Does Kirk Herbstreit Even Like College Football Anymore?

12/23/2024 04:47 PM

The first round of the 2024-25 College Football Playoff was supposed to be a celebration of the sport. Four games spread out over two days, on college campuses, in the middle of December. This is the kind of thing that most of us have been dreaming about ever since we started complaining about the BCS, or the four-team College Football Playoff.

A lot of it was fun. Notre Dame's crowd was awesome on Friday night. Penn State and Texas's fans brought it on Saturday. And Ohio State rebounded from a crushing loss to Michigan with a blowout win over Tennessee to cap things off on Saturday night.

But late in the Ohio State vs. Tennessee game, Kirk Herbstreit was not celebrating what the sport had to offer this weekend. Instead, he was sounding off on the "lunatic fringe" portion of Ohio State's fan base and going after his own company.

"The lunatic fringe at Ohio State is as powerful as anywhere in the country. It used to be eight to 10, I think it's grown now to about 15 to 20. I'm sure they'll be happy tonight, fired up about what the team did, but God forbid they lose to Oregon. They'll want to fire [Day] again," Herbstreit said.

"First Take tried to fire him. They thought he was done, so I'll be excited to see what they talk about on Monday after this performance. They had him out, trying to find replacements. But here he is, he still has his hat on. He's still coaching."

Did we really need to be scolding college football fans, or talking about Stephen A. Smith, during the final moments of the last game of the first round of the College Football Playoff?

This is kind of what Herbstreit has become over the past year or so, though. It often feels like he's talking down to the college football audience. 

Now, Herbstreit deals with a lot of crap on social media. He played at Ohio State but is constantly criticized by the Buckeyes' fan base (he brings some of that upon himself, but the "lunatic fringe" portion does cross the line at times) and even moved his family out of Columbus to get away.

And Herbstreit has essentially dedicated his life to the sport. So, maybe it's not fair to ask if he really likes it these days, but it feels like a legitimate question when you listen to him complain about different aspects of the sport.

From the College Football Playoff selection committee, to the NCAA's transfer portal, to the rabid fan bases, Herbstreit has criticized a lot lately.

Longtime Ohio State beat reporter Doug Lesmerises, who now runs the Kings of the North show, nailed it when talking about the situation. 

"The Buckeyes aren't victims here. I think the loss to Michigan was as bad as any Ohio State loss in the last 28 years. And they did that, and that coaching staff did that. And I think Kirk Herbstreit, I think Kirk Herbstreit is wounded, particularly when it comes to Ohio State fans, and he turns everything on fans," he said.

"He was talking about how the lunatic fringe has expanded. And I think he makes it too personal. If you think the lunatic fringe has expanded, maybe it's that your definition of lunatics is no longer correct. Maybe what these people are is just sort of justifiably, reasonably upset Ohio State fans, that Ohio State on the most important weekend of the year for the fourth straight year came out and played a horrible game in the most important game of the year.

"There is this very quick thing, and I don't like it when broadcasters do it, they act like fans turned against this team for no reason. That team played an awful game against an overmatched opponent, with much more talent. They earned the doubt. They earned the sports hate.

"And let's not forget why any of this exists; it's the fans. So if you are a fan who was personally attacking a player on social media or sending 'death threats' or whatever, then you are the lunatic fringe. If you're just mad that the team lost and think that the coach should be fired if he doesn't do a better job, you're not a lunatic. So Herbie can chill with that stuff, because I'm a little sick of everyone coming after the fans all the time.

"And I'm sorry that Ohio State has high standards, but guess what? There are a whole bunch of fired-up Ohio State fans in that stadium. Because when they are good, they are rewarded, and they're greeted like champions and heroes, just like with any other northern team we have.

"And when you play below the expectations, for people that are paying your salary, and that now extends to players, it's okay for them to be upset. And the victimization, the constant victimization of these people, 'Woe is me,' 'Aw, these poor guys.' It was a terrible performance. But this was just as good. And guess what we're doing right now? Talking about how awesome it is.

"So just chill, Herbie. Just chill on this stuff. Because this is your audience too. Who do you think's paying your fricking salary to fly all over the country and cover four different games? Because apparently America can't watch a football game without Kirk Herbstreit talking over it, god forbid. It's really annoying to me, Landis.

"And here's the other thing that has to happen, and again, this is a very specific Ohio State conversation. Ohio State's got to chill with the Woody [Hayes] against the world stuff. They've got to get the fans back on their side. And it's time for Ohio State to stop acting like their own fans are against them.

"Their own fans are holding them to a standard, and when they reach that standard, they are celebrated. That was a horrible performance a couple weeks ago. This was a tremendous performance. It's an opportunity to bring everybody back together. But, like, they're not victims, Bill. And if they're thinking that way, that's bad for them.

"I just wanted to say that, that's mostly about Herbstreit and the way the media sometimes portrays this. This performance by Ohio State was outstanding. And Ryan Day and Chip Kelly and every player on that team and Jim Knowles deserve a tremendous amount of credit for that. And guess what? Every Ohio State fan in the nation is going to give them that credit."

MUST WATCH - Doug nails Herbstreit for blaming the fans for their expectations. pic.twitter.com/t5YqZfOWl3

— Official Ohio State DG (@DylanEveryday) December 22, 2024

Surely, there is a lot wrong with college football. And it's OK for Herbstreit to want to fix some of those things - or even just criticize them.

But maybe save them for the right time and place. Right now, the College Football Playoff is happening, fans are happy, and there's a lot to celebrate within the sport.

Let's maybe prioritize that on the air.