On Monday, Kirk Herbstreit had the pleasure of calling the National Championship on ESPN between his alma mater, the Ohio State Buckeyes, and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. And while throughout the game he did his best to call the game fairly and objectively, his true emotions poured out following Ohio State’s win.
Notre Dame made a late charge to make this game a competitive one in the end. But ultimately, Ohio State was able to hold off Notre Dame thanks to a clutch 57-yard pass from Will Howard to Jeremiah Smith to set up an Ohio State field goal late in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.
The Jeremiah Smith huge play for Ohio State on 3rd-and-11, with Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit on the ESPN call. 🏈🎙️#CFP pic.twitter.com/HEOaFp2pxt
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 21, 2025
After the game, Herbstreit and Chris Fowler stuck around to speak with Scott Van Pelt on SportsCenter with SVP where Herbstreit made it clear that he was “fired up” to see his alma mater come away with their first National Championship victory since the inception of the CFP format in 2014.
“Herby, I’ll let you start as a guy who grew up there and wore the uniform of this team,” said Van Pelt. “What’s the story of this team?”
“Oh don’t start with me man,” replied Herbstreit. “I’m a little emotional. I’m just fired up for these guys. You know, when I call these games, I’m incredibly objective. I love all of these Ohio State teams, but this team because of what they went through to get to this point, you’re just happy.”
Kirk Herbstreit gets emotional on the postgame show.
“When I call these games I’m incredibly objective. I love all of these Ohio State teams, but this team because of what they went through to get to this point, you’re just happy.” pic.twitter.com/BylD7WBQ3N
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 21, 2025
For as much as Ohio State did go through this season, which included a late-season loss to a middling Michigan team, Herbstreit also went through adversity himself this year when it came to his relationship with his alma mater.
Earlier this bowl season, Herbstreit caught a ton of flack when he went on a rant about the Ohio State fanbase on the call of the Buckeyes’ first round CFP matchup against Tennessee, calling a portion of the fanbase a “lunatic fringe” for their passionate criticisms of Ryan Day, a statement that he has since doubled down on.
Herbstreit has always been upfront and honest about his Ohio State fandom, even admitting ahead of Monday’s game that there are moments where his inner Ohio State fan comes out on-air accidentally.
Monday’s win for the Buckeyes presented Herbstreit with a chance to celebrate his former team’s success after the game without having to battle with Ohio fanbase in the process. So while some may even take issue with Herbstreit expressing his excitement after the game, it’s fair to say that he has earned the right to do so given the whirlwind of a year it has been for both him and the Ohio State program.