Week 1 of the college football season is set to kick off Thursday, and fans and media personalities alike are chomping at the bit to watch actual football after seeing headlines dominated by eligibility rules and portal madness throughout the offseason.
With the return of another season is Greg McElroy’s “Always College Football” show, and the former Alabama signal-caller laid out his predictions for the first week of the season.
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Beginning with the marquee game of the weekend, a primetime clash between No. 11 LSU and Clemson, McElroy explained that he believes the Bayou Bengals will emerge victorious. However, he did want to pump the brakes on any idea that Dabo Swinney’s bunch would be steamrolled in this one.
“Here’s what’s interesting…he [Swinney] doesn’t get run out of the building by anybody,” McElroy said. “So take LSU, but you can have the 10.5 points. I think they win it, but I don’t think I feel comfortable with them running the Clemson Tigers out of the building.”
McElroy went on to reference LSU’s lopsided record at home and Christoper Vizzina making his first true start as reasons why the home side will have the edge.
And when it came to the questions he believes will determine the final outcome, McElroy delved into six:
- Is Sam Leavitt actually 100%?
- Who is Clemson’s quarterback?
- Can the Clemson quarterback get the ball out quickly?
- How does Blake Baker attack a first-time starter?
- Can 9 strangers catch 70% of it? – In reference to LSU’s new targets
- Who blinks first on third down?
Parker is currently the sports editor for Gulf Coast Media in Foley, Alabama. He's a graduate from Mizzou who has experience covering the Tiger football and basketball beats for SB Nation, and he's worked for a variety of sports news outlets in the past.
