Kirk Herbstreit reveals top performing teams from Week 2
With Week 2 of college football wrapped up, the time has come for ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit to name his top performing teams. There were a number of worthy candidates to choose from this week, but only seven can ultimately make the list.
Northern Illinois came in at No. 1 after its 16-14 upset victory against Notre Dame on the road. The Huskies were the only Group of 5 team on the list, as Texas came in at No. 2 for its dominant victory against defending national champion Michigan.
It’s early in the year, but these teams have caught the attention of not only Herbstreit, but the country with their performance. They will certainly be worth monitoring moving forward at the very least.
You can view the full list of Herbsteit’s top teams from Week 2 of college football below.
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1. Northern Illinois Huskies
The Huskies came away with the upset of the week, winning on a last-second field goal to turn Notre Dame’s season upside down. Northern Illinois limited its mistakes and forced a pair of turnovers from the Fighting Irish as they managed to hang around until the very end.
NIU improved to 2-0 on the young season with the win and could be a candidate to represent the Group of 5 in the College Football Playoff. The Huskies moved into the No. 25 spot in the AP poll and would need to win the MAC title and finish as the highest-ranked G5 champ to do so.
2. Texas Longhorns
Texas sent a statement to the rest of the country on Saturday with a 31-12 road victory against defending national champion Michigan. Quinn Ewers was the star of the day as he went 24-of-36 passing for 246 yards and three touchdowns.
The Longhorns never trailed on the afternoon as they jumped out to a 24-3 lead by halftime. They’ve still got two more weeks to go until they play their first SEC conference game, but they look to be a contender to win the league title.
3. Tennessee Volunteers
Tennessee didn’t enter the season as one of the favorites in the SEC title race, and they’ll still have to contend with Texas, Georgia and Missouri to get there. However, the Vols have thrown themselves into the conversation after their dominant performance in Week 2.
They rolled to a 51-10 victory against then-No. 24 NC State in which they never trailed and went up 37-3 before the Wolfpack even scored a touchdown. Redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava has been electric through two games, throwing for 525 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions. He also had 65 yards rushing and a touchdown on Saturday.
4. California Golden Bears
California did just enough to come away with a 21-14 road win at Auburn on Saturday, improving to 2-0 on the season. Quarterback Fernando Mendoza went 25-of-36 passing for 233 yards and two touchdowns.
This is the first season in the ACC for the Golden Bears, who could stand a chance to make some noise if they continue to play how they did Saturday. Their next contest comes against San Diego State at 10:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.
5. South Carolina Gamecocks
South Carolina had a lot of fans worried after barely escaping Old Dominion in Week 1, but made up for it in its SEC opener on Saturday. The Gamecocks rolled to a 31-6 victory against Kentucky on the road and did enough to grab the attention of ESPN’s College GameDay, which will head to Columbia for a Week 3 contest against LSU.
Running back Rocket Sanders provides a presence in the backfield that South Carolina has not had in previous seasons under coach Shane Beamer. He has rushed for 142 yards and two touchdowns through the first two games of the season.
6. Syracuse Orange
Transfer quarterback Kyle McCord put together a career-best performance to lead the Orange to a 31-28 victory against Georgia Tech on Saturday. He went 32-of-46 passing for 381 yards and four touchdowns, leading Syracuse to a 31-14 lead with just over eight minutes to go.
The Yellow Jackets attempted to battle back with a pair of late touchdowns, but the early deficit was ultimately too much to overcome. The Orange have a bye this week before another conference matchup against Stanford in Week 4.
7. Virginia Cavaliers
The Cavaliers used a late touchdown to pull ahead of Wake Forest on Saturday, then got a defensive stop to hold on for the 31-30 win. Virginia scored a touchdown with 2:07 remaining and then forced a fumble on the ensuing possession to regain possession.
It would eventually punt the ball with 57 seconds left, but the defense once again held to pull out the victory. The Cavaliers improved to 2-0 and next faces Maryland at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday.