Kirk Herbstreit reveals top-performing teams from Week 13

Following a wild week of action in Week 13 of the college football season and the final week of its regular season, ESPN College GameDay host Kirk Herbstreit revealed his top-performing teams of the week.

Here is the list of teams, 1-7, who truly impressed the college football expert in the final regular season weekend of the sport.

Michigan Wolverines

On Saturday, the Michigan Wolverines took down heated rival Ohio State 30-24. The Wolverines interim head coach Sherrone Moore called a gutsy game for the offensive side of the ball, converting on all three fourth down attempts and having zero turnovers in the game.

Defensively, Michigan forced Ohio State to commit two turnovers on their way to locking up a berth in the Big Ten Championship game and likely a third straight appearance in the College Football Playoff with a win over Iowa.

NC State Wolfpack

NC State won their third straight matchup with the North Carolina Tar Heels, taking their bitter foe down 39-20. The Wolfpacks defense made the Tar Heels star quarterback Drake Maye look pedestrian on the night as he threw two interceptions.

Offensively, NC State quarterback Brennan Armstrong had arguably his best game in the program. Armstrong outdueled Maye, completing 22 of 31 pass attempts for 334 yards, three passing touchdowns, and no interceptions.

Kentucky Wildcats

The Kentucky Wildcats played spoiler in a big way, upsetting their in-state ACC rival Louisville. The Cardinals sat in prime position for a New Year’s Six bowl game, entering the game ranked No. 10 in the CFP rankings.

But after a 38-31 loss at the hands of the Wildcats, a bowl game of that magnitude may be off the table for Louisville. Kentucky quarterback Devin Leary stole the show with his efficient play from the pocket. Leary finished the game 12-22 for 206 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception.

Oregon Ducks

Oregon kept their College Football Playoff hopes alive with a convincing win over Oregon State in the Civil War rivalry game. The Ducks learned from last year’s shortcomings when the Beavers upset them and subsequently knocked them out of the Pac-12 title game.

This year, Oregon left nothing to chance, beating their in-state rival 31-7. The calling card for Oregon this year has been high-powered offense balanced with elite defensive play, and they displayed that with another near 500 yards of total offense performance against the Beavers.

Iowa State Cyclones

Iowa State took down rival Kansas State in a game filled with offensive fireworks, to many’s surprise. The Cyclones bested the Wildcats 42-35 behind the stellar performance on the ground from running back Abu Sama.

Sama finished the game with an impressive six carries for 276 yards and three rushing touchdowns. Wide receiver Jaylin Noel also got in on the big play fun with three receptions for 160 yards and two receiving touchdowns.

Florida State Seminoles

The Florida Seminoles won a hard-fought emotional battle over in-state SEC rival Florida 24-15. In a contest that featured two programs absent of their star quarterback, it was the Seminoles who got the better of the Gators by relying on the legs of running back Trey Benson.

Benson finished the game with 19 carries for 95 yards and three rushing touchdowns. Arguably, the most important part of this victory is Florida State keeping their College Football Playoff hopes alive.

Oklahoma State Cowboys

Oklahoma State needed overtime on Saturday to knock off BYU at home. The Cowboys were fighting for a chance to score off against the Texas Longhorns in the Big 12 championship game and needed a fourth-quarter push to give them that opportunity.

Down by 11, Oklahoma State scored 14 points to BYU’s three to force the game into overtime and pick up the win. The game ball for the Cowboys goes to running back Ollie Gordon, who finished the game with 34 carries for 166 yards and five rushing touchdowns.