Kirk Herbstreit reveals two teams that impressed him during Week One

ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit was very impressed by two teams over college football’s opening weekend. Ole Miss defeated Louisville 43-24 despite head coach Lane Kiffin being away from the team with COVID. And while Florida State lost 41-38 in overtime to Notre Dame, the energy surrounding the team coming out of the game is tremendous.

Herbstreit came away impressed by both Florida State and Ole Miss entering Week Two.

Florida State’s energy could make them dangerous

The return of quarterback McKenzie Milton has been well documented since Sunday night. Milton returned to the football field for the first time since his devastating leg injury at Central Florida in 2018. He led Florida State on a major comeback. The Seminoles trailed by 10 points when Milton took over late in the game, and Milton led two scoring drives to send the game into overtime.

Despite falling short, most of the feeling around Florida State was positive coming out of the game. The program’s culture has improved greatly under head coach Mike Norvell, and that could prove to be a major asset.

“But the team other than Ole Miss would be Florida State,” Herbstreit said on SportsCenter following Ole Miss’ game against Louisville on Monday. “Mike Norvell last year had his hands full. Everyone had their hands full with Covid but he really had his hands full with trying to change the culture of that program. Some of his alphas and some of his better players weren’t necessarily buying into what he was trying to teach. And, he had to chase away a lot of guys. And now they’ve kind of started back from ground zero this year to build this team and this reputation, image and culture back up and they have. That’s one game. And, Florida State lost the game, and they’re not into moral victories.

“My man, when was the last time you saw Doak Campbell rocking like that? The team, the fans, the energy, the belief — they got down. [if this had been] the last three- or four-years Florida State goes away. They kept fighting. They kept coming back. McKenzie Milton, Jordan Travis, there’s just some stuff there we had not seen and I hope they’re able to build off that, even though they lost and keep playing with that kind of energy because they’re going to win a lot of games if they do.”

Ole Miss dominated Louisville on Monday

Matt Corral was very impressive in Ole Miss’ victory over Louisville. The Heisman hopeful completed 22 of his 32 pass attempts for 381 yards and a touchdown. Corral also rushed for 55 yards and a touchdown. The Rebels rushed for 188 yards and four touchdowns on 41 carries, and receiver Dontario Drummond had a monster game with nine receptions for 177 yards and a touchdown.

Despite four total players being ejected for targeting in Monday night’s game, including two from Ole Miss, the Rebels looked strong on defense. Ole Miss played a great game from start to finish.

“I would say Ole Miss tonight,” Herbstreit said. “I didn’t know what to expect from their defense. They looked really good.”

Both Ole Miss and Florida State will be at home on Saturday during week two. Florida State faces off with Jacksonville State while Ole Miss takes on Austin Peay.