Tag: College GameDay

College Gameday: Kirk Herbstreit picks Texas to make the playoffs

Kirk Herbstreit gave out predictions of how the season would play out, saying Texas was going to make the College Football Playoff in 2020.

Since 1993, ESPN’s College Gameday has been on college campuses, previewing the biggest college football matchup of the week. Because of COVD-19, the program will look a bit different.

However, waking up early to watch the program is still a great college football tradition. Reece Davis was joined by David Pollack, Desmond Howard, Lee Corson, and Kirk Herbstreit on Saturday morning to preview the first week of the sport we all missed.

Predictions of how the season would play out were given at the end of the show, with Herbstreit saying Texas was going to make the College Football Playoff.

“I have Texas coming out of the Big 12 with the experience at quarterback there,” said Herbstreit.

Davis then joked, saying “Herbstreit thinks they’re back!”

Sam Ehlinger is not only the most experienced quarterback in the Big 12 but in the country. The senior quarterback is going into his third full season as the starter. Ehlinger has 33 career starts.

With an appearance in the College Football Playoff, comes a Big 12 championship for Texas. While Herbstreit did not name who the Longhorns’ opponent would be, Oklahoma seems to be a likely opponent. Texas could get revenge for the 2018 championship loss.

Herbstreit also predicted the Longhorns would face and lose to Alabama. It would be the first time since the 2009 national championship the two schools play each other.

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Watch: Kirk Herbstreit delivers emotional social justice speech

The passionate college football analyst became choked up and shed some tears as he spoke to his colleagues: “We have to do better.”

(Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)

On the first “College GameDay” of the season, ESPN analyst Kurt Herbstreit used the platform to powerfully address the issues of social injustice and racism in America — and became choked up and shed some tears in the process as he spoke to his colleagues.

Herbstreit showed his passion and emotions when discussing how the Black community continues to face unjustified scrutiny which can lead to dangerous, sometimes deadly situations.

“The black community is hurting. How do you listen to these stories and not feel pain and not want to help? Wearing a hoodie and putting your hands at 10-2. Oh god, I better look out because I’m wearing Nike gear. What are we talking about? You can’t relate to that if you’re white but you can listen. You can try to help because this is not okay. It’s just not. We gotta do better man. We gotta lock arm and arm and be together. In a football locker room, that’s gone. We gotta do better.”

You can watch the video here:

 

Watch: Kirk Herbstreit breaks down talking about social justice

The ESPN commentator broke down while discussing the stories he has heard about social injustice in this country.

ESPN College GameDay is back and, with it, a return to almost normal for college football fans everywhere.

On the 2020 debut on Saturday morning, Kirk Herbstreit took a minute to speak about social justice.

“How can you listen to these stories and not feel pain,” Herbstreit said. “I wanna help.”

It’s a heart-wrenching two minutes.

Lee Corso, Desmond Howard support Big Ten, Pac-12 for not playing football this fall

“The virus is very serious, and I take it that way,” Lee Corso said on GameDay.

Amid the continuing controversy surrounding the Big Ten’s and Pac-12’s decisions to not play college football this season, Lee Corso and Desmond Howard offered their support for the two Power 5 conferences bailing on a fall schedule.

During ESPN’s College GameDay preview show Saturday, Corso, Howard, Kirk Herbstreit and David Pollack weighed in on a complex question posed by the show’s host, Rece Davis: Should we be playing college football during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Last month, the Big Ten and Pac-12 postponed their football seasons with the hope that they’ll be able to play at some point in 2021 (or maybe sooner). But the remaining Power 5 conferences, the SEC, ACC and Big 12, are carrying on with their seasons.

Herbstreit and Pollack said they have no problem with playing football this fall as long as safety measures and precautions are taken to try to keep people healthy. Pollack said he loves that players are given the chance to opt out of the season, while Herbstreit said he’s not at all concerned about his two sons playing at Clemson right now.

“I don’t think we can throw a blanket over this and just say, ‘Yes, be should definitely be playing football!'” Herbstreit said. “Or, ‘No, we should definitely not be playing football!’ I think it varies from region to region.”

But Corso and Howard had different mindsets and explained their perspectives.

Corso said:

“I agree with the Big Ten and the Pac-12 by not playing college football this season because of the ‘What ifs.’ Basically, there are a number of people, thousands of people involved in college football. I would not play football until February 2021.

“I’ll tell you what: The National Football League season would be over and the emphasis on college football [would be higher]. I’d play an abbreviated schedule, and maybe in 10 weeks begin again. I’ll tell you what: I’d rather err on safety than chance. The virus is very serious, and I take it that way.”

Howard was a bit more diplomatic with his answer, but he was not ambiguous. Responding to Herbstreit, the 1991 Heisman Trophy winner explained that if his two sons were in college and playing football, they would opt out. Howard said:

“You can’t throw a blanket on it because you have medial experts on both sides arguing both points: Why they should be playing and why they should not be playing. We’ve seen doctors from different universities make these big statements and then start to retract those statements. So I understand; you really can’t make a blanket statement.

“Personally, I have two sons too. Now, they’re not in college right now, but I would have to say that if they were, I would err on the side of caution and do probably what [Big Ten commissioner] Kevin Warren and [Pac-12 commissioner] Larry Scott did with their conferences. I would do [it] with my sons and tell them that they couldn’t play for the simple fact that you’re dealing with too much medical uncertainty at that point and too many unknown health risks.

“When you look at the numbers too … COVID-19, it affects Black Americans at unusually high and disproportionate rate than other segments of our society. And when you look at the numbers among the kids who have opted out, 60 kids have opted out, David, 60. Eighty percent of those kids are Black. So I would have erred on the side of caution with my sons, and we would’ve sat this one out.”

According to The Athletic‘s tracker, as of Saturday afternoon, 91 players have opted out of the season so far.

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Lee Corso’s remote ‘College GameDay’ set included life-size cutouts of his fellow broadcasters

College football fans loved Lee Corso’s home “GameDay” set.

ESPN’s College GameDay returned to the air Saturday with a two-hour season preview show. But, as expected during the COVID-19 pandemic, things looked a bit differently for this broadcast.

The GameDay crew wasn’t on a college campus with thousands of rowdy students and fans raging behind them. (However, the show will be at Wake Forest next weekend for the Demon Deacons’ game against Clemson.)

And all the broadcasters were split up. Rece Davis hosted from ESPN’s studios in Bristol, while Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard and David Pollack were at their “home” studios. And Corso’s setup, naturally, stood out big time compared with the others’.

Corso sat at a desk surrounded by life-size cutouts of his fellow broadcasters, and in the background, he appeared to have another cutout of Herbstreit pointing at (and maybe riding) an inflatable flamingo. And everyone had a good laugh over it all.

“Do you see that?” Corso said. “The crew did a magnificent job — in heat, Florida heat! Two or three days they worked on this thing. … A wonderful job of setting up my house.”

“Herbie, you look amazingly life-like on LC’s set there at his house,” Davis noted.

“I’m impressed,” Herbstreit said. “I’m impressed, he’ll put a muzzle over top of me or a piece of tape over top of my mouth there.”

Absolutely nothing is normal about the 2020 college football season, but with GameDay back and Corso up to his typical antics and jokes, fans loved it.

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Desmond Howard shows bitterness over Notre Dame’s independence

At least Desmond Howard knows his opinion on Notre Dame shouldn’t count for anything.

I put about as much stock in whatever it is Desmond Howard has to say about Notre Dame as I did whenever Mark May would discuss them years ago on ESPN.

I don’t have proof of this but I’m fairly certain the 1991 Heisman Trophy winner has never actually said a kind thing about Notre Dame.

That was again the case Friday morning when Howard was a part of an ESPN panel that discussed what happens with college football’s season if out of conference games are canceled across the board.

Of course Notre Dame got brought up and of course Howard had thoughts.

“I might not be the best guy to ask this question to because I’ve always felt that Notre Dame was always given this special pass and they just enjoy this independence, and that they never had to join a conference”

“So now if this ends up being a situation that we do have a season and under the guidelines that people are talking now where it’s just people will play within their conference, and they’re left out in the cold because of decisions that they made, not to ever join the conference when they had the opportunity to join the ACC, then I think that’s their problem. It’s just coming back to bite them in the butt. So I don’t have a problem with a team or school that thought they are beyond joining the conference, and now because teams are playing within their conference that they get left out in the cold.” – Desmond Howard on ESPN – July 10, 2020

Just a kind reminder to Mr. Howard that Notre Dame tried to join a conference for years and years but it was your beloved University of Michigan that kept that from happening.  Then Notre Dame became a money making machine in the world of college football and Michigan and the Big Ten suddenly wanted them in.

I’m not going to lie, I get a lot of enjoyment when Notre Dame’s independence angers the masses like it has, does and will continue to do for years and years to come.

Does ESPN know something the rest of us don’t?

With news of Fowler and Herbstreit potentially moving to Monday Night Football, does ESPN know something about college football in 2020?

In life it’s always good to have a plan.  I get that, I understand that and appreciate it.  Maybe one day I’ll have a better plan for my life.  In the meantime I’ll be here writing and discussing Notre Dame and college athletics, however.

News leaked on Wednesday that ESPN has a plan in place to have Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit move to the Monday Night Football television booth in the event that college football is either delayed or cancelled for 2020.

Now like I said, having a plan is great, but I have to ask why they’re leaking that news.  Do the folks at ESPN know something that athletic directors and college football coaches nationwide have refused to admit?

That seems like something you keep close to your vest unless you have a pretty good idea as to what might be happening since they haven’t officially named a new Monday Night Football broadcast team yet but have made it appear that it’ll be internal candidates.

As for the move, I don’t dislike it.  I won’t confuse Fowler to ever be Howard Cosell or Al Michaels but he’s a solid broadcaster, no doubt.  He also carries more cache than the other potential play-by-play voices at ESPN.  He and Herbstreit make a solid call, something Monday Night Football has lacked in the last few decades.

So if you’re ESPN, why wouldn’t you consider this, pandemic or not?  If people didn’t turn off the game because of the brutal call Joe Tessitore and Booger McFarland put on last year, do you think they’ll turn it off because a couple guys who have a college background are on?

I don’t love everything Herbstreit has to say but I do enjoy his dedication to helping grow college football and the same can be said for Fowler.  It’d be a wise move by ESPN but I’d certainly miss them on Saturday nights.

But if they do get moved to Monday nights can I make the request to get Jason Benetti on the prime-time ABC game each week because that’s who I’d like to see get it.

Thanks.

93 Days Until Notre Dame Football (We Hope)

We’re 93 days away from Notre Dame football returning. Get excited by remembering a fantastic season for the Fighting Irish today.

Happy Thursday, 93 days away until the scheduled start of the 2020 college football season in Week Zero as Notre Dame and Navy are set to get the season underway in Dublin.

Yesterday we honored the number 94 by remembering former Notre Dame All-American Willie Fry.

Today for 93 we look back on one of my favorite seasons since I started watching college football years and years ago.

(19)93:  The Should Have Been National Championship

1993 started with Notre Dame ranked in the top ten but after an unimpressive showing against Northwestern, fell to No. 11 by week two.  The Irish would upset No. 3 Michigan the next week in Ann Arbor and run off seven more consecutive wins, setting up “The Game of the Century” between No. 2 Notre Dame and No.1 Florida State.

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Notre Dame moved to number one following that thrilling win, only to fall a week later against Boston College.  Although they beat Florida State head-to-head, voters awarded Bobby Bowden and the Seminoles the national championship after their Orange Bowl win over Nebraska instead of Notre Dame who had just got by Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl.

It was a season that ultimately ended with great frustration due to the Boston College debacle but one of the most memorable Fighting Irish seasons of most of our lifetimes.

FootballScoop predicts Georgia will be featured in two College GameDay matchups

Georgia football is projected to be featured in two College GameDay matchups this 2020 college football season.

I know, you’d rather be reading about which early-enrollees are turning heads at Georgia workouts. I’d rather be writing about that. Unfortunately, that’s not the world we are living in right now.

Instead, we are in a constant state of speculation, which can actually provide some entertaining stories like the one Zach Barnett of FootballScoop posted this week.

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He wrote a story predicting where ESPN’s College GameDay show will visit during each week of the 2020 college football season.

In his predictions, he had Georgia being involved in two College GameDay matchups.

The first one is a sure-thing…Georgia at Alabama on September 19 in Tuscaloosa.

From FootballScoop:

Speaking of sure things, Georgia at Alabama is perhaps the surest thing of the entire season. A rematch of the 2017 national championship and 2018 SEC title game, this game comes three days shy of the THIRTEEN YEAR anniversary of Georgia’s last trip to Tuscaloosa.

The other one is on Halloween, where Barnett predicts College GameDay will visit Jacksonville for the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. Not a bad prediction, as both teams will likely be in the top-ten playing for a spot in the SEC Championship Game.

Florida has finished second to Georgia in the SEC East in each of Dan Mullen’s first two seasons and, with a returning quarterback in Gainesville and a new offense coming in Athens, there’s a belief that the Gators can climb the hump this year. Florida vs. Georgia will be the ultimate trick or treat for Mullen.

Athens, Georgia was also mentioned as a possible destination on October 6. The Bulldogs will be hosting Auburn in The Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry, but there’s also plenty of other top-tier matchups taking place that weekend.

October 6 matchups include: Texas-Oklahoma, Clemson-Florida State, LSU-Florida, Auburn-Georgia, Minnesota-Wisconsin, Iowa-Ohio State, Rutgers-Purdue.

Oklahoma vs Texas gets GameDay that weekend in his predictions.

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College GameDay live from The Masters? Kirk Herbstreit is in

ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit likes the idea of College GameDay being shot live from The Masters in Augusta, Georgia.

It’s never even been an option, but with The Masters identifying November 19-25 as a likely date to host the historic golf tournament, ESPN’s flagship kickoff show College GameDay will have an interesting decision to make.

The Masters was set to tee off this week from Augusta, Georgia, but the threat of coronavirus forced the tournament to be postponed.

On Friday, Augusta National Golf Club Chairman Fred Ridley made this announcement:

“We have identified Nov 9-15 as the intended dates to host the 2020 Masters. We hope the anticipation of staging the Tournament brings a moment of joy to the Augusta community and those who love the game.”

Nothing is set in stone just yet, according to the statement. However, if The Masters is indeed moved to that weekend there would be overlap with the 2020 college football season, if football is actually a go this year as well.

The overlap in Georgia would be absolutely epic.

This tweet sums up would could be a historic weekend for Georgia sports:

The big one there is obviously Georgia’s home game vs Tennessee, which could potentially have large implications on the SEC East title race.

After hearing the news that The Masters is eyeing that November weekend, ESPN’s College GameDay host Kirk Herbstreit entertained an idea of shooting the Saturday morning football show live from Augusta National.

This will likely never be a possibility again, so if Augusta National is willing to let ESPN host its often-rowdy show on their grounds, it would be a historic event for American sports.