back Ezekiel Elliott, who was great with 246 yards and four touchdowns, he wasn't the one who won that game for Ohio State.

It was won by Nos. 54, 50, 65, 68 and 76. That front five on the offensive line. I lean toward not divulging their names. Offensive linemen tend to stay anonymous, and in Midwestern-tough thinking, there is glory in that.

Elliott pounded away at Oregon. Quarterback Cardale Jones, at 250 pounds, took a defensive tackle head-on. But that front five—and probably a few others up front—dominated Oregon and gave Jones and Elliott time and space to be patient and pick their spots.

With just under 10 minutes left in the game, Elliott put his head down and rammed into the end zone. Watch that play again. He was touched just one time by an Oregon defender. And that defender was falling sideways at the time while being pancaked by No. 65.

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VINE - Ezekiel Elliott 2 YD TD #OREvsOSU https://t.co/5ynZiux4O9

— FanSided GIF (@FanSidedGIF) January 13, 2015"

God bless, 65.

That's how I saw the game. It was revenge of the slow-twitch muscles. But I'm sure in other places around the country, they saw South-style speed, West-style agility. The thing is, while Saban is searching, Meyer has put it all together, created a new future.

He is now two steps ahead of Saban.

There were residuals to Ohio State's win too. This game made college football a national sport again, not just a Southeastern game. Oregon, in beating Florida State, had already moved from a corner-of-the-U.S. team to a national blue blood.

If the BCS had still been in place this year, Alabama and Florida State surely would have played in the title game. This time, they had to play it out to get there. From here, the Big Ten will be considered seriously. The Pac-12 too. And the Big 12.

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Meyer, who's 50 years old, has put it all together, blended past and present and future. South and West and Midwest. The only thing left is to see if he will hold up physically and emotionally while Saban, 63, chases back and while Jim Harbaugh, 51, comes after him too.

Ohio State is young and looking to start a dynasty. It always looks like that after a big moment, though. Meyer's spot in history is permanent, but the chase, actually, is never complete.

Greg Couch covers college football for Bleacher Report.