Kirk Herbstreit wasted no time settling on three teams that caught his eye after Week 1, and the list came with a few familiar names and one team that may raise some eyebrows.
On “The Stephen A. Smith Show,” Stephen A.
Smith asked Herbstreit to identify the nation’s best teams, and the ESPN analyst landed on Miami, Indiana and LSU. Herbstreit opened with the Hurricanes, then moved to the defending national champion, and finished with the Tigers after watching each team make a loud early-season statement.
“I got to start with Darian Mensah transferring over from Duke down to Miami,” Herbstreit said. He pointed to Miami after the Hurricanes “just blew Stanford out of the water,” and said that performance pushed them into his early playoff conversation.
Mensah’s move from Duke has already become one of the first big storylines of the season, and Herbstreit liked what he saw from the quarterback working with Malachi Toney and the rest of Miami’s supporting cast.
Indiana also earned a spot in Herbstreit’s top three after a strong debut with Josh Hoover under center. The former TCU starter threw four touchdown passes in Indiana’s 52-16 win over North Texas, and Herbstreit said the Hoosiers’ stability on the coaching staff gives them a real edge.
“I feel like they got the best offensive and defensive coordinator on one team in college football,” he said. “Got incredible continuity. So I got to put Indiana up there.”
LSU finished the list after a ruthless opening-game showing against Clemson. The Tigers rolled to a 51-10 win, and new quarterback Sam Leavitt accounted for three touchdowns in the rout.
“I think I got to put LSU up there just based on what I saw in that opening game with Leavitt coming over,” Herbstreit said.
He also singled out offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. for the work being done on that side of the ball. “Charlie Weiss Jr. doesn’t get enough credit,” he said. “Charlie Weiss Jr. is running that show as an offensive coordinator and play caller.”
Herbstreit also mentioned Notre Dame as a team worth watching. “Another team we just don’t know yet is Notre Dame,” he said.
For now, his early board is Miami, Indiana and LSU. The opening week was enough to get them into the conversation, but the real tests still lie ahead.
In Other News...
Miami Secondary Suddenly Faces A Bigger Question Before Wake Forest
The early-season picture in Miamis secondary has already changed fast, and not by choice. Injuries to key cornerbacks OJ Frederique, Xavier Lucas and Ja'Boree Antone have forced defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman to reshuffle both personnel and coverage, with safety Bryce Fitzgerald moving to corner and the Hurricanes leaning more heavily on Cover-2 looks as they try to steady the back end.
For a defense still integrating new pieces, the timing matters because the next stretch will keep testing how well those adjustments hold up. Miami is now watching not just who is available, but how the group functions with a different structure in place, and the secondarys response before Wake Forest could say a lot about how much flexibility this unit really has. [Read more 🡒]
Miami QB Battle Is Getting Crowded Faster Than Fans Expected
Early in the 2026 season, Miamis quarterback room is starting to look a lot more crowded than it did a few weeks ago. Backup Luke Nickel has taken advantage of his chances, completing 11 of 13 passes for 171 yards with three touchdowns and one interception, a start that has only sharpened the attention on how the Hurricanes will sort out the position moving forward.
Israel Abrams is also on the way, and the highly rated recruit is expected to jump into the competition once he enrolls. Add in true freshman Dereon Coleman, who has seen limited playing time but is still in the mix, and Miami suddenly has a quarterback battle that feels more layered than planned, with more than one player making a case for the job. [Read more 🡒]
Miami Just Got An Encouraging Glimpse Of Its Backup QB Future
Luke Nickel got a chance to show Miami what the next layer of its quarterback room could look like, and he made the most of it against an FCS opponent. The backup for the Hurricanes was perfect through the air, completing all eight of his passes for 171 yards and three touchdowns while also adding 13 rushing yards. Pro Football Focus even tagged him as the highest-graded offensive player on the field, a notable sign for a young quarterback who has already seen the field in Miamis Week 1 win over Stanford.
For a program that always has to think about depth behind center, Nickels performance offered more than a clean stat line. A four-star recruit out of Milton High School in Georgia, he is still early in his Miami career, but outings like this are the kind that can tighten the race for future snaps and give the Hurricanes a more comfortable picture of what they have behind the starter. The larger question now is how quickly that confidence translates into a bigger role when the competition stiffens. [Read more 🡒]