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Kirk Herbstreit Updates Personal College Football Rankings

Originally posted on Athlon Sports
By Kevin Matthew Borba | Last updated Sep 30, 2025 8:16 PM ET

Key Points:

Kirk Herbstreit released his updated Top 5 college football rankings on the “Nonstop” podcast with Joey Galloway.
Kirk Herbstreit ranks Ohio State as his No. 1 team after Week 5.
His Top 5 also includes Oregon, Ole Miss, Miami and Texas A&M.

ESPN "College GameDay" analyst Kirk Herbstreit has been covering college football for the network since 1995, and has established himself as one of the most beloved personalities in the space.

He, like the rest of us, is still figuring out which teams in college football are legitimate contenders, and after five weeks of action, the former Ohio State quarterback (1989-93) appears to have figured out who he trusts the most.

Aside from his roles on "College GameDay" and Amazon's "Thursday Night Football," Herbstreit has recently begun to dabble in podcasting as he and fellow college football analyst Joey Galloway have launched the "Nonstop" podcast. On the most recent episode, Herbstreit revealed who he ranks as the top five teams in college football.

After being asked by Galloway who he has for his top five, Herbstreit revealed that he is riding with his alma mater as the best team in the country.

"Like you, I respond to the results," Herbstreit said. "I got Ohio State who I didn't even have in the top...I have more respect maybe than the average fan for a trip to Seattle. I knew that was going a tricky game for them...Right now, I feel like Julian Sayin, they're leaning on their defense, and let's play a high-percentage pass game. Let's not lose it with a young quarterback who is gaining confidence each week."

However, Herbstreit did admit that he has Oregon right behind the Buckeys, and seemed to hint that it could be interchangeable.

"I have Oregon right there," Herbstreit said. "It's like 1A and 1B."

Behind the Ducks, Herbstreit has the Ole Miss Rebels, who are fresh off an upset over No. 4 LSU at the No. 3 spot. Rounding out his top five, he has Miami and Texas A&M.

Of the teams in his top five, Miami has the biggest test of the weekend, as they'll be heading to Tallahassee to take on the No. 18 Florida State Seminoles.

Whether or not Herbstreit's top five will hold up is yet to be seen, but he did have four out of the top five same teams as the AP Poll. The biggest differences were that the AP Poll has Ole Miss at No. 4, Miami at No. 3 and Oklahoma at No. 5 instead of Texas A&M.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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