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McElroy picked some college football games straight up, while he also offered some picks against the spread.
Here is who Greg McElroy has winning the biggest college football games for Week 7:
One of the biggest games of the 2024 college football season takes place this weekend with Oregon hosting Ohio State in a marquee Big Ten matchup. Both teams enter the game 5-0 (2-0).
Greg McElroy expects the Buckeyes to show just how good they are against the Ducks, even though Ohio State has played a fairly easy schedule to this point.
“I look at this game, and I think Ohio State’s going to flex. I’m not sold right now on Oregon’s offensive or defensive line. I think Oregon has a couple of really good pass rushers, but I don’t know if those pass rushers are going to get a lot of obvious passing situations, because of how effective I anticipate the Ohio State run game being,” McElroy said. “I think Ohio State has a vastly superior roster and will pound the football.
“I like the Buckeyes to win this game convincingly on the road and reminding everyone that they are still the king in the Big Ten, regardless of how many teams have now entered the fold.”
This is a game between two teams coming off of disappointing losses. South Carolina was dominated at home by Ole Miss last weekend, ruining a strong start to the year. Meanwhile Alabama lost to Vanderbilt for the first time in 40 years, leaving the Crimson Tide fanbase incredibly frustrated.
McElroy expects Alabama to bounce back against South Carolina and for the Crimson Tide defense to step up after struggling against the Commodores.
“I’ll take the Tide in the bounce back performance, mainly on defense. I would expect Alabama to stop the run. I think they’ll do a good job in coverage against what I think is an underwhelming wide receivers corps. And they get back on track with a nice offensive performance,” McElroy said. “I think it might look a little bit like Ole Miss’s performance last week when they beat South Carolina convincingly, mainly because of how well their defense played.”
Greg McElroy couldn’t make a pick for this game because he’s calling it, but he did break down just how important it is. McElroy believes that the loser of the matchup between the Tigers and Rebels will likely miss out on the College Football Playoff.
“It feels like a second loss for LSU or Ole Miss would basically keep them out. And part of that has to do with what still remains on the schedule. Ole Miss has to go to Arkansas . They still have Georgia , who comes to them, and right now, I don’t know about y’all, I don’t love the matchup between Ole Miss and Georgia,” McElroy said.
“LSU on the other hand, they go to Arkansas, as well. They’re at A&M. They’ve got Alabama. Those three games all take place in the next 30 days. So do you think they can navigate through that unscathed? In the event that they lose to Ole Miss this weekend? I think that’s a tough thing to envision.”
(Ricardo B. Brazziell/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK)
Oklahoma upset Texas last year in the Red River Rivalry. Greg McElroy doesn’t expect a repeat performance from the Sooners this year. Instead, he expects the Longhorns to roll to a win in what is widely regarded as one of the best rivalries in college football.
“I’ll take Texas. I think they win and cover. I expect a dominant performance here from the Longhorns,” McElroy said. “I just think right now when we look at Oklahoma, just don’t trust them offensively. I don’t trust their offensive line. And I think their defense will hold up as long as humanly possible. But I don’t think they can hold up for 60 minutes.
“It’s going to be close for a couple of quarters before Texas eventually pulls away and wins the game comfortably. I’m thinking around 35-17, in that vicinity.”
Another first-year Big Ten matchup is USC hosting Penn State. The Nittany Lions enter the game undefeated, while the Trojans are 1-2 in the Big Ten. Still, McElroy expects a very close game.
“This is an interesting game to pick here, because as you guys know, I really like USC. I think they’re excellent. I think they’re better than their record would indicate,” McElroy said. “I do think there’s holes on the team. I think they’re far from perfect. But I love Penn State. And while I don’t like the travel situation for the Nittany Lions, I think defense travels. And I think the pass rush travels. And the pass rush for Penn State will prove to be a little too much.
“So I will take the Nittany Lions in what I think will be a low-scoring game where both defenses play really well, but it’s ultimately a turnover forced by Penn State that leads to a short field and ultimately the win.”
This game is expected to mark the return of Utah quarterback Cam Rising , who has been out since early September with an injury. Reports earlier this week stated that Rising will be ready to go Friday night . Still, McElroy isn’t sure if he will be 100 percent.
Ultimately, McElroy believes the Utes will come out on top in a close contest.
“I don’t know what to make of Utah. … If Cam Rising’s available, if he can go, I’d feel a lot better about Utah in this game. But I don’t trust the injury reports, and even if he’s warming up in the pregame, until I see him on the field, I don’t know what to believe,” McElroy said.
“I just don’t trust Utah’s offense at all, but I don’t know if there’s going to be a lot of points scored here either. I’ll take Utah, but I expect it to be close and I’d probably take the points there in the desert.”
Florida has won back-to-back games after getting off to a 1-2 start, but McElroy expects Tennessee to come out on top in the SEC rivalry game. The Vols are returning home to take on the Gators after suffering a stunning loss at Arkansas last weekend, and McElroy expects UT to play well.
“I’ll take Tennessee in the big bounce-back performance here,” he said. “I’m just not 100 percent sure that Florida can stop the run. Until I see Florida stop the run it’s hard for me to feel good about them when matching up against a team that will run it right down your throat.”
Cal was oh-so-close to getting a big win over an undefeated team last weekend, before falling just short and dropping a heartbreaker to Miami . McElroy expects the Bears to rebound and find a way to knock off an undefeated Pitt team this weekend.
Despite having to travel across the country following a tough defeat, McElroy predicts that the Bears will take care of business.
“This is a long way to travel when taking into account you had your heart ripped out just a couple days ago,” McElroy said. “Now Pitt, they’ve won three Power 4 games by a combined 15 points. So it’s been really narrow margins. … Eli Holstein is throwing into traffic a lot. A lot. But there’s not a lot of picks. He’s been a little careless and needs to be a lot smarter against a Cal defense that is a little bit boom or bust but they can turn you over.
“I think Cal bounces back, forces a couple of interceptions, and as a result pulls off a bit of a stunner against the Pitt Panthers in disrupting their undefeated season.”
A college football game this weekend that isn’t getting a ton of buzz but perhaps should be is BYU hosting Arizona. The Cougars are undefeated and ranked in the top 15, while Arizona has been up and down on the season. McElroy expects BYU to move to 6-0.
“I’ll take BYU. I think they’re the more complete team right now. And I think their defense will contain what Arizona has offensively,” McElroy said.
The final college football game Greg McElroy previewed for this weekend is Colorado hosting Kansas State. The Buffaloes are quietly 4-1 (2-0) and have won three straight games as the Wildcats arrive to town. However, McElroy still has questions about Colorado’s offensive line and defensive line and thus is taking the Wildcats to win on the road.
“I’ll take Kansas State. The Nebraska game is still what comes to my mind, because I think that Nebraska defense is by far the best one that Colorado’s faced this year, and they couldn’t manufacture a whole lot offensively,” McElroy said. “I think this defense will play well. I think they’ll run the football. And I don’t like the recipe for Colorado. Give me Kansas State. I would lay the points on the road.”
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