Kirk Herbstreit doesn’t want to hear the Ohio State hate.
The “College GameDay” mainstay and former Buckeyes quarterback put critics of Ohio State coach Ryan Day on blast Saturday after the team’s 42-17 dismantling of Tennessee in the first round of the College Football Playoff — just weeks after fans were calling for Day’s firing following a Nov. 30 loss to unranked rival Michigan.
“I can’t speak on behalf of the lunatic fringe. I’m not sure how they operate,” said Herbstreit, who was providing color commentary for the game on ABC. “The lunatic fringe at Ohio State is as powerful as anywhere in the country. … I don’t know, I’m sure they’ll be happy tonight and be fired up about what the Ohio State team did. But God forbid they lose to Oregon. They may want to fire him again.”
Play-by-play announcer Chris Fowler also chimed in, saying the fans don’t possess the power to call for Day’s firing.
“But that’s not reality,” Fowler said to Herbstreit. “When you hear pundits on this network or other places talk about that with certainty, it’s nonsense, frankly. The public doesn’t pull the trigger and get rid of a coach. The administrators do, and they’re behind him [Day].”
That’s when Herbstreit called attention to his ESPN colleagues.
“’First Take’ tried to fire him. They thought he was done, so I’ll be excited to see what they talk about on Monday after this performance,” Herbstreit said. “They had him out and were trying to find replacements, but here he is. He’s still got his hat on, and he’s still coaching.”
Herbstreit’s comments followed Stephen A. Smith’s scathing remarks about Day during Friday’s edition of “First Take.”
“Are you kidding me? With a $20 million roster, you came into 2024 talking national championship… The mandate is to beat Michigan and put yourself into a position to win a national championship… If this man gets bounced out of here this weekend, he got to go,” Smith exclaimed.
Although Day’s coaching record improved to 67-10 after Saturday’s impressive victory over Tennessee, Michigan fans have continued to poke fun at the coach as the Wolverines entered the game as double-digit underdogs.
Michigan alum and Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy has been shelling “Extend Ryan Day” swag, while a plane banner with the same message was seen before kickoff Saturday.
Day is 1-4 against Michigan in his career, with all but this year’s game coming against now-Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh.
Ohio State will face top-seed Oregon in the second round of the CFP.
