Greg McElroy makes national championship rematch, Week 6 college football picks

Week 6 of the college football season is here and there are plenty of intriguing games. ESPN college football analyst Greg McElroy recently made his picks for the biggest games of the weekend.

One of the marquee matchups for this week is a rematch of the national championship game between Washington and Michigan. Both teams look much different now than they did a year ago, but the showdown should still be entertaining.

Here is who Greg McElroy has coming out on top in the biggest college football games of Week 6:

Missouri at Texas A&M

One of the biggest games of the college football weekend is an SEC showdown between Texas A&M and Missouri. The 25th-ranked Aggies are 2.5-point favorites against Missouri, according to FanDuel, despite the Tigers being ranked No. 9. Greg McElroy believes Vegas has it right and expects Texas A&M to come out on top.

“A big one here for Mizzou and their playoff prospects,” McElroy said. “I’ll take the Aggies. I’m not sold on Missouri’s defensive improvement just yet. I think their numbers are a little bit of smoke-and-mirrors and they’re a little inflated because they’ve yet to face a team with anywhere near as much talent as Texas A&M will have on the field.”

Ole Miss at South Carolina

Another big-time SEC showdown this weekend is South Carolina hosting Ole Miss. The Rebels flunked their first real test of the season last weekend, falling to Kentucky at home. Now they have a tough road test against the Gamecocks, who are off to a 3-1 start.

McElroy likes Ole Miss to win a close game. The Rebels are favored by 9.5 points, and McElroy didn’t make a pick against the spread.

“I’m taking Ole Miss. I think this is a tough matchup for South Carolina. One, I think Ole Miss’s defense is really underrated,” McElroy said. “But I also look at their offense, and I think this tempo is going to wear out South Carolina just a little bit. And I also think South Carolina is more susceptible in the back-end defensively to big plays that Ole Miss might be able to create. So I’ll take Ole Miss. I think it will be a competitive game there in Williams-Brice.”

Clemson at Florida State

This game looked like one of the biggest in the ACC heading into the season as the Tigers and FSU were both viewed as contenders to win the league. Instead, Florida State is 1-4 and quarterback DJ Uiagalelei is injured and won’t face off against his former team.

Even with Uiagalelei out with an injury and being replaced by Brock Glenn, McElroy expects FSU’s struggles to continue. He likes Clemson to win and cover the spread.

“I’ll take Clemson, and I’ll take Clemson big,” he said.

Tennessee at Arkansas

Tennessee faces another SEC road test this weekend as the Vols will travel to Fayetteville to take on Arkansas. The Razorbacks are off to a 3-2 start to the season and were in position to win two more games, before falling just short.

As for Tennessee, the Vols have had their way with just about everyone this year and look like one of the top teams in all of college football. Tennessee is favored by 13.5 points entering the game and while McElroy expects the Vols to win, he thinks Arkansas can hang around.

“I’ll take Tennessee, but I think it’s a lot of points,” McElroy said. “I think it’s a lot of points in this game.”

Michigan at Washington

As for the national championship rematch that was alluded to earlier, both of these programs now look much different than they did a year ago. There are new coaching staffs in place at both schools, and almost all of the top players from last year’s national title game are gone.

Washington is favored by 2.5 points, and Greg McElroy feels that the line is begging people to take Michigan. He’s hesitant, but he is rolling with the Wolverines.

“I’m taking Michigan,” McElroy said. “Now here’s the problem with that pick, Vegas’s line doesn’t make sense. It just flat out doesn’t make sense. How on Earth, based on what we saw nine months ago, and how Michigan was able to handle their business in the trenches – I know both teams are different, but I think the more physical team is still Michigan. I think they have a more dynamic quarterback.

“So I’m going to plug my nose, and I’ma disregard what Vegas has here, because it feels like everyone and their brother is going to be on the Wolverines. But it’s the only side I can take. And I will put zero dollars on it, because I don’t feel confident in it whatsoever.”

USC at Minnesota

A first-year Big Ten matchup between former college football powers is another matchup that is intriguing to McElroy.

USC is an 8-point road favorite against a Minnesota team that is off to a 2-3 (0-2) start with a couple of losses by three points or less. Minnesota should have a really good home-field advantage for the Big Ten game, but McElroy is rolling with USC.

“I will take the Trojans, and I’ll take them comfortably,” McElroy said. “I’m not sold right now on Minnesota’s defense. I think SC will be able to create some advantages outside and will win those 1-on-1 matchups.”

Miami at Cal

The final marquee college football game for Week 6 that McElroy picked is Cal hosting Miami. The Hurricanes are favored by 10.5 points, and ESPN College GameDay will be in town for the ACC showdown.

McElroy likes Miami to win the game but Cal to cover.

“I’ll take Miami, but I’ll take the points,” he said. “I think the points seems like a lot. Just saying, seems like a lot.”