Greg McElroy picks Missouri at Alabama, more notable Week 9 games

Now into the second half of the college football season, games are getting more and more important around the sport. Week 9 has several important and interesting games too, with analyst Greg McElroy picking winners in those key battles.

McElroy made his weekly picks on his show Always College Football. While making those picks, he shared his insights and thoughts on what to expect from these major matchups around the sport.

Here’s a look at Greg McElroy’s picks for Week 9 of the college football season with games from the Friday night window all the way through primetime on Saturday.

Illinois at Oregon

Illinois travels to Oregon for a Big Ten matchup between two ranked teams. The unbeaten Ducks are riding high and seem to be in the driver’s seat to make the Big Ten Championship Game and the College Football Playoff. However, Illinois is a tough and well-coached team that is coming off a big win over Michigan and has only dropped one low-scoring contest this season against Penn State.

As Greg McElroy pointed out while previewing the game, Illinois seems to be playing faster than they did in previous seasons, which has gone a long way into helping the Illini. He also pointed out that Illinois has covered in six straight games where they’ve been the underdog and they’re a massive 21.5-point underdog. Still, McElroy picked Oregon even though he admitted it feels like a very large spread.

Missouri at Alabama

The Alabama Crimson Tide need a win after dropping two out of their last three. To try and get that, the Crimson Tide will welcome a wounded Missouri Tigers team to Tuscaloosa. The Tigers are listing running back Nate Noel and quarterback Brady Cook as doubtful for the game. That’s going to be a major factor if they can’t play in this one.

Alabama is a fairly significant 13.5-point favorite in this game. For his part, McElroy highlighted Alabama finding its running game to have some success in this game. That’s something he’s fairly confident in their ability to do and he thinks Alabama will bounce back, so he took the Crimson Tide in this game.

Texas at Vanderbilt

The Texas Longhorns need to bounce back after losing to the Georgia Bulldogs. To do that, they’ll travel to Nashville for a game against a ranked Vanderbilt team. It’s a massive game for the Commodores where they’ll need quarterback Diego Pavia to have a massive impact on the game. Still, the Longhorns are an 18.5-point favorite for a reason and that’s largely because of how talented the Texas roster is top to bottom.

While McElroy did end up picking Texas, he doesn’t think that the Longhorns should be without any concern going into the game. Vanderbilt is a capable opponent and the Longhorns have flaws like taking too many penalties to deal with. That means the Longhorns need to start fast.

LSU at Texas A&M

After losing to Notre Dame to open the season, Texas A&M has largely been overlooked. However, the Aggies have just kept on winning. Now, they’ll host LSU in a very important SEC contest. This season, the Tigers have been excellent throwing the ball but have struggled to run it. Against an excellent defense, that makes for an interesting matchup.

The Aggies are a slight favorite coming into this game, with Vegas having them at -2.5 points. It’s a game that McElroy thinks will likely come down to Texas A&M’s ability to create pressure on LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier. With that in mind, McElroy picked LSU, though he feels there’s a lot to like about both teams.

Boise State at UNLV

The Boise State Broncos travel to Las Vegas to take on the UNLV Rebels on Friday night. It’s a massive game not just for the Mountain West but for the College Football Playoff. It also features some exciting offenses, with UNLV’s Go-Go offense up against a Heisman contender in running back Ashton Jeanty.

The Broncos are a 3.5-point favorite in the game. McElroy expects this game to end up being a shootout behind those explosive offenses. Both teams are also good on special teams and at forcing turnovers. Taking that into consideration, McElroy is on UNLV to win this game, trusting their offense to get things done.

Washington at Indiana

ESPN College GameDay is heading to Bloomington for this week’s game. There, the surprisingly unbeaten Hoosiers are taking on a Big Ten newcomer who went to the College Football Playoff last season. However, Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke is going to miss the game with an injury. That means there’s plenty of questions for the Hoosiers.

Despite the injury concerns, Indiana is still a 6.5-point favorite to win. Part of that, as McElroy shared, could come down to Washington’s struggles on the road this season. On top of that, Indiana has the largest cover margin in FBS football. With that, McElroy is still taking Indiana but he feels like it’s going to be “close and uncomfortable.”

Oklahoma at Ole Miss

Both Oklahoma and Ole Miss are looking to bounce back from losses. However, their outlook for the rest of the season is now looking much different. There is still a chance that Ole Miss can make it to the College Football Playoff. Oklahoma, meanwhile, is trying to build momentum and come back from a 1-3 start in SEC play.

Amid a change at offensive coordinator and another quarterback switch, the Sooners are a 20.5-point underdog in this game, a massive number given Oklahoma’s expectations coming into the season. Still, amid injuries and turnover, the offense has struggled for Oklahoma. Still, McElroy does expect the Oklahoma defense to give Ole Miss’ offense some trouble, even if he has the Rebels winning.

Nebraska at Ohio State

The Nebraska Cornhuskers are looking to make a bowl game for the first time since 2016. They’re one win away but it’s not going to be easy for the Cornhuskers this week, with their next game coming on the road against Ohio State. Widely regarded as one of the best teams in the country, the Buckeyes can’t afford a second loss at this point in the season.

Unsurprisingly, Ohio State is a healthy 25.5-point favorite in this game. McElroy expects Nebraska to start strong, though, even if the Buckeyes are likely going to be able to turn on the jets and make it a game where the Cornhuskers can’t keep up. So, he picked the Buckeyes with a lot of confidence.

Penn State at Wisconsin

Coming off a bye week, the Penn State Nittany Lions are heading to Wisconsin for a key Big Ten matchup. Seeking a spot in the College Football Playoff, the Nittany Lions need to continue winning in the second half of the season or they’ll risk a disappointing end to the year. Meanwhile, the Badgers have won three games in a row and are a tough matchup for anyone.

McElroy wants Penn State to be careful of falling into a trap game here as they enter Wisconsin as a 6.5-point favorite. Next week is Ohio State and the Badgers are capable of pulling off an upset in this setting. However, even if Penn State is sluggish, McElroy expects Penn State to pull away in the third, even if it turns out close in the end.

SMU at Duke

The SMU-Duke game has quietly become one of the most important in the ACC to this point. Coming into the game, the Mustangs are unbeaten in conference play while the Blue Devils only have one loss to this point. That means that the winner is going to be in a good position to play spoiler at the top of the conference standings. However, this important game comes first for both sides.

Entering the game, SMU is a comfortable 11.5-point favorite. It’s a game that McElroy is expecting a low-scoring matchup, noting that SMU has been underrated on defense this season. So, he has SMU winning but it coming in a close game.