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Kirk Herbstreit releases new Top 6 following Week 2 action

Teddy Rydquist

By Teddy Rydquist

Published:

Following an entertaining slate of Week 2 action, which was headlined by Oregon’s upset of Ohio State in Columbus, ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit unveiled his updated Top 6 Sunday.

Herbstreit’s first five teams are the same as the AP Poll, but they differ at the No. 6 spot.

Opening their season with convincing victories over Miami (Florida) and Mercer – both games they won by at least 31 points – No. 1 Alabama will battle another Sunshine State foe, the No. 11 Gators, Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET in Gainesville on the SEC on CBS.

The No. 2 team in Herbstreit’s rankings, Georgia, had no trouble running past the UAB Blazers, 56-7, even without redshirt junior quarterback JT Daniels, as redshirt senior Stetson Bennett started in his place and threw five first-half touchdown passes.

Their second consecutive home game, the Bulldogs will welcome South Carolina to Athens Saturday at 7 p.m. on ESPN.

After struggling a bit with Tulane in their opener, Oklahoma ran past FCS Western Carolina, 76-0, and captured the No. 3 spot in Herbstreit’s mind.

Reviving an 11-year dormant rivalry, the Sooners will host Nebraska Saturday as part of FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff.

Delivering, perhaps, the most impressive performance of the weekend, Oregon moved up to No. 4 for Herbstreit after knocking off the analyst’s alma mater, 35-28, on the road.

Rushing for 7.1 yards-per-attempt, en route to a total of 269 on the ground in Columbus, the Ducks return to Eugene to face FCS Stony Brook at 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday on the Pac-12 Network.

Retaining possession of the Cy-Hawk Trophy, Iowa dispatched the in-state Cyclones, 27-17, for their sixth-straight win in the series.

Defeating a ranked opponent in each of their first two games, the Hawkeyes have just two more foes in the AP Top-25 on the rest of their schedule and are developing into a trendy pick to win the B1G.

Kirk Ferentz’ team will look to keep rolling against the MAC’s Kent State Golden Flashes Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on BTN.

Lastly, Cincinnati claimed Herbstreit’s No. 6 spot.

Tied at seven at the half with FCS Murray State, the Bearcats came to life in the final 30 minutes and ended up with a comfortable 42-7 victory.

Luke Fickell’s squad likely must be sharper from the jump Saturday, however, as the program heads to Bloomington to clash with the Hoosiers at 12 p.m. on ESPN.

Teddy Rydquist

A graduate of Bowling Green State University, Rydquist has been contributing to Saturday Down South and Saturday Tradition since 2019. He can be found on Twitter @TeddyRydquist.