Kirk Herbstreit knows OSU football inside out. Although he has been calling games for ESPN since 1995, his Buckeye roots run deep. The Ohio native quarterbacked OSU from 1989 to 1993. And that connection runs in his family, too. One of his sons, Zak, is a walk-on tight end, and another one, Jake, transferred to OSU, tying the next generation to Kirk’s alma mater. Despite these strong ties, Herbstreit had to put his Buckeye loyalty aside. And now, in a bold move, he showed his fair take.

On the October 13 episode of Nonstop, Kirk Herbstreit and Joey Galloway broke down last weekend’s big matchups. And following that, they revealed their top five teams.

While Joey’s No. 1 pick unsurprisingly went to OSU, Herbstreit shocked fans with a very different choice. “My top five will probably shock you a little bit. Look what I did. And let me tell you why I did that,” stated Herbstreit. And his No.1 pick happened to be Indiana. Then came his explanation.

“I’ve been waiting on Indiana. I have relatives that are IU alums that hate me because I’ve not given Indiana enough love. I wasn’t really,” he continued. But this wasn’t the reason he made Indiana his top pick.

Here’s where Herbstreit’s mindset shifted. “I thought they were a good team last year. I just thought they never really got an opportunity to prove it against a good opponent. When they did, they lost against Ohio State and Notre Dame,” he admitted. Now, “This year, I was excited to see how they’d play against Illinois. I thought Illinois is a good team, and they blew Indiana,” he added. But the Hoosiers didn’t just win.

They dominated, 63-10, and that blowout marked the turning point. It forced Kirk Herbstreit to rethink Indiana.

“My point was, I think, like a lot of people, just thought, ‘Wow, Cignetti is doing a good job,'” he referred to the factor that drove his decision. “What he’s doing there at Indiana is great.” And Herbstreit’s words ring true as Indiana stands at 6-0 so far this season. Then came the bold take regarding IU’s game against Oregon.

“They did more in 60 minutes to change my mind than they’ve done the previous year and a half. That is not easy to do,” remarked the ESPN personality. Yes, IU blew Dan Lanning’s unbeaten status with a 30-20 win.

According to Herbstreit, when a team beats Illinois and Oregon, they deserve to be the number one team in the country. And that seems fair to him. But the ESPN commentator never hesitates to make his stance clear for OSU.

Kirk Herbstreit’s OSU take

Kirk Herbstreit’s OSU days were anything but ordinary.

After spending his first 3 seasons as a backup to Greg Frey and Kent Graham, he finally claimed the starting QB spot in 1992-93. That year, he threw for 1,904 yards and led the Buckeyes to the Citrus Bowl. But his standout moment came in his lone start against Michigan.

In that game, he made 28 completions for 271 yards. Now, even decades later, Herbstreit hasn’t lost his passion for OSU.

On ESPN’s College GameDay in Eugene, he drew scattered boos when he named OSU the most complete team in CFB. “I think the most complete team so far was the team they [Oregon] played in the Rose Bowl last year. I think Ohio State’s been the most complete team,” declared Herbstreit. And his reasoning is hard to argue with.

OSU’s defense under Matt Patricia has been stingy. They allowed just two TDs through five games. Then offensively, Julian Sayin has been stellar, completing over 80% of his passes. More importantly, WRs Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate are among the nation’s best, and freshman RB Bo Jackson is quietly piling up.

So Herbstreit’s call for OSU as a complete 2025 team feels spot on. And with that, it’s time to see how OSU performs in their upcoming challenge.