Kirk Herbstreit explains which team should be ranked No. 1

Kirk Herbstreit understands that there are different metrics for how to measure the best teams in the country.

During a recent segment on ESPN’s “SportsCenter,” Herbstreit and Kevin Negandhi discussed that in terms of strength of record, Tennessee is No. 1, Clemson is No. 2 and TCU is No. 3. However, in the AP Top 25 poll, Georgia is No. 1, Ohio State is No. 2 and Tennessee is No. 3.

Herbstreit then shared his order of top teams.

“It’s a toss-up for me between Tennessee and Ohio State,” Herbstreit said. “On one hand, Tennessee’s been so explosive, with Hendon Hooker, they’ve been dynamic, I think they’ve kind of come out of nowhere based on what they’ve been able to do this year. Then Ohio State with high expectations, CJ Stroud, that offensive firepower, that defense with Jim Knowles seems to be getting better every single week. I think they could potentially be the most complete team, and when you throw in Stroud, and all those playmakers around him, I give Ohio State a slight edge now over Tennessee and Georgia, who obviously play next week, Nov. 5 and it won’t be subjective any longer about those 2 teams.”