Kirk Herbstreit names Oregon among top performing teams with Week 2 win vs. Texas Tech
On the wildly popular ESPN College GameDay show that leads into the early action on Saturday mornings in the fall, there was only one person who picked against the Oregon Ducks when making predictions for their Week 2 game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
It was analyst Kirk Herbstreit.
So it makes sense that Herbstreit is making things right by announcing that Dan Lanning and the Ducks are one of his top-performing teams of the week following their thrilling 38-30 victory down in a hostile Lubbock environment.
Each week of the season, Herbstreit goes out of his way to name which teams impressed him the most. It isn’t based on rankings or highlights, but rather on the quality of the win based on the situation. Here are Herbstreit’s rankings of top-performing teams for Week 2:
No. 6 Texas Longhorns
(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Week 2 Result: 34-24 Win vs. No. 3 Alabama
Analysis: The Longhorns did in 2023 what they couldn’t do a year ago, upsetting the No. 3 Alabama Crimson Tide in impressive fashion. With QB Quinn Ewers healthy this year, Texas was able to prove that they are among the top teams in the nation this year with a great win over Nick Saban.
No. 23 Miami Hurricanes
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Week 2 Result: 48-33 Win vs. No. 23 Texas A&M
Analysis: Is this the Miami that we can expect under Mario Cristobal? That remains to be seen, but this is undoubtedly the best victory of the Cristobal era down in Coral Gables. Let’s see if they can keep it up.
Washington State Cougars
James Snook-USA TODAY Sports
Week 2 Result: 31-22 Win vs. No. 19 Wisconsin
Analysis: Washington State is for real. After an impressive victory over No. 19 Wisconsin, it’s clear that they are a legitimate threat in a dominant Pac-12 Conference, and they undoubtedly have the ability to shake up the title game race throughout the season.
Cincinnati Bearcats
Week 2 Result: 27-21 Win vs. Pittsburgh
Analysis: Though they lost their head coach Luke Fickell to Wisconsin this offseason, Cincinnati has shown so far that they can still get a solid football team, getting a big win over a Power 5 opponent in impressive fashion.
No. 11 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports
Week 2 Result: 45-24 Win vs. NC State
Analysis: Through three weeks, it looks like Notre Dame is playing as well as anyone in the nation, and Sam Hartman may be just the guy to lead them to a potential College Football Playoff berth. I can’t wait to see them against better competition because I think they could be a top-4 team when all is said and done.
No. 13 Oregon Ducks
Week 2 Result: 38-30 Win vs. Texas Tech
Analysis: It wasn’t pretty, but the scoreboard isn’t a place for a beauty contest. Oregon went into a hostile environment down in Lubbock and beat a solid Texas Tech team, coming back from nine points down in the fourth quarter to get a big win.
Kansas Jayhawks
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Week 2 Result: 34-23 Win vs. Illinois
Analysis: Don’t be shocked if Kansas can pick up some big victories in the Big 12 this year, shaking up the standings at the top. While Illinois isn’t a top-notch team, I think that Kansas showed that they can now win these type of games regularly, which wasn’t always the case over the last few years.
