Ohio State fans aren’t happy about the state of the program right now. That statement without context might make you think that Buckeyes fans have overinflated their own expectations. Don’t count Kirk Herbstreit among them, as he once again made clear Saturday.
Herbstreit and Ohio State fans don’t have a great relationship. You don’t even have to dig deep into the vault to understand that, either. Just this week, Herbstreit went on The Pat McAfee Show and called Buckeyes fans “insane.” Herbie once again called out Ohio State fans. Specifically, “the lunatic fringe” Buckeyes fans, on College GameDay this week.
The show featured a segment where the panel put teams who were or appeared in trouble on a panic meter. Clemson and Nebraska were also featured during the segment along with Ohio State. Herbstreit said that fans were on the highest level of panic and that he was closer to the lowest level.
"They thought C.J. Stroud was terrible because he lost to Oregon. That's just the lunatic fringe there."
Safe to say Kirk Herbstreit does not agree with Ohio State fans on their level of panic after Week 1. pic.twitter.com/W46kzzzkVv
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 9, 2023
Herbie bemoaned that Ohio State fans were hard on quarterback Kyle McCord for his performance against Indiana. Then, Herbstreit brought up that fans thought C.J. Stroud was bad after the Buckeyes lost to Oregon in September 2021.
This is not the first time that Herbstreit has referred to Ohio State fans this way. It’s also not the first time that he’s taken issue with the way that Buckeye fans think. But this is also not new to Ohio State fans, either.
From their perspective, it’s easy to see why everyone is so frustrated. The team does have one of the best records in the sport over the last few seasons. They have also come up short in their goals. Ohio State hasn’t won the Big Ten Championship in a full season since 2019. Their last Big Ten title came during the abbreviated, COVID-19-hampered 2020 season. Furthermore, Ohio State also lost two years in a row to Michigan. The Buckeyes dominated the Wolverines for the better part of the 21st century. Up until 2o21, the Wolverines last recorded a victory over the Buckeyes in 2011. Before that, you’d have to go to 2003 to see the last time that Michigan beat Ohio State.
So, it’s been a while, and the fact remains that Ryan Day has two losses on his ledger to Michigan. For Buckeyes fans, that game means everything. They want to win the title every year, but they also want to beat Michigan. Just like Michigan fans wanted them to beat Ohio State for years on end. It seemed like those two losses, coupled with a bungled College Football Playoff game against Georgia earlier this year, have turned up the heat on Day.
Herbstreit doesn’t believe that that’s fair, but if you’re looking strictly at the goals set out, they simply haven’t achieved them. And Buckeyes fans, love them or hate them, have reasons for their frustrations.
