Kirk Herbstreit is emotional on air after Buckeyes win title: ‘I’m just passionate about these guys’

On By Littum

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, saying the OSU players “went to hell and back” to end the match. season as champions.

Appearing on “SportsCenter” with longtime booth partner Chris Fowler after the national title game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Herbstreit was already emotional when host Scott Van Pelt’s question brought him to tears.

“What is the story of this team?” Van Pelt asked.

“Don’t get me started, man. I’m a little emotional,” Herbstreit said. “I’m just fired up for these guys. When I call these games, I’m being incredibly objective. I love all these Ohio State teams, but this team, because of what they went through to get to this point, you’re just happy.”

Herbstreit briefly stepped off camera to grab a paper towel to wipe his eyes with before later going on about Ohio State’s College Football Playoff redemption after losing to rival Michigan in its regular season finale.

“We can try to make it sound soft. My thing is, I’ve talked to these players, I’ve talked to these coaches, I know what they were going through after that Michigan game,” Herbstreit said. “I know the pain and I know a lot of people thought, what the hell (trainer Ryan Day). And I know what it did – it’s a real life thing. … He just did 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 straight loss in the rivalry — cost the Buckeyes a spot in the Big Ten title game and raised questions about Day’s future. Day came under fire for his handling of his team during postgame play, his 1-4 record against the program’s biggest rival and 10-2 regular season record despite a $20 million investment to build the roster .

Seed no. 8 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 is not shy about his school ties. A native of Centerville, Ohio, Herbstreit played at 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 who doubted Day part of the “crazy fringe” on the Dec. 21 broadcast of Ohio State’s first-round playoff win against Tennessee.

“The crazy fringe at Ohio State is as powerful as anywhere in the country,” said Herbstreit then.

“I’m sure they’ll be happy tonight, be excited about what the Ohio State team did, but God forbid they lose to Oregon. They might want to shoot (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)