Former Alabama player and current ESPN college football analyst Greg McElroy believes big accomplishments are in store for Ole Miss and Alabama — but he’s slightly more confident in one program over the other.
When it comes to Ole Miss, McElroy sees a very clear path to the College Football Playoff, but he did highlight that the Rebels have plenty of games they could lose.
“A lot of games I think that are losable, but I think there’s really about five that are legitimately losable,” he said on his YouTube show, Always College Football. “And I’m not saying they lose all five I think they probably win four of the five in some cases, maybe three of the five in some cases,” he added.
Overall, the 10-win range could be the spot for Ole Miss, per McElroy.
“10-2, the Old Miss Rebels probably in not in the SEC Championship but more than likely en route to the college football playoff. Just a matter of who those losses come to. But you look at the schedule it lays out pretty nicely for Ole Miss.”
As for Alabama, McElroy believes the Crimson Tide are in for a hot start.
“At worst for Bama you’re looking at a 5-1 start, potentially 6-0, very much within the realm of possibility,” he declared. “But down the stretch is where it gets much more difficult.”
He predicts Bama’s pitfalls to come on the road.
“Now on the road, at Tennessee, extremely difficult game on the road. At LSU, very difficult game. And that road trip to Oklahoma right before the Iron Bowl, also very challenging.”
Like with Ole Miss, McElroy worked backwards, evaluating how many games he actually thinks Alabama can and will lose.
“You look at it, how many games are losable? I mean five, perhaps? How many do you really think they’re going to lose? I have a hard time thinking that Alabama’s going to lose once maybe twice on their home field this year. I just don’t see it.”
Given the schedules and current nature of the programs, Greg McElroy ultimately gave the following answer on which team he’s higher on in 2024:
“So right now, based on the win total that is presented to us between Ole Miss and Alabama, I would lean just-ever-so-slightly in favor of Alabama.”
However, he sees both competing for the championship come December.
“At the same time, I think Ole Miss is right there. I think both these teams will ultimately end up in the College Football Playoff and I think they will occupy at least two of the maybe four spots the SEC is possibly going to get when the playoff is unveiled there at the beginning of December.”
The Alabama-Ole Miss rivalry sometimes gets overlooked among those old SEC West head-to-heads, but the Rebels vs. Tide will be an interesting dynamic to track, especially when many folks thought Lane Kiffin should have gotten a call for the Alabama job.
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