ESPN College GameDay’s Kirk Herbstreit was in the center of a very wacky and wild Week 7 in college football. He had to go from Eugene, Oregon, where he hosted “College GameDay”, to Dallas, Texas to broadcast the Red River Rivalry with Chris Fowler.
It is safe to say, he got to enjoy this week’s festivities a little more than the average fan.
Herbstreit released his top seven teams in terms of performance from Week 7 action. Herbstreit’s rankings consist of two SEC teams, two Big Ten teams, a Mountain West team and two Big 12 teams.
Herbstreit’s rankings included a team that cemented their status as Big Ten contenders:
1. Oregon Ducks
This was expected after pulling off the 32-31 win over the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes. Oregon was favored coming into this game, but the biggest question for them was Dan Lanning’s lack of performance in marquee matchups. On Saturday, he delivered, and for that, the Ducks appear on the top of Herbstreit’s list. I bet he wishes he would’ve stayed in Oregon for this game.
2. LSU Tigers
The Ohio State-Oregon game might have distracted some, but the game between the LSU Tigers and Ole Miss Rebels was also a game-of-the-year candidate. LSU, before this game, had seemed unstoppable when playing at home on Saturday, but they were underdogs against the higher-ranked Ole Miss Rebels.
It looked like a LSU loss was certain after the Rebels took a 23-16 lead with 3:18 left in the fourth quarter, but LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier fired a touchdown to Aaron Anderson to force overtime. In overtime, Ole Miss received the ball first and kicked a field goal, but on the next play Garrett Nussmeier fired a rocket to Kyren Lacy in the right side of the end zone to win 29-26.
3. Penn State Nittany Lions
Another close game was the Penn State-USC matchup. The Penn State Nittany Lions managed to keep their undefeated record, but USC made them earn it. At halftime, the Nittany Lions were facing a 20-6 deficit, but quarterback Drew Allar and company fought back to tie it 23-23 and again at 30-30 to send it to overtime. In overtime, the USC Trojans kicker missed from 45 yards out, giving Penn State an opportunity to kick the game-winning field goal from 36 yards out to win the game.
4. Texas Longhorns
In a game that Herbstreit actually attended, the Red River Rivalry was not close. Texas demolished the Sooners in Dallas by a score of 34-3. In Quinn Ewers’ return, he only threw 199 yards, but he wasn’t asked to do much.
The Texas running game exploded for 177 yards and three touchdowns on 30 carries. The Longhorns look like the best team in the SEC and Herbstreit will go to next week’s Texas game against the No. 4 Georgia Bulldogs.
5. Arizona State Sun Devils
This inclusion was brought up no doubt due to Arizona State’s upset win over No. 16 Utah. In Cam Rising’s first start back from injury, Arizona State picked him off three times, and Sun Devils running back Cam Skattebo (awesome name) ran all over the Utes, with 158yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries. Now at 4-1, ASU has a shot at the Big 12 crown.
6. Nevada Wolfpack
Year 1 of coach Jeff Choate has had some growing pains, but this was a promising win for his tenure. The Wolfpack won an incredibly back and forth game thanks to defense and the running game. They posted an insane 353 yards and five touchdowns on the ground, while their defense picked off Oregon State’s QB four times, including one for a pick-six, in an insane 42-37 win.
7. Iowa State Cyclones
ASU might have the Big 12 crown soon if it weren’t for the undefeated Iowa State Cyclones. They kept it going with a 28-16 win over the West Virginia Mountaineers. Iowa State is now 6-0 for the first time since 1938, and if they keep up at this pace, they could be in consideration for the expanded College Football Playoff.