Home Sports College Football Playoff: Kirk Herbstreit gets emotional on ESPN after Ohio State’s win over Notre Dame

College Football Playoff: Kirk Herbstreit gets emotional on ESPN after Ohio State’s win over Notre Dame

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Kirk Herbstreit grabbed a tissue and got emotional while talking about the Buckeyes' win on ESPN Monday night.

Kirk Herbstreit grabbed a tissue and got emotional while talking about the Buckeyes’ win on ESPN Monday night. (Matthew Visinsky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Kirk Herbstreit couldn’t help but get emotional in the broadcast booth Monday night.

The veteran ESPN college football broadcaster, who has become one of the sport’s key voices in recent decades, had a very good point. His Buckeyes had just won a national championship.

Herbstreit was on the call with Rece Davis for Ohio State’s 34-23 victory over Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff championship game on Monday night. The Buckeyes defeated the Fighting Irish early at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, then held on down the stretch to make one final push to secure their first title since 2014.

Herbstreit was talking to Davis and Scott Van Pelt after the win, and had to pause while talking about his former team’s championship.

“Oh, don’t start with me, man. “I’m a little excited,” he told Van Pelt, his voice breaking. “I’m excited for these guys.

“You know, when I call these games I’m incredibly objective. I love all these Ohio State teams, but this team, what they went through to get to this point, you’re just happy, you know? You’re just happy for them.”

Van Pelt and Davis continued and Herbstreit grabbed a handkerchief to dry his eyes.

Herbstreit was born in Ohio and then spent four seasons playing for the Buckeyes as their quarterback from 1989 to 1992. He was also a starter and captain of the team as a senior, when he threw for 1,904 yards and four touchdowns. His father played and coached at Ohio State, including when they won a national championship during the 1960 season, and one of his sons is a tight end in the program.

Naturally, as Van Pelt pointed out, the connections to Herbstreit are there.

With his long-standing ties to the program, and after watching Ohio State bounce back after losing to Michigan late in the regular season, which kept them out of the Big Ten championship game, it’s hard to blame Herbstreit for getting excited.

“We’re all from somewhere,” Van Pelt told him. “There is no apology (necessary) to explain the emotion.”

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