Ohio State's Urban Meyer says he won't use Michigan's name, calls recruiting comments 'slander'

"That is the greatest rivalry," Meyer continued. "We will be absolutely ready for it, and our kids will have a clear understanding of what that game means. And, obviously, (former) coach (Jim) Tressel did a fantastic job of that as well."

Meyer was at the center of controversy recently after Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema and Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio publicly criticized his recruiting practices. He has flipped eight recruits to the Buckeyes, including the Spartans' top recruit, defensive lineman Se'Von Pittman, and Badgers offensive lineman Kyle Dodson.

Bielema has called Meyer's recruiting "illegal," and Dantonio said it was "unethical."

"I was very angry," Meyer said of those characterizations. "When you use those terms, something like illegal, that couldn't be further from the truth. That doesn't happen here, and if it did, we would make a change.

"I was very angry that would even be brought up, and there were fellow Big Ten coaches who were angry as well, and the commissioner (Jim Delaney) was very angry, so to have that make the presses, especially when it's inaccurate, legally you're not allowed to do that. That's slander. You can't use someone's name and then use terms like that. It's very wrong, but we've moved on."

Meyer also commented on how Big Ten play stacks up with play in the SEC, where he coached at Florida from 2005-10.

"I don't think it's that far off. I think it's cyclical. There will be a time when the Big Ten will go get that crystal ball back — I'm hoping sooner than later. ... The thing right now, you look at the recruiting rankings, not that that means a whole lot, but you know what? It does. And there's a lot of SEC teams right now in the top 25, where I think the Big Ten has to get up in there. If you want to have great, great teams and win bowl games, you have to get you some of those players. And, I imagine that's not rocket science. ... I think that's the one area where I do see a difference."

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