When the Notre Dame Fighting Irish take the field against the Ohio State Buckeyes in Monday night's national championship game, the Irish will be more than an eight-point underdog in the matchup. Ohio State has one of the sport's best rosters,

While Herbstreit does his best to stay objective, there certainly has to be a part of him that is absolutely thrilled about the win. The Centerville, Ohio native played quarterback at Ohio State from 1989-93, while two of his sons Jake and Zak walked on at Ohio State.

During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show following the showdown, Herbstreit elaborated on why he’s all in on Notre Dame moving forward, explaining why he sees the Fighting Irish establishing themselves as a power in the college football world for many years to come.

Kirk Herbstreit reached for a tissue and got emotional when talking about the Buckeyes' win on ESPN on Monday night.

ESPN “College GameDay” personality Kirk Herbstreit won’t be making a national championship prediction. The national championship is between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Monday, Jan. 20 at 7:30 p.m. ET.

ESPN broadcaster Kirk Herbstreit felt all the emotions during his postgame debrief with Scott Van Pelt and Chris Fowler after his Ohio State Buckeyes won the College Football Playoff national title.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish dug themselves into a deep hole in the College Football Playoff championship game against the Ohio State Buckeyes. Ohio State had a 31-7 lead midway through the third quarter, but the Irish finally showed some life when Jaden Greathouse scored a touchdown.

While recapping the game with Herbstreit and Scott Van Pelt, Fowler made a bold claim that Notre Dame's first possession was the best opening drive he'd ever seen. He acknowledged how solid of a defense the drive came against and how much time it chewed.

When asked about the Buckeyes’ 34-23 win over Notre Dame, the ESPN analyst, who also quarterbacked Ohio State from 1989-93 and has a son currently on the team, became emotional and wiped away tears during the network’s postgame show at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Jan 18, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard (13) talks to the media during 2025 CFP National Championship Media Day at Georgia World Congress Center, Building A. / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

After getting emotional on camera during the National Championship broadcast, Kirk Herbstreit revealed why the tears started flowing