Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Greg McElroy Doesn't Hesitate When Picking Winner of SMU vs. Penn State

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Matt Audilet | Last updated Dec 20, 2024 12:02 PM ET

On Saturday afternoon, the No. 6 seed Penn State Nittany Lions will welcome the No. 11 seed SMU Mustangs to Beaver Stadium for a first-round College Football Playoff contest.

James Franklin and the Nittany Lions put together a solid regular-season campaign in 2024, going 11-1 before ultimately falling to the No. 1 seed Oregon Ducks in the Big Ten Championship Game.

SMU also made a run to its conference title game, falling to No. 12 seed Clemson in the ACC Championship game after mounting an 11-1 regular-season record of its own.

Penn State is favored by 8.5 points over visiting SMU in this first-round playoff matchup. ESPN college football analyst Greg McElroy believes those pregame odds serve as a good indicator of how the game will shake out.

"I'm taking Penn State. I think it's going to be really high scoring," McElroy said on Friday morning's episode of Get Up. "... I think Penn State found something in their Big Ten title game... I like Penn State in a high-scoring game."

Penn State has been solid throughout the year, with its only two losses coming against No. 4 Ohio State and No. 1 Oregon. If the Nittany Lions take care of business on Saturday afternoon, they'll face off against the No. 3 seed Boise State Broncos in Round 2.

Saturday's "White Out" contest will kickoff at noon EST in Happy Valley.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: