Kirk Herbstreit reveals his First Four In, First Two Out of College Football Playoff following Week 4
After three fund weeks of football, we got some major matchups in Week 3 with some eyebrow-raising results for one reason or another. Now that the dust has settled, ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit took a look across the country and named his top four teams in the country.
Herbstreit liked seeing Georgia and Washington continue to dominate, and also commended Texas for their shellacking of Baylor. Plus, he had to note the huge road wins for Ohio State (at Notre Dame) and Florida State (at Clemson). In the tweet right here, you can see all six of the teams Herbstreit singled out and why he’s so impressed by each of them thus far.
1. Washington
The Huskies at No. 1 for Herbstreit! For good reason, too, as he calls them the “most dominant team.” That’s absolutely true, as Washington has won all four of their games by 30 points or more – including matchups against California and Michigan State.
Michael Penix Jr. is an obvious Heisman candidate and perhaps even the front-runner at this point. And he has some big-time help with his tremendous wide receiver corps of Rome Odunze, Jalen McMillan and Ja’Lynn Polk.
2. Georgia
The reigning champs are inherent members of lists like this until they give analysts like Herbstreit a reason to doubt them. Sure, they haven’t been quite as dominant as they were in ’22, but UGA is undefeated nonetheless.
Herbie also considers Kirby Smart’s club the “most talented” contender of the bunch, which is certainly a fact given the Bulldogs’ recent recruiting success. We’ll all know more about this year’s Georgia squad after another couple SEC contests. But for now, they’re deserved CFP shoo-ins.
3. Florida State
Florida State scared everybody with a near-loss to Boston College last week, who just got blown out of the Western Hemisphere this week against a Louisville team that scored 40+ in the first half. However, the ‘Noles bounced back this week and now have two of the more impressive wins in the country.
In Week 4, they exorcized a decade’s worth of demons by toppling Clemson in Death Valley by way of a second half comeback. That win plus the beatdown of LSU in Orlando gives FSU the most impressive resume in the country a third of the way through the year.
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4. Texas
Kirk Herbstreit credits Texas for “trending up,” especially after their “big win in T-Town” over Alabama a couple of weeks ago. Prior to that, it had been some ho-hum victories over lower-conference opponents.
Big 12 got under play for the Longhorns this week and started off with a bang, lambasting Baylor in Waco by a 38-3 score. Quinn Ewers and the offense gets a lot of the credit, but that Texas D is pulling their weight and then some by holding opponents to just 12.5 points per game, good for 14th in the nation.
5. Michigan
Sitting just outside of the College Football Playoff, Michigan comes in. Herbstreit explains that they’re outside the field for now since the Wolverines “haven’t lived up to their standard offensively YET.”
They’re really been consistent, though, even if it hasn’t been dominant. UM has between 30-35 points in all four wins and has yet to allow more than seven points in any game.
6. Ohio State
That’s right, Herbstreit has both Big Ten powerhouses slightly outside of the College Football Playoff field. For Michigan, it makes sense, since they truly haven’t had a dominant performance or notable win yet.
However, when it comes to OSU, the first two weeks were a bit sluggish, but you’d think they’d be higher after a 63-10 win over Western Kentucky and then a victory on the road vs. Notre Dame. Regardless, these 5th- and 6th-ranked schools will duke it out to see who’s better in a couple months.