Kirk Herbstreit had already learned one lesson about bringing his dog Peter around a college football campus: always carry a bag. That turned out to be useful in Iowa City.
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While ESPN’s College GameDay crew prepared for No. 14 Iowa’s meeting with No. 5 Ohio State, Herbstreit was walking around campus with Peter when the golden retriever stopped near a patch of grass beside the sidewalk. Herbstreit picked up the bag and dealt with the situation before it became somebody else’s problem. Then he revealed that this was not Peter’s first stop of the day.
“This was number three. His third deuce of the day,” Herbstreit said in his October 2 Vlog with Peter. ” I think it’s always important. It’s real to bring bags cuz I almost thought about it on the bus.
“I was like, you know what? He’s already gone twice. I don’t think I need a bag. But I’d rather be safe than sorry. I got another backup, by the way, in my pocket just in case he goes number four of the day.”
Peter has become a familiar figure around College GameDay since taking over the traveling role from Herbstreit’s late golden retriever, Ben. He regularly appears alongside Herbstreit and has become recognizable enough that his trips now generate their own coverage.
This season, Peter’s job has expanded beyond simply tagging along with Herbstreit. In August, Hertz announced a partnership that put Peter on its Gold Squad, with the company describing him as a frequent college football traveler.
He also received his own “Peter’s Golden Picks” segment. So Peter is already something of a GameDay regular when the show arrived in Iowa. The trip itself carries plenty of weight.
College GameDay returned to Iowa City for the first time in 20 years, setting up ahead of an unbeaten Iowa team coming off a 20-19 win at Michigan. Herbstreit, meanwhile, was dealing with a much smaller problem. Peter suddenly spotted a squirrel.
He took off after it, forcing Herbstreit to watch the chase unfold. The squirrel finally managed to escape, and Herbstreit gave Peter credit for making the pursuit competitive. Never mind an accurate football comparison, too.
“Pete would not be denied. And that squirrel did a heck of a job,” Herbstreit said. “That’s called a quarterback with dual-threat abilities there. Good job that squirrel getting out of trouble, cuz that was like Miles Garrett chasing him down.”
Peter Herbstreit was never supposed to have a media career. He was simply Kirk Herbstreit’s dog, a golden retriever who started traveling with the ESPN analyst after Ben, Herbstreit’s older golden retriever and longtime road companion, died in 2024.
But Peter quickly settled into the job. One of Peter’s earliest memorable GameDay appearances came in Athens in November 2024, when he met Georgia’s mascot, Uga, on the set.
Peter was lifted toward Uga at the desk, apparently more interested in making a new friend than in whatever Lee Corso was about to pick. The clip became one of those small GameDay moments that had nothing to do with the actual game.
Then there was Columbus. Peter sprawled across the GameDay set during the November 2024 broadcast, looking completely comfortable while Herbstreit and the rest of the crew went about their business. He even got a headset.
Because of his camera-loving personality, it took no time for Peter to become a social media celebrity. In March 2025, Herbstreit brought Peter to the NHL Stadium Series at Ohio Stadium, where roughly 90,000 people attended.
Peter was photographed before the game and appeared during the event as Herbstreit watched the Columbus Blue Jackets.
NHL.com noted that Peter had become a hit on social media while traveling with his owner. Then came the College Football Playoff.
At the 2026 CFP Media Day before Indiana played Miami for the national championship, Peter showed up with Herbstreit and promptly became the story. Now, Peter is a regular on Kirk Herbstreit’s Instagram videos, and with time he might well surpass even his dad’s popularity.
He once called Peter the “Taylor Swift of college football,” saying people routinely ask him for pictures with the dog. By now, that sounds less like a joke and more like a job description.