Greg McElroy led Alabama to the biggest trophy there is, helping the Crimson Tide launch the Nick Saban era with the first of 6 national championships in 2009.
Now a college football analyst and the voice of the Always College Football podcast, McElroy launched his 2026 season picks by telling everyone who he thought would rule those conference championships at season’s end.
McElroy, who played in Tuscaloosa from 2007-10, the first 4 seasons of the Saban era, touched on each Power 4 conference and who he thought would be the team holding that coveted trophy before the College Football Playoff even started.
Two-time defending SEC champion Georgia will be looking for that conference championship 3-peat in 2026, and guess who McElroy has being there at the end again in December in the SEC? You got it — Georgia. McElroy believes the Bulldogs will beat Texas in the title game, just like they did in 2024 in an overtime thriller in Atlanta.
If Georgia is able to go the distance again in the SEC, it would set up Kirby Smart‘s program for another Playoff run. Just like Miami, who McElroy happens to have beating Louisville in the ACC title game. The Hurricanes have designs on winning it all this season, just like Georgia, and winning the ACC as McElroy believes they will would set up the Canes to capture their first national championship in a quarter-century.
Georgia, of course, just won national titles in 2021 and 2022, and McElroy has the Dawgs denying Arch Manning and the Horns to complete another conference championship crusade.
What about the Big Ten and what about the Big 12? McElroy weighs in on what would be a power-packed Big Ten title game, and he gives his call on the Big 12 in 2026 just days before the start of what promises to be a memorable season.
While McElroy has his own thoughts on the conference he used to play in, here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about the SEC title and which teams have the best shot to be the last one standing in the conference in 2026:
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.
