‘Fired up for these guys’

Emotions boiled over for Kirk Herbstreit after Ohio State won the national championship on Monday.

When asked about the Buckeyes' 34-23 win over Notre Dame, the ESPN analyst, who was also Ohio State's quarterback from 1989 to 1993 and now has a son on the team, said the station's performance against Mercedes During the post-game show, he became emotional and wiped away tears. Benz Stadium.

When Scott Van Pelt asked the question, Herbstreit said, “Don't even get me started.” “I'm getting a little emotional. I'm just excited for these guys. I'm incredibly objective when I call these games. I love all my teams, but I'm just happy for this team because of what they've been through to get to this point.”

The network then cut several shots from inside the stadium after Herbstreit's answer, and play-by-play broadcaster Chris Fowler answered questions before ESPN cut back to Fowler and Herbstreit. The latter involved dabbing his eyes and face with something. It looked like tissue or cloth.

Herb Streit's son, Zach, was a senior tight end on the roster, and his father, Jim, was captain of the Buckeyes in 1960.

Herbstreit never won a national title with the program, but he called the game Monday as Ohio State clinched its ninth championship in program history and the first since the 2014 season.

Behind quarterback Will Howard's excellent half, the Buckeyes scored touchdowns on all three drives in the first half, defeating Notre Dame's 18-play touchdown drive that lasted nearly 10 minutes to start the game. , took the initiative.

He then helped the Fighting Irish score two touchdowns in the second half, but an Ohio State field goal late in the game fell short.

And as the celebration began in Atlanta, seconds before Ohio State head coach Ryan Day was doused with Gatorade and confetti fell onto the lawn, Herbstreit spoke with Day about the He defended his program, which had struggled on stage and lost two games this season. They won four straight games to take the title in the 12-team CFP, including one game against rival Michigan.

“You hear the story behind the curtain,” Herbstreit said of Day on the broadcast. “I know what he and his wife and his family are going through. It's really, really hard. It's hard to be a coach at a premium school where you're expected to win every game. He handled it very gracefully.”