Kirk Herbstreit takes shot at Indiana over playoff appearance

Dec 2, 2017; Charlotte, NC, USA; ESPN personality Kirk Herbstreit walks down the field prior to the game between the Clemson Tigers and the Miami Hurricanes in the ACC championship game at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

The knives are out for the Indiana Hoosiers in certain circles after their underwhelming performance in the College Football Playoff opener.

ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit was among those critical of Indiana’s appearance in the CFP field following their 27-17 loss to Notre Dame at Notre Dame Stadium. Herbstreit said the Hoosiers were “outclassed” by Notre Dame, and that they were “not a team that should’ve been on that field.”

Herbstreit doubled down when picking games for ESPN’s “College GameDay.” When Nick Saban mentioned how many people would have liked to see Cam Ward and Miami in the playoffs, Herbstreit suggested perhaps the Hurricanes should have been playing on Friday instead of the Hoosiers.

And here's Herbstreit saying that it would've been nice to see Cam Ward and Miami last night… https://t.co/yNLQuP4fDT pic.twitter.com/RCLWPRfNcx

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 21, 2024

It would have been very hard for the CFP committee to leave an 11-1 Big Ten team out of the playoff. The argument against them was always their strength of schedule, and that will undoubtedly be scrutinized going forward, but the team’s record was impossible to ignore.

On the other hand, Indiana talked a big game before facing Notre Dame, and then completely failed to back it up. They are going to have to cope with takes like this after that showing.