Greg McElroy used to play in big games for Alabama.
Now, the Crimson Tide quarterback of yesteryear turned ESPN college football analyst makes picks on Alabama’s big games on his Always College Football podcast. The guy who helped lead Bama to the 2009 national championship and launch the Nick Saban dynasty in Tuscaloosa had a tricky one on his hands on Wednesday.
On 1 side, there is a surging, 8th-ranked Alabama team that has suddenly found itself under Kalen DeBoer with back-to-back big wins over Georgia and Vanderbilt.
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On the other side, there is an unbeaten, 14th-ranked Mizzou team that is 5-0 and bursting with confidence led by transfer stars Beau Pribula and Ahmad Hardy.
The Crimson Tide are a slight favorite on the road for Saturday’s noon ET kickoff on ABC, and 1 of those teams is going to emerge from Columbia with a big tailwind for the rest of the SEC gauntlet. McElroy believes that team is going to be Alabama, and he explained why.
“Alabama has played against Florida State, they’ve gone to Georgia, and they’ve beaten a really good Vanderbilt team that’s 5-1 and ranked in the top 25. I’m taking Alabama because they’re battle-tested,” said McElroy, who also noted that he’s taking the points with Mizzou. “I think this is going to be a very close one. This might be Alabama’s toughest test of the entire season, especially when you take into account the two teams they’ve faced the last two weeks. Now they have to go on the road against a top-15 outfit in Mizzou. I’m taking the Tide, but I think it will be close.”
In a few days, we’ll find out how on target McElroy was with this SEC showdown.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
