The Week 10 college football slate is loaded with big games. ESPN college football analyst Greg McElroy has made his picks for this weekend’s matchups, including the Big Ten showdown between Ohio State and Penn State.
McElroy also offered his thoughts on Florida vs. Georgia, South Carolina vs. Texas A&M and other high-profile matchups.
Here is who Greg McElroy has coming out on top in the biggest college football games of Week 10:
Ohio State (-3.5) at Penn State
Two of the top teams in the Big Ten will face off on Saturday as Penn State hosts Ohio State. During the preseason, this looked like it would be one of the biggest games of the entire college football season. Both teams have lived up to that hype thus far.
Ohio State and Penn State are both ranked in the top 5, and the Buckeyes are 6-1, while Penn State is 7-0. Greg McElroy expects the Nittany Lions to win a close, low-scoring game.
“I’m taking the bait. It doesn’t feel good. It doesn’t feel good at all,” McElroy said. “I think this is going to be a super low-scoring affair. I think it’s going to be a Big Ten clash where physicality is of the utmost importance, where line of scrimmage play determines who wins and loses.
“And right now, I think there’s a decided advantage along the line of scrimmage in favor of Penn State. I’m taking Penn State.”
Florida vs. Georgia (-16.5)
Much was made about Florida’s schedule during the preseason, but the Gators have been better than expected thus far. Florida enters Saturday’s game with a 4-3 record and is coming off of a 28-point pummeling of Kentucky.
Georgia is a different animal, though, and the Bulldogs look like perhaps the best team in college football right now, despite a loss to Alabama earlier this year. McElroy expects Georgia to win but Florida to cover.
“I’m taking Georgia, but 16.5 is too many. I’m thinking like a 31-17 type of game,” McElroy said. “I think Florida will hit a couple of big plays, and I think they’ll be able to control the clock a little bit. But Carson Beck and company, they’re going to feast on a secondary that has been challenged at times this year.”
Texas A&M (-2.5) at South Carolina
Texas A&M is coming off of a huge win over LSU and now heads on the road to face South Carolina. The Gamecocks have been better than expected so far this year and are coming off of a dominant win over Oklahoma.
Meanwhile Mike Elko has the Aggies in College Football Playoff contention in his first year as the head coach. McElroy is calling the game, so he didn’t make a pick. However, he did offer some thoughts on the matchup and said both teams are very similar as far as having excellent defenses and inconsistent offenses.
“I just think these two offenses are very, very similar. And this thing could come down to who plays better and who avoids the critical mistake,” McElroy said.
Pitt and SMU have been two of the biggest surprises in all of college football thus far in 2024. Both teams have College Football Playoff aspirations as Pitt is 7-0 and SMU is 7-1. Both teams are also unbeaten in ACC play.
The winner of Saturday’s matchup will greatly increase its chances of reaching the ACC Championship Game and potentially the College Football Playoff.
McElroy expects SMU to win after struggling with Duke last weekend.
“I’ll take SMU. I think last week was the anomaly performance. They’ll have a big bounce back. And they’ll win this game comfortably,” McElroy said.
Duke at Miami (-20.5)
This matchup has plenty of storylines, including Manny Diaz facing off against his former team. You know that Diaz would love to get a win over the Hurricanes, but doing so won’t be easy. Miami enters the matchup undefeated, thanks in large part to star quarterback Cam Ward.
The Heisman hopeful has thrown for 2,746 and 24 touchdowns this season, with 5 interceptions. Ward also has 186 rushing yards and three rushing scores. McElroy expects the Hurricanes to take care of business at home but believes the Blue Devils will hang around.
“I’m taking Miami but 21 points is too many,” McElroy said. “I think Duke can turn them over a couple of times, wouldn’t be shocked if this is a game in the fourth quarter. I think it has a chance to be if Duke can force a couple of turnovers.”
Arkansas has been up-and-down throughout the 2024 college football season. Yes, the Razorbacks upset Tennessee at home. However, they were also blown out by LSU.
Now Arkansas is welcoming an Ole Miss team to town that still has aspirations of making the College Football Playoff. McElroy feels that Ole Miss needs to be careful and not look ahead to next week’s showdown with Georgia.
“They need to be careful at Arkansas. This is a good football team. If Taylen Green doesn’t turn it over, they can beat anybody,” McElroy said. “I’ll take Ole Miss, but 7 is too many. I think it’s going to be a low-scoring game. I think both defenses will play well in this game.”
The top-ranked Oregon Ducks will face the defending national champions in Ann Arbor on Saturday. This game looked like one of the best of the college football season during the preseason, but Michigan has struggled throughout the year.
The Wolverines do have an excellent defense, but the offense has been inconsistent all season, particularly at the quarterback position. McElroy expects Oregon to win but is taking Michigan to cover.
“I’m taking Oregon, but I’d take the points here,” McElroy said. “I expect it to be kind of a low-scoring affair. I would not be surprised if Michigan’s defense plays really well in the game, forces Oregon to be patient. And Oregon maybe has a lackluster offensive performance.”
Clemson has been rolling since its opening-season loss to Georgia, but the schedule is about to get more difficult, beginning with Saturday’s game against Louisville.
Both offenses have put up a lot of points this season and have defenses that have been inconsistent. McElroy expects the Cardinals to challenge Clemson.
“This will be kind of an interesting game. I think Louisville’s going to make it really interesting, by the way,” McElroy said. “I think 11 points is too many. And I think there’s going to be a lot of points scored in this game. … I’m not really sold on either defense, but I think both offenses are really capable of making things extremely difficult.”
