Kirk Herbstreit reveals top-performing teams from Week 10
Following an exciting Week 10 schedule, ESPN College GameDay host Kirk Herbstreit has revealed his top-performing teams from this past weekend.
From statement victories to the entire mood of a program being flipped in a single week — here are the seven teams from across the country that made this week’s list:
Washington Huskies
The Huskies remain undefeated on the season after defeating Caleb Williams and USC 52-42 in a shootout that came down which defense could hold on for the longest.
Washington RB Dillon Johnson outran the entire USC offense during the contest, compiling 256 yards and four touchdowns on the ground while USC finished the game with 207 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Heisman hopeful Michael Penix completed 22-of-30 passes for 256 yards, two touchdowns and an interception to give Washington 572 yards of total offense. Still, as they do every week, the USC offense had to put up 42 points to make up for the Trojans’ defensive unit and once again, it wasn’t enough.
Alabama Crimson Tide
Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe was masterful on Saturday against LSU, completing 15-of-23 passes for 219 yards throughout the 42-28 win. While he was unable to throw a touchdown pass during the contest — he more than made up for it on the ground boasting 20 carries for 155 yards and four touchdowns.
The Crimson Tide now have three wins against teams ranked No. 17 or higher, which will go a long way in the eyes of the College Football Playoff selection committee. Alabama was ranked No. 8 before its victory over the No. 14 Tigers and is only expected to climb higher when the new rankings are released on Tuesday.
Oklahoma State Cowboys
Bedlam Bedlam’d again this year, but this time the Cowboys came out on top of the Sooners in a 27-24 nail-biter that Oklahoma State won’t soon forget.
Running back Ollie Gordon II took 33 carries for 137 yards and two touchdowns against Oklahoma. Even more importantly, OK-State quarterback Alan Bowman went blow-for-blow against OU quarterback Dillon Gabriel, throwing for 334 passing yards compared to Gabriel’s 344. Now, the Cowboys are in prime positioning to push for a Big 12 Conference Championship berth heading into the final weeks of the season.
Clemson Tigers
Tyler from Spartanburg single-handedly changed the trajectory of Clemson‘s 2023 season — and he deserves to be rewarded for his efforts. Defeating a ranked Notre Dame team 31-23 at home, the Tigers are one win away from securing a bowl game berth after being in jeopardy of missing the postseason just one week ago.
Phil Mafah had his most impressive victory of the season against the Irish, rushing for 186 yards and two touchdowns during the upset victory.
Texas Longhorns
No Quinn Ewers? No problem for the Texas Longhorns, who are now 2-0 under redshirt freshman quarterback Maalik Murphy as Ewers continues his recovery. Defeating No. 23 Kansas State 33-30 in overtime — Texas is now in the clear to round the regular season out with one loss on their schedule.
Murphy completed 19-of-37 passes for 248 yards while throwing one touchdown and two interceptions during the contest. Running back Jonathan Brooks rushed for 112 yards and a touchdown during the Big 12 Conference matchup as well.
Georgia Bulldogs
Georgia held on to secure a 30-21 victory over Missouri on Saturday, which was only its second ranked victory of the season. Carson Beck had 254 passing yards and two touchdowns on the contest while the Bulldogs defense held Mizzou QB Brady Cook to 212 yards and forced him to throw two interceptions during the contest.
The Bulldogs have an even tougher opponent ahead of them for Week 11 as a top-10 Ole Miss team looms.
Army Black Knights
Army got the better of their Armed Forces opponent in No. 25 Air Force 23-3. It was the third win of the season for Army, and first setback of the year for Air Force.
Bryson Daily carried the ball 36 times for 170 yards and two touchdowns during the contest while also completing 4-of-9 passes for 40 yards during the contest.