With the 2025 college football season now a quarter of the way completed (for most teams), a much clearer picture of who is and isn’t likely to be competing for a national championship come playoff time has begun to emerge.
Several elite squads have separated themselves from the rest of the pack at this early junction, and ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit recently sat down with Joey Galloway to discuss who his top 5 teams are following this past weekend’s jam-packed slate, and his list featured 2 big-time SEC programs.
Here’s his full top 5, which he revealed on his new “Nonstop” podcast:
- 1. LSU Tigers
- 2. Penn State Nittany Lions
- 3. Ohio State Buckeyes
- 4. Miami Hurricanes
- 5. Georgia Bulldogs
Leading the way for Herbstreit are the LSU Tigers, who are coming off an impressive 20-10 victory over the Florida Gators, a game where the defense recorded 5 interceptions against sophomore quarterback DJ Lagway. The Tigers’ elite defense is also a massive reason why Herby has LSU ranked as his top team.
“I look at LSU, and I see their defense, and I just think that Blake Baker is one of the top defensive coordinators in the country,” Herbstreit said.”I think it’s one of the big stories in the sport after the first 3 weeks, how good their defense is.”
Following LSU, Herbstreit has a pair of Big 10 powerhouses in Penn State and Ohio State at 2 and 3 on his list, and the Miami Hurricanes right after them at No. 4, with Georgia rounding things out at No. 5.
There really aren’t any surprises with Herbstreit’s list, and it mirrors that of the AP Poll’s top 5, albeit in a slightly different order. There’s no question that these 5 squads have separated themselves from the rest of the pack early on, but now they’ll have to maintain their early momentum as the season continues to roll along.
Source link
