During a recent discussion on the Nonstop podcast with Joey Galloway, Herbstreit stressed the uncertainty of judging teams after such a short sample. “We don’t know anything about Georgia,” he said, underscoring the danger of drawing conclusions from only a couple of games. He added that Georgia still has a significant test upcoming against Arkansas, and noted the Bulldogs’ high ranking despite limited evidence of strength beyond the first two outings. The early results are loud—Georgia opened with a lopsided 63-3 victory over Tennessee State and followed with a 70-20 win over Western Kentucky—but those opponents have not provided a rigorous barometer for their true level.
Herbstreit’s caution extends to Indiana as well. “I don’t know a whole lot right now about Indiana,” he admitted. The Hoosiers have looked impressive in two games—defeating North Texas 52-16 and then beating Howard 55-0—but they have yet to face a real power conference test. The challenge will come later in the season, with Ohio State and Michigan on the horizon.
Notre Dame, meanwhile, continues to be a focal point of Herbstreit’s early-season projections. He initially picked the Fighting Irish to win the national championship and laid out a playoff bracket with Notre Dame defeating Texas in the quarterfinals and then advancing past Georgia before meeting Indiana in the title game. Joey Galloway challenged that optimism, noting Notre Dame’s schedule has not yet demonstrated the level of difficulty that other programs have faced. He suggested that BYU would provide an early, clearer measure of Notre Dame’s true caliber, particularly as the Irish begin a stretch of tougher opponents.
Notre Dame has moved to 2-0, routing Wisconsin and Rice by a combined 93-13. The Irish followed a tighter opener with a dominant 52-0 win over Rice, continuing to win convincingly but still facing questions about the strength of their opponents. This places Notre Dame, Georgia, and Indiana in roughly the same early-season category: undefeated, impressive, and still relatively untested.
Ohio State’s experience so far underscores the unpredictability of early-season projections. The Buckeyes dropped from the top of the rankings after the Texas setback, allowing the Longhorns to climb to No. 1 in the AP poll. The early results illustrate how quickly momentum can shift in college football once the ball is kicked, and they reinforce Herbstreit’s stance that preseason projections should be treated with caution.
Despite the rocky turn for Ohio State and the evolving landscape for Georgia and Indiana, Herbstreit maintains his Notre Dame national title forecast for now. He acknowledges that there is still a lot to learn about the others in the supposed playoff picture, and he remains wary of drawing firm conclusions before the schedule becomes more demanding and the teams have faced tougher competition.
In summary, two weeks into the season, the field remains effectively in flux. Georgia’s early domination is tempered by the scarcity of strong opposition; Indiana’s lack of a true test clouds their ceiling; Notre Dame’s sweep of opponents has been convincing but not yet benchmarked against top-tier programs; and Ohio State’s stumble serves as a reminder that early rankings can be misleading. Herbstreit’s stance is to hold steady on his Notre Dame prediction while continuing to assess the other contenders as the schedule progresses and more meaningful games unfold.
