Kirk Herbstreit reveals top-performing coaches from Week 8

ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit released his top-performing coaches of Week 8, giving some love to assistant coaches. Sure, three head coaches got placed on his list. But Herbstreit really wanted to make sure specific units got credit for performing well on Saturday.

The theme of Week 8 was top teams getting tested. A few of them were able to survive, while a couple of upsets did occur. Things somehow find a way to work themselves out in college football but to this point, the national picture largely remains unknown.

But with some good performances being scattered throughout the country, Herbstreit needed to give out some credit. Seven coaches were highlighted as his top performers of Week 8, beginning with the feel-good story of the weekend.

1. Virginia HC Tony Elliott

The Virginia program has been through so much over the past year. Any coach would have a difficult time producing results on the field and Elliott has. But Saturday’s win against North Carolina was finally a breakthrough for the Hoos.

In what was just the second Power Five win of Elliott’s tenure, it came on the road against a huge rival. A great offensive day put 31 points on the board, Virginia’s highest since Nov. 20, 2021, under Bronco Mendenhall.

2. Ohio State DC Jim Knowles

For the second season in a row, the Ohio State defense was the deciding factor against Penn State. Ryan Day brought Knowles into the program to elevate the unit and thus far in big games, he has done exactly that.

Drew Allar never truly looked comfortable for Penn State, while the run game averaged 1.9 yards per carry. The 12 points put up by the Nittany Lions are a bit deceiving as well, scoring their lone touchdown with under a minute left when the game was already decided. A great overall day at the office for Knowles.

3. Utah HC Kyle Whittingham

The old saying in the NFL is ‘It’s hard to beat the same team three times in one season.’ While it might be spread out across two different seasons, Utah beating USC three times in around a calendar year is incredibly impressive, given the circumstances.

As Whittingham pointed out, USC had the Heisman Trophy winner playing QB while Utah had a pig farmer out there. Caleb Williams has not been able to figure out the Utes and may never get another opportunity to do so.

4. Washington co-DCs William Inge and Chuck Morrell

Every team is going to have a bad game at some point, with Washington’s coming against Arizona State during Pac-12 After Dark. And while you might have expected the offense to pull through, the Huskies’ defense was the one to win them the game.

A late pick-six wound up being the difference — the play everyone will remember. Arizona State was shut out in the second half though, never finding what would have been an important second touchdown. Kenny Dillingham‘s offense has given top contender fits already this season but was shut down by Washington.

5. Minnesota DC Joe Rossi

Brian Ferentz may be on the Road to 325 but a major traffic stop occurred on Saturday. The Minnesota defense was able to hold Iowa to just 10 points, dominating throughout all four quarters.

Maybe the most impressive stat from the day is Iowa having just two yards in the second half. No matter how much they have struggled this season, credit needs to be thrown in the direction of Rossi.

6. Nebraska DC Tony White

Michigan was able to put 45 points up against Nebraska but since then, the defense has responded incredibly well. For the second week in a row, White’s unit has held their opponent under double digits, with Northwestern only putting up nine on Saturday.

If Nebraska is going to reach bowl eligibility, the defense will have to continue to perform against Big Ten West opponents. Two great performances are a start, with White earning some recognition from Kirk Herbstreit.

7. Rutgers HC Greg Schiano

For the first time in a long time, Rutgers is receiving votes in the AP poll. The program is bowl-eligible for the second time since 2014. Schiano has things clicking in Piscataway and the Scarlet Knights are loving it.

Saturday was just the latest win, being a comfortable one against Indiana. A bye week will allow Rutgers to celebrate all of the accomplishments thus far before a massive road test against Ohio State.

Next week is going to give us another great slate of football, with conference and College Football Playoff races beginning to intensify. Kirk Herbstreit will continue to give out top performers as well, highlighting who truly had special weekends.