ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit leaves midway through ‘College GameDay’ to call Texas-Oklahoma 2,000 miles away

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Kirk Herbstreit’s Wild Ride will be one of the craziest days of his career.

The main color commentator for ABC’s college football broadcasts began his day in Eugene, Oregon, to co-host “College GameDay.”

The GameDay crew, absent 89-year-old Lee Corso for the second straight week, was set up in Oregon for Saturday night’s game between the third-ranked Ducks and No. 2 Ohio State.

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Kirk Herbstreit attends the game between the LSU Tigers and the Southern California Trojans at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada, on Sept. 1, 2024. (Kirby Lee-USA Today Sports)

However, there was a bit of an issue – the game, being a Big Ten contest, was broadcast on NBC, and ABC’s main game was the Red River Rivalry between No. 1 Texas and No. 18 Oklahoma (it was broadcast on ABC).

Normally, Herbstreit broadcasts the 7:30 p.m. ET game on ABC, but this assignment was four hours earlier. With play-by-play announcer Chris Fowler already at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Herbstreit had to get there.

So, for the first time, he left the “GameDay” set, and actually did a segment on the show from an Oregon highway, seemingly en route to an airport.

ESPN commentator Kirk Herbstreit is on the field prior to the playoff semifinal game at the Chick-fil-a Peach Bowl between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Ohio State Buckeyes on Dec. 31, 2022, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. (Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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To make the day even longer, Herbstreit began broadcasting at 6 a.m. Oregon time, and the Texas-Oklahoma kicked off at 3:30 p.m. ET.

“Everything’s good. We’re going really fast right now,” Herbstreit said from the road.

“It was cold as hell on that drive. Who ordered the convertible?!?” Herbstreit posted on X while he was flying over Salt Lake City. “Whatever it takes to get to the Red River Rivalry in Dallas with a 3:30pm ET kick. First time I’ve ever left mid show to hope to make it to the game I’m calling.”

Herbstreit cut it awfully close, not getting to Dallas until just 45 minutes before kickoff. He posted a video of his police escort outside the stadium at 3:25 p.m. ET, five minutes before the scheduled kickoff.

The 55-year-old is no stranger to long days, travel and two assignments in one day. Even last week, he was on the “GameDay” set in Berkeley, California, and then called the Arkansas-Tennessee game in Fayetteville.

Kirk Herbstreit, right, joins, from left, Desmond Howard, Rece Davis, Pat McAfee, Nick Saban and Lee Corso for ESPN’s “GameDay” near Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina. (IMAGN)

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Herbstreit will have nothing to worry about next week, though – he will be on the call in Austin, Texas, all day for the long-awaited Texas-Georgia matchup.

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