Greg McElroy has locked in his picks for the 2026 conference championship games, and in each of the Big Ten, SEC and ACC, he went with the preseason media favorite.
The former Alabama quarterback and ESPN college football analyst sees Ohio State, Georgia and Miami finishing the job when the season shakes out. Week 0 is right around the corner, and with it comes the last wave of preseason predictions for 2026.
In the Big Ten, McElroy is siding with Ohio State over Oregon. The Buckeyes and Ducks are the two highest-ranked teams in both the AP Poll and USA Today Coaches Poll, and McElroy expects them to be the ones playing for the title in Indianapolis. Oregon returns more production, but McElroy believes Ohio State’s less proven pieces may have the higher ceiling.
“I have Ohio State sitting there at 11-1 in the regular season, they win it in Indianapolis,” McElroy said. “They're my No. 1 team and they're the AP's No. 1 team.
I look at the team across from them, Oregon, I love them. I don't know where exactly their losses might fall, I have two (losses) potentially in the regular season.”
The SEC pick follows a similar script. Georgia and Texas have become a popular projected matchup for the 2026 SEC Championship Game, with Georgia coming off five straight appearances in the league title game and Texas loading up through the portal to build one of the sport’s most dangerous rosters.
McElroy has both teams arriving in Atlanta at 10-2, but he’s taking Georgia to win the conference for a fourth straight season. He also believes Texas can still make the 12-team College Football Playoff even if it drops the championship game and finishes 10-3.
“Georgia goes 10-2, gets to Atlanta,” McElroy said. “You look at Kirby Smart, 10-2 in a nine-game league's not necessarily a disappointment, it's just a tax and he pays and still walks out with the trophy. Meanwhile, Texas finished 10-2 in the regular season with a loss in the conference championship game, but still a 10-3 team with that schedule, arguably the third-toughest in America with Ohio State in the non-conference, is a really good season that will be more than enough to make the College Football Playoff.”
McElroy’s ACC pick is Miami, which has become close to the consensus choice in preseason talk. The Hurricanes bring back a lot from a defense that was elite a year ago, and the arrival of Darian Mensah is expected to give the offense a much bigger ceiling than it had with Carson Beck.
“Miami, I have them going 11-1, you can probably assume where that one loss is coming, if you look at their schedule it's a little bit easier to pick out,” McElroy said. “I have them at 11-1, 12-1 after they win the ACC.”
McElroy did not weigh in on Louisville’s path in the ACC race. The Cardinals have posted at least nine wins in each of the last three seasons under Jeff Brohm, but they’re bringing in several new pieces for 2026. Even so, Louisville returns the backfield duo of Isaac Brown and Keyjuan Brown, along with multiple key defensive starters.
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