Greg McElroy gives surprising pick for best team in the SEC entering Week 8
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Greg McElroy appeared on “SportsCenter” on Tuesday to discuss the state of SEC football heading into Week 8. Several big matchups are on Saturday’s slate, headlined by a Top 10 showdown in Athens between Georgia and Ole Miss. LSU vs. Vanderbilt also square off in a midday affair in Nashville.
There’s also No. 4 Texas A&M‘s trip to Arkansas. With a win, the Aggies will move to 7-0 for the first time since 1994.
McElroy feels A&M is the best team in the conference right now.
“I think the SEC still remains very much a line of scrimmage league. And when I watch the Aggies, they have the best line of scrimmage. And that’s not exclusive to the offensive line or the defensive line. It’s both collectively,” McElroy said. “And they’ve really paved the way for this offense to create tremendous balance.”
The Aggies have the third-most sacks in the SEC with 21, with Cashius Howell registering 8.0 — among the highest totals in the country. They’re also allowing just a shade over 100 yards per game rushing.
On the other side of the ball, though, McElroy noted A&M’s wide receiver corps, specifically Mario Craver (634 yards, 4 touchdowns) and KC Concepcion (447 yards, 5 TDs). Their big-play ability and speed take a weight off Marcel Reed’s shoulders, the ESPN college football analyst said.
“(They’re) both guys that can take over the game with the ball in their hands (and) that’s what’s made (the Aggies) different,” McElroy said.
“So Marcel Reed, still maybe not the most accurate quarterback in college football, all (he has) to do is throw it to those guys on the screen. They can take it the distance.”
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
