ESPN announcer Kirk Herbstreit held back tears in the broadcast booth after Ohio State, his alma mater, celebrated its first national title in 10 years with a win over Notre Dame on Monday, stating the OSU players “went to hell and back” to end the season as champions.
Appearing on “SportsCenter” alongside longtime booth partner Chris Fowler after the national title bout at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Herbstreit was already emotional when host Scott Van Pelt’s question brought him to tears.
“What’s the story of this team?” Van Pelt asked.
“Don’t start with me, man. I’m a little emotional,” Herbstreit said. “I’m just fired up for these guys. When I call these games, I’m incredibly objective. I love all of these Ohio State teams, but this team, because of what they went through to get to this point, you’re just happy.”
Kirk Herbstreit gets emotional on the postgame show.
“When I call these games I’m incredibly objective. I love all of these Ohio State teams, but this team because of what they went through to get to this point, you’re just happy.” pic.twitter.com/BylD7WBQ3N
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 21, 2025
Herbstreit briefly walked off camera to grab a tissue to wipe his eyes with before later continuing on about Ohio State’s College Football Playoff redemption after losing to rival Michigan in its regular-season finale.
“We can try and make this sound soft. My thing is, I’ve talked to these players, I’ve talked to these coaches, I know what they faced after that Michigan game,” Herbstreit said. “I know the pain, and I know a lot of people thought, to hell with (coach Ryan Day). And I know what that did — that’s a real life thing. … He just handled it, took the high road, didn’t say anything, went out, got his team ready to play four games (throughout the CFP) and they won it.”
The loss to Michigan — OSU’s fourth consecutive defeat in the rivalry — cost the Buckeyes a spot in the Big Ten title game and raised questions about Day’s future. Day came into criticism for his handling of his team during a postgame fight, his 1-4 record versus the program’s biggest rival and the 10-2 regular-season record despite a $20 million investment to build the roster.
The No. 8 seed entering the Playoff, Ohio State won all four of its CFP games by double digits against No. 9 Tennessee, No. 1 Oregon, No. 5 Texas and No. 7 Notre Dame.
The Buckeyes’ success moved Herbstreit, who isn’t shy about his school ties. A Centerville, Ohio, native, Herbstreit played for Ohio State from 1989 to 1992 and was the starting quarterback and team captain as a senior. His son, Zak, is a tight end on this year’s team and his father, Jim, was also a player and captain at the school.
Herbstreit has defended OSU and Day throughout the postseason. He called those doubting Day a part of the “lunatic fringe” on the broadcast of Ohio State’s first-round Playoff victory against Tennessee on Dec. 21.
“The lunatic fringe at Ohio State is as powerful as anywhere in the country,” Herbstreit said then.
“I’m sure they’ll be happy tonight, be fired up about what the Ohio State team did, but God forbid they lose to Oregon. They may want to fire (Day) again.”
Herbstreit has called every championship game with Fowler since the CFP era began in 2014. Herbstreit joined ESPN in 1995 as a college football sideline analyst and started on “College GameDay” a year later.
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(Photo: Kirby Lee / USA Today)
