Kirk Herbstreit Emphatically Rejects Premise That ESPN Holds SEC Bias

ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstret wants to set the record straight.

Much of the dialogue surrounding the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff has been around the résumés of non-powerhouse programs that earned a spot in the bracket over a few SEC blue bloods, particularly Alabama. Following Indiana's 27–17 loss to Notre Dame in the first round, Herbstret himself stated that he believes the Hoosiers' 11 wins were overvalued and perhaps should have been replaced by a more deserving team.

All of that dialogue didn't help ESPN's widespread reputation of having a bias toward SEC teams. But with the CFP semifinals just a couple of days away, Herbstreit directly rejected that notion.

"We could not have paid for a better final four with Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State and Texas," Herbstreit said to On3 Sports on Tuesday morning. "The only one missing is Michigan. ... This idea that we want Alabama and Texas A&M and Auburn, are you kidding me? You're asking us who we would want?

"We'll take Ohio State every year, Notre Dame. This is a rating bonanza. So, if you were going to accuse us of anything, you should accuse us of wanting Ohio State, wanting Notre Dame and these big brands. If you know anything about ratings, that's who you want. You don't want these small little Clemsons and small little southern schools when it comes to ratings. Ratings are big, massive Big Ten brands. That's what ratings are."

.@KirkHerbstreit sets the record straight on ESPN SEC bias:

"We could not have paid for a better final four with Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, and Texas. The only one missing is Michigan... So this idea we want Alabama, Texas A&M, and Auburn. Are you kidding me?" pic.twitter.com/xbci8PfrrG
— On3 (@On3sports) January 7, 2025

The SEC sent three teams to the 2024 College Football Playoff in No. 2-seeded Georgia, No. 5 Texas and No. 7 Tennessee. The Volunteers bowed out in the first round with a 42–17 blowout loss to Ohio State, and the Bulldogs fell 23–10 to Notre Dame after enjoing a first-round bye.

Heading into the semifinals, Texas remains the SEC's last hope for a national title. But Herbstreit doesn't seem to mind.

"If you get Ohio State and Notre Dame in the national championship, you think we're going to be like, 'Doggone it, if only we could have. gotten a couple of good brands in the championship. This didn't work out this year,'" Herbstreit said sarcastically.

The College Football Playoff semifinals will get underway Thursday night with a matchup between No. 6 Penn State and No. 7 Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl, followed by the Longhorns' clash against Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl on Friday night.