Greg McElroy claims he’s not in the business of creating “fodder” entering the season. However, he is predicting a lot of “carnage” in the Pac-12, leading to a surprising Pac-12 Championship Game prediction from the ESPN analyst.

During his recent “Always College Football” episode, McElroy predicted Washington to take home the Pac-12 title this fall. He continued the other half of his “boldest” pick with the Huskies taking down Oregon State to hoist the trophy.

In his analysis, McElroy admitted he was looking to pick Utah in the Pac-12, but the status of Cam Rising and a difficult schedule gave him pause. He actually expects the Utes to finish 3rd.

“I was gonna go Utah, I will be the first to admit. I was going to go Utah,” said McElroy. “Cam Rising is listed as the starter in Week 1, but I’m just a little bit concerned. I think their schedule is challenging as well, so I actually have Utah finishing 3rd in the Pac-12.”

As for the Oregon State pick, McElroy maintains he is high on the Beavers as a program no one in the Pac-12 wants to face this season.

“I promise you: This is not in an effort to just create fodder. I don’t care about that,” claimed McElroy. “When I look at the programs in the Pac-12 I don’t want to play, Oregon State is at worst 1B to Utah’s 1A.”

Of course, if McElroy’s prediction plays out, that would mean a disappointing season for USC and Oregon, a pair of double-digit win programs from 2022. We’ll see if the boldness of McElroy plays itself out in 2023.