ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit reveals his top-performing coaches from Week 10 in college football
ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit has made it a habit of handing out weekly awards on his Twitter account throughout the 2022 season and on Monday he unveiled his top-performing coaches from Week 10 of the college football season.
Unsurprisingly, LSU coach Brian Kelly led the way following an overtime defeat of Alabama that put the Tigers in the driver’s seat in the SEC West.
With that win, LSU is on the verge of clinching the division’s spot in the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta, perhaps throwing a wrench into the College Football Playoff hopes for some teams in the process. The Tigers certainly did that to the Crimson Tide, who are on the extreme outside looking in now in the CFP race despite losing two games to top-10 teams by the absolute narrowest of margins.
Who else earned recognition from Herbstreit on his list of top-performing coaches from Week 10? Here’s his complete list:
- Brian Kelly, LSU
- Kirby Smart / Will Muschamp / Glenn Schumann, Georgia
- Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame
- Mike Elko, Duke
- Hugh Freeze, Liberty
- Phil Parker, Iowa
Top-Performing Coaches from Week 10
Brian Kelly, LSU: The Tigers toppled the Crimson Tide in overtime, handing Nick Saban and Alabama their second loss of the season and completely changing the picture in the SEC West division race.
Kirby Smart / Will Muschamp / Glenn Schumann, Georgia: The Georgia coaching trio helped orchestrate a defensive effort that completely neutralized an otherwise prolific Tennessee offense. That effort lifted Georgia to a massive SEC East win, limiting Tennessee to just 13 points offensively.
Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish also threw a wrench into another College Football Playoff contender’s plans, with Notre Dame knocking off Clemson 35-14. Notre Dame improved to 6-3 on the year, gaining bowl eligibility.
Mike Elko, Duke: Like Freeman, Elko helped his team earn bowl eligibility with three games still remaining. Duke topped Boston College 38-31 and the Blue Devils have been extremely competitive in most games this season.
Hugh Freeze, Liberty: One of the hot names in SEC coaching circles right now, Freeze only helped his case with an upset of Arkansas in Fayetteville on Saturday. Liberty jumped out in front and held on by stopping a two-point conversion in the final two minutes, winning 21-19.
Phil Parker, Iowa: The Hawkeyes have been an offensively challenged team all year, but life is certainly a whole lot easier when your defense renders that point moot anyway. Iowa allowed just three points and Parker’s defense held Purdue to just 255 total yards in a 24-3 win Saturday.
Kirk Herbstreit’s Week 10 College Football Awards
Each week Kirk Herbstreit hands out various awards to recognize the teams, players and coaches he felt deserved the most praise following the weekend action.
In addition to his top-performing coaches above, you can also check out Herbstreit’s top teams and top players below.