Between hosting ESPN’s College GameDay in the morning and calling ESPN’s top game as an analyst later in the day, Kirk Herbstreit always has quite a busy Saturday. This week, though, things were especially hectic for the ESPN star.
Typically, College GameDay is either on-site at the game Herbstreit is calling that week, or he has plenty of time to travel from the GameDay location to the game he’s calling in prime time. This week, that was not the case.
College GameDay was in Eugene, Oregon, on Saturday morning ahead of the Big Ten showdown between the No. 3 Oregon Ducks and the No. 7 Indiana Hoosiers. Kirk Herbstreit, however, was set to call the Red River Rivalry showdown between the No. 6 Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Logistically, Herbstreit simply would not have time to travel between Eugene, Oregon, and the Cotton Bowl in Texas in time to call the game if he stayed for the entire show. So, he had to leave early β but he did it rather theatrically.
Kirk Herbstreit steps away with over an hour left on College Gameday (via motorcycle) in order to get to Oklahoma vs. Texas by kickoff.
Gameday might have just selected to be in Dallas for the Red River Rivalry, but Florida’s upset of Texas last week nuked that possibility. pic.twitter.com/FBjt1vDeg3
β Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 11, 2025
After giving some fist-bumps to his colleagues on the set, Herbstreit left the stage and ran to a motorcycle parked nearby, where he was driven through the crowd by the Oregon mascot, Puddles. Herbstreit then took a jeep from campus to the Eugene airport along with his dog, Peter, where he caught his flight to Dallas. At least he kept his shirt on, unlike Pat McAfee and Dan Lanning.
But even though he wasn’t on set, Kirk Herbstreit continued to provide analysis throughout his entire trip.
Kirk Herbstreit provided Florida-Texas A&M analysis on ‘College GameDay’ from a plane. ππΊποΈβοΈ #CFB pic.twitter.com/g0IWVuOPFW
β Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 11, 2025
This hectic Saturday comes after Herbstreit already traveled to call Thursday night’s showdown between the Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Giants in New Jersey.
All in all, Herbstreit has traveled more than 5,400 miles for his various football responsibilities this week, according to ESPN.

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