‘I thought for sure it was going to be their year’ – ESPN’s Greg McElroy predicts the final score of LSU vs Ole Miss
The LSU Tigers will travel to Oxford this weekend for a massive game against the Ole Miss Rebels.
Everyone has thoughts on the LSU Tigers’ big road game this weekend against the Ole Miss Rebels, including ESPN’s Greg McElroy.
McElroy, a former Alabama quarterback, shared his thoughts on the LSU vs Ole Miss game on Tuesday on Always College Football.
The ESPN analyst shared an excellent breakdown of the game — which you can see in the video below — before making a final score prediction.
“Sam Leavitt, he’s the reason why LSU can win by 30,” said McElroy. “He’s also the reason why LSU could play a really close game. He’s got a bunch of rushing touchdowns — five to be exact — but he also has five giveaways in two games. And we know that Vaught-Hemingway on Saturday with game day on the Grove will be as about as hostile of an environment as you can possibly imagine. It is going to be ruthless, so he’s got to stay in the moment. He’s got to make good decisions. He cannot turn the football over.
“I’m taking the LSU Tigers to win the game 31-24. Look, I wanted Ole Miss all offseason. I thought for sure it was going to be their year. The takeaways or the lack thereof, that’s something that’s concerning. They have to be able to take the ball away. And if LSU’s (turning the ball over), then boom, Ole Miss should be in a really good spot. I think Ole Miss has the firepower to be able to score. I do think they could score, but the best group I’ve seen so far between the Ole Miss offense, the Ole Miss defense, the LSU offense, and the LSU defense — the best group I’ve seen is LSU’s defense. And they’ve allowed nine first downs a game. This Ole Miss run game, they’re going to have to take some of the pressure off. So yes, Lane Kiffin will get booed for three hours. I still think he wins the game in one of the most hostile environments we’ve seen in recent history in college football.”
There are already a lot of predictions out there for this game. Obviously, no one actually knows how the game will play out. McElroy, though, has historically been fairly accurate with his predictions. He may not always nail the outcome (no one does), but he has a good feel for how games will play out. McElroy puts in the work and understands the game — he’s not making an emotional pick, he’s making a pick based on what he’s seen on film.
But we’ll ultimately see on Saturday night just how accurate his prediction was for this matchup.
