Kirk Herbstreit turned his mic on a bit too early during Monday’s ESPN broadcast of North Carolina-TCU.
The Horned Frogs were crushing the Tar Heels 41-14 to start the fourth quarter at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C. The score would have looked even worse had UNC not closed the third with a last-minute touchdown.
The ESPN telecast came back from a commercial break seemingly before Herbstreit was expecting it to. The veteran announcer was heard chuckling on the hot mic as the camera panned to an aerial shot of the Tar Heels’ stadium.
“They’re bad, ugh!” Herbstreit appeared to say before gathering himself.
“Fourth quarter starting here in Chapel Hill,” he immediately followed.
“They’re bad”
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) September 2, 2025
Kirk Herbstreit got caught on the hot mic!
pic.twitter.com/jv7W5rInBr
It’s unclear what exactly Herbstreit was referring to as “bad.” It could have been about the nachos he had eaten during the break, or perhaps he had just watched a lowlight reel from the 2024 Chicago White Sox’s season. Nobody can know for sure.
But there’s more than a good chance Herbstreit’s hot mic diss was directed toward North Carolina and the performance the team had put up to that point in Belichick’s college coaching debut. The Tar Heels’ defense yielded six touchdowns, 29 first downs, and 542 total yards of offense in the 48-14 drubbing.
After a glorious opening drive, North Carolina’s offense went whisper-quiet. The team had just 10 first downs all game and went a dreadful 1/10 on 3rd-down situations.
If Herbstreit actually was talking about UNC, he was just saying what everyone at home was already thinking.
Update: Herbstreit took to social media to clarify what he was saying.
