HARRISONBURG, Va. — Kirk Herbstreit is tired. He and his golden retriever, Ben, will have traveled about 6,000 miles to four cities over three days by the time the man and man’s best friend finally get to go home, only to do it all again a few days later.
But it’s not the travel that has worn out Herbstreit. It’s the Michigan sign-stealing scandal and the weeks-long coverage of a story that has rocked the sport that have left Herbstreit and others exhausted.
Connor Stalions, a 28-year-old analyst for the Wolverines, resigned weeks into an NCAA investigation into his role overseeing an alleged scheme that saw him purchase tickets to games involving future opponents, make extensive plans to scout Ohio State in person this season and possibly stand on Central Michigan’s sideline during its September matchup with Michigan State. The Big Ten suspended Wolverines Coach Jim Harbaugh for the final three games of the regular season.
As the investigation has unfolded, fans have turned to ESPN’s “College GameDay,” the sport’s preeminent show, to make sense of a scandal that has become the dominant story in the latter part of the season. Those tuning in have seen the differing opinions between two of the show’s mainstays: Herbstreit, a former Ohio State quarterback, and Desmond Howard, the 1991 Heisman Trophy winner at Michigan. Their takes have been lauded and lampooned on TV, podcasts and all corners of the internet ahead of Saturday’s matchup in Ann Arbor, Mich., between No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Michigan in what’s essentially a play-in game for the College Football Playoff for the second straight year. “GameDay” will be at the Big House for Saturday morning’s pregame show.
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Howard and Herbstreit, who have been together on “GameDay” since 2005, maintain their stances on the subject do not stem from them being on opposite sides of one of the sport’s greatest rivalries. They’re just trying to get all the facts on a story that has consumed their professional lives in recent weeks and get through it together, Herbstreit said.
“What’s it been like for Des and I — I think all of us got to a point as players where we’re like, ‘Can we move on?’ ” Herbstreit, 54, told The Washington Post. “At some point, you just get tired of talking about the same stuff.”
Howard, who has been one of Michigan’s most vocal and prominent defenders during the investigation, has argued that his impassioned pleas on ESPN have not been based off his love of his alma mater but rather his long-running issues with the NCAA that go back years.
“I don’t agree with a lot of the things that they do and some of the decisions that they come down with,” Howard, 53, told The Post. “People get it misconstrued to think it’s a Michigan thing. No, no, no. It’s an NCAA thing.”
The Michigan story comes at an interesting point in the history of “College GameDay,” which recently celebrated 30 years of going on the road for the sport’s biggest games.
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“GameDay” has remained college football’s preeminent Saturday morning pregame show, averaging about 2 million viewers an episode. The pageantry, the ridiculous signs and Lee Corso donning a mascot’s head have made “GameDay” synonymous with the sport. At James Madison, fans broke the “GameDay” attendance record with 26,000 showing up last Saturday, according to ESPN. “GameDay,” which has won 13 Sports Emmys, has joined TNT’s “Inside the NBA” as a gold standard for sports studio shows.
But the show and the network have faced criticism during a time of seismic change in the sport — whether it’s a mini-feud with Washington State in which the show was accused of punching down or how ESPN viewers have responded to “GameDay” panelist Pat McAfee’s sleeveless brand of analysis and WWE-style showmanship.
No other topic has been more grabby this season than Michigan because each new development has appeared more absurd than the next. After Harbaugh and the school accepted the Big Ten’s suspension, Michigan announced it had fired a linebackers coach that Yahoo Sports reported had tried to destroy evidence related to the sign-stealing scheme. The same Yahoo report noted that a Michigan booster known as “Uncle T” allegedly helped fund Stalions’s scheme by helping to pay for thousands of dollars in expenses.
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ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith called for Michigan to be banned from the College Football Playoff until the investigation is complete.
Chris “Mad Dog” Russo ripped the Wolverines for playing the victim card, calling out Michigan alums such as Howard, his ESPN colleague, and Fox Sports’s Charles Woodson in the process.
Paul Finebaum said he would not recognize the Wolverines as national champions if they were to win it all this year. Finebaum also sparred with Howard in a recent segment that had the “GameDay” panelist laughing at his colleague’s remarks and urging him to keep saying “allegedly” when talking about the sign-stealing story.
Howard has been consistent in saying he is upset with how the NCAA and Big Ten have handled the situation, arguing that the treatment of Harbaugh and Michigan would have never happened to Nick Saban and Alabama in the SEC. While fans at James Madison lined up on the Quad last week, Howard reiterated his grief toward the NCAA, pointing to what he considered to be some of the NCAA’s biggest misses: Reggie Bush, Tez Walker and the bowl eligibility of 10-win James Madison.
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And now, Michigan.
“My thing has always been against the NCAA,” Howard said. “It’s not even a Michigan thing.”
Herbstreit didn’t know Howard when they were in the same high school recruiting class but soon found an appreciation for the wide receiver, and he said they later bonded on “GameDay” over being fathers with children around the same age. “GameDay” has never been about yelling at each other like some of the other shows, Herbstreit said, and it’s one reason they can have fun with each other on and off the air during even the most serious of topics.
“There’s never an Ohio State-Michigan thing [between us],” Herbstreit said. “I don’t know what Des’s gripes are. I just know that the fact Michigan accepted a three-game suspension tells me that they accept what the facts are.”
Herbstreit is admittedly a people pleaser by nature, which is why he had to learn years ago that he was not going to please everyone on social media, including Ohio State fans. He knows there will be a few signs at “GameDay” of Michigan fans mad at ESPN, but he hopes the frustration from what he considers to be a small amount of people making the most noise will not overshadow what could be the game of the year.
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He anticipates Ann Arbor being a mostly normal “GameDay” scene, or as normal as possible given the rivalry, the stakes and the weight of the sign-stealing scheme that will be hanging over more than 100,000 fans at Michigan Stadium on Saturday.
“For Des, as a Michigan great, I think he’s been more frustrated that the story just won’t go away. Just like: ‘Enough. Let’s just say whatever it is, and let’s just move on,’ ” Herbstreit said. “And I feel that, and I’m not even a Michigan guy.”
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