ESPN’s Greg McElroy is no stranger to the SEC. McElroy was a QB at Alabama and won the 2010 BCS national championship over Texas. He also has ties to Texas having attended Southlake Carroll High School, where he won a 5A state championship. The same school Texas QB Quinn Ewers attended.
A game analyst for ESPN, McElroy also hosts the Always College Football podcast. Each week, the former Bama QB breaks down the big games and gives his prediction. The biggest game of the week is Georgia at Texas.
“I can’t wait for this game. I love this matchup. I think it’s going to be a blast. An absolute blast. You wanna talk about pros. if you’re an NFL scouting director, take a peek. Go to Austin this week.” — Greg McElroy
The former quarterback naturally focuses much of his analysis on the quarterbacks, Carson Beck for Georgia and Quinn Ewers for Texas.
“Is the offseason, I watched every single snap of Carson Beck from 2023. I watched them all. I thought he was phenomenal last year. … Think about how many great quarterbacks were in college football last year and he was in the top five in multiple categories. So far (in 2024) it just hasn’t been there for him. He’s 19th in QBR. He’s thrown five interceptions. That’s 74th. His off-target has nearly doubled from where it was a year ago. … The numbers are not good. It does feel like it’s in there. We saw it in the second half against Alabama. If we can get that version of Carson Beck in this game, then Georgia will win. But he got to play his best football. Because he hasn’t been at his best this year. So is this the game?” — Greg McElroy
McElroy turned his attention to Ewers.
“Can Quinn Ewers take advantage of a suspect Georgia secondary? The one thing I love about Quinn Ewers, and I don’t think he gets enough credit for this, he’s a big game hunter, man. This guy plays really well in big games. … He’s also got a great supporting cast. Gunnar Helm has been incredible at tight end for them. Matthew Golden has been awesome. Ryan Wingo, the freshman, man has he come on. Isaiah Bond, I know he had the ankle injury … he’s hoping he’ll be in a pretty good spot. Georgia’s secondary gave up 306 passing yards last week. 190 came in the second half.” — Greg McElroy
So, who does the ESPN expert pick?
“I have a really strange feeling about this game. I’m going to be honest with you. I think it’s going to be high scoring. I think both offenses are going to be able to move the football. I think that Georgia, for whatever reason, is going to play their best football game. Because Georgia, while no one is really talking about this, no one is really saying the quiet part out loud, but if Georgia loses this game it is far from a foregone conclusion that they’re in the college football playoff. They still have to go to Ole Miss. They still have to play Tennessee at home. It is not a guarantee that Georgia is in the playoff in the event in which they lose this game. Texas, however, things look pretty good for the Longhorns. So you know what I’m getting? I think I’m getting a desperate Georgia football team. I think I’m going to get Georgia’s best punch. And I think Georgia goes to Austin and pulls the upset.”
Georgia at Texas kicks off at 6:30 p.m. CT Saturday night on ABC.