Kirk Herbstreit Had Telling Admission About Ohio State's Crowd For Playoff Game
12/21/2024 12:20 PM
The Ohio State Buckeyes are supposed to have home-field advantage when they take on the Tennessee Volunteers in the opening round of the College Football Playoff. That might not be the case though.
ESPN's "College GameDay" was outside of Ohio Stadium this Saturday morning to preview tonight's game between the Buckeyes and Volunteers. Kirk Herbstreit and the rest of the crew immediately noticed that a plethora of Tennessee fans made the trip to Ohio. They even sang "Rocky Top" during the first hour of the show.
Later on "College GameDay," Herbstreit made a remark that should concern Ohio State fans everywhere.
"This is my 29th year of doing College GameDay, and this is by far the most fans from the visiting team I've ever seen at a College GameDay," Herbstreit said. "At 29 years by far the most visiting fans!"
Former Michigan star Desmond Howard then said some fans were chanting his name on the set of "College GameDay" He was shocked because he's so used to being booed in Columbus.
"Honestly, 29th year of doing College GameDay, and this is by far the most fans from the visiting team I've ever seen at a College GameDay." - Kirk Herbstreit pic.twitter.com/FFZDYuS3zC
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 21, 2024
This doesn't necessarily mean that Ohio State won't have the crowd on its side this evening. We're just not expecting to see the crowd covered in scarlet and gray.
Former Ohio State star Eddie George will be pretty disappointed if tonight's turnout isn't great. Earlier this week, he issued a challenge to Buckeyes fans.
"I expect our fans to show up, be loud, be a major factor in the game this weekend," George said. "Make it very uncomfortable for them to play in our stadium."
Ohio State is a one-possession favorite over Tennessee. Since it'll be quite cold around kickoff, this could be one of those games where the winner is ultimately decided by which team has more success running the football.
We saw Ohio State struggle to get the rushing attack going against Michigan. If that happens again, Ryan Day's squad could find itself watching the rest of the playoff from the couch.
Kickoff for the Tennessee-Ohio State game is at 8 p.m. ET. It'll be televised on ABC and ESPN.
Related: Tennessee Fans Have Taken Over 'College Gameday' At Ohio State
