Kirk Herbstreit reveals top performing coaches from Week 10

Somehow, we are already 10 weeks through the college football season. With the calendar turning to November, the games are beginning to mean a little bit more as well. Rivalries are taking center stage, while the College Football Playoff race is beginning to heat up.

To celebrate some of the performances of Week 10, ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit highlighted his top-performing coaches from Saturday. Eight different guys from seven teams were recognized by the analyst.

Just three of them were head coaches, with Herbstreit focusing on a few assistants. Sometimes, there are great team wins but others, it’s really one side of the ball that gets the job done.

1. Oklahoma State HC Mike Gundy

Was there ever really going to be anyone other than Gundy at No. 1? In a series where Oklahoma beat Oklahoma State on nearly a yearly basis, Gundy was able to send the Sooners to the SEC with a loss in the likely final Bedlam.

Gundy said Saturday night was his “best” ever win against the Sooners while the fans in Boone Pickens Stadium stormed the field. A great moment for the program as they now take control of their own destiny in the Big 12 Championship race.

2. Clemson HC Dabo Swinney

We can probably thank Tyler for Spartanburg from this one. His call to Swinney’s radio call must have brought an energy to the program and it showed during Saturday’s win against Notre Dame.

Swinney told the entire country Clemson stock should be bought and a lot of it. While they still have to close out the 2023 season in impressive fashion, his point was surely made in Death Valley.

3. Washington OC Ryan Grubb

Points are always going to be needed when Caleb Williams is on the other side. Luckily for Washington, Grubb was able to put on an incredible display on Saturday, scoring at will in Los Angeles.

Washington has been incredible on offense all season but against USC, it might have been their best performance to date. Michael Penix Jr. is still working on his Heisman Trophy campaign as folks in Seattle have to love what they are seeing.

4. Alabama DC Kevin Steele

Alabama needed a change at defensive coordinator this offseason, with Steele replacing now-Ole Miss‘ Pete Golding. The story of his latest tenure in Tuscaloosa thus far has been second-half adjustments.

LSU was only able to get seven points coming out of the locker room. Yes, Jayden Daniels missed time due to concussion protocol but it was another great third and fourth quarter for the Crimson Tide.

5. Army HC Jeff Monken

The Commander in Chief Trophy could have been presented on Monday with Army facing off against Air Force. That was until the Black Knights dominated from the beginning, taking down their fellow service academy rival.

Army was nearly a three-touchdown dog but got the job done with 17 points in the first quarter. Monken now has five wins in the past seven years against Air Force.

6. Louisville co-DCs Ron English and Mark Hagen

If there is a non-Florida State team the ACC could see contend for the College Football Playoff, it’s the Louisville Cardinals. It was a defensive performance against Virginia Tech that did the job during Week 10, holding the Hokies to just three points.

This comes off the back of shutting Duke out the previous week. If Louisville can continue to play well on defense, they are going to be tough for anybody left on the schedule to beat.

7. Arizona DC Johnny Nansen

In one of the final editions of Pac-12 After Dark, Arizona continued to have a great season under Jeff Fisch. But for the Week 10 performance against UCLA, it was Nansen to got the recognition from Herbstreit.

Arizona held UCLA to under 300 total yards and 157 passing yards. A great performance in front of the home crowd, leading the program to bowl eligibility for the first time since 2017.

We are now set for another great slate of college football games, with Week 11 being right around the corner. Herbstreit will be back to showcase his top-performing coaches too as conference races begin to get tighter down the stretch.