Kirk Herbstreit has been facing SEC bias accusations for years now. The allegations reached a fever pitch earlier this season when he defended Texas as a playoff contender despite multiple losses. A Miami sports writer even called it “nasty f***ng work” and asked how much the SEC was paying him. But Herbstreit’s latest take on Indiana versus Texas A&M might finally put those conspiracy theories to rest. 

Kirk Herbstreit’s analysis of Indiana’s 27-24 victory over Penn State reveals why he’s so high on the Hoosiers despite their lack of traditional prestige. “I think sometimes people look at Indiana struggling with Penn State. Dez and I talked about this a little bit. I think Dez took it more of a ‘man, that’s a trash Penn State team. You know, you shouldn’t be struggling with a team like Penn State.'” Herbstreit explained. 

But he sees it completely differently. He focused on the context of that November 8 road game at Beaver Stadium. Penn State had fired longtime head coach James Franklin, with interim coach Terry Smith taking over for the remainder of the season. The Nittany Lions were also dealing with the loss of starting quarterback Drew Allar to a season-ending injury. For Herbstreit, that made Penn State a dangerous opponent. A team with a chip on its shoulder, trying to salvage its season.​​

“I looked at that. I was really impressed. I think college football for me is a week-to-week sport,” Herbstreit said. “I think what you’ve seen from Penn State prior to that game [against Indiana], where they’re at home, they’re starving for a win, they fired a coach, you got a new leadership, a new coach. I look at that as that day in that stadium. Indiana, that is a great win for me. That’s my own perspective. That is a great win for Indiana.” Indiana had to overcome a fourth-quarter deficit and needed a miraculous toe-tap touchdown catch by Omar Cooper Jr. with 36 seconds remaining to escape with the win. 

The fact that the Hoosiers found a way to win in a hostile environment against a desperate Penn State team was more impressive to Herbstreit than the final score might suggest. Penn State outgained Indiana 336-326 in total yards, but the Hoosiers refused to quit and pulled off their first-ever victory at Beaver Stadium.​​

When it comes to Texas A&M’s historic 31-30 comeback against South Carolina, Herbstreit’s assessment is more measured. “I was more impressed with Indiana with how they had to win that game in that environment and being down, stadium going crazy. In this case, I look at A&M, and I would rather focus on the second half. I mean, yeah, they dug themselves a hole. I don’t necessarily look at it like they’re terrible.” Herbstreit explained. 

His point is that South Carolina, despite being 5-5 on the season, is a competent football team and does not have the pressure to prove something like Penn State had. For Herbstreit, the fact that Texas A&M had to dig itself out of such a massive hole suggests they weren’t firing on all cylinders from the jump. Whereas Indiana had to grind out a tough road win against a physically talented Penn State squad with everything to prove.​

By giving Indiana the edge in this comparison, Herbstreit has basically declared the No. 2 Big Ten team has a better resume win than the SEC’s top-ranked one, hardly the take of someone carrying water for that conference.​​ Maybe that’ll finally quiet the conspiracy theorists who think every analyst is on the SEC’s payroll, though probably not.​​

Herbstreit’s boiling point

Kirk Herbstreit has officially hit his breaking point with the SEC bias accusations. And he did not hold back on the latest episode of Nonstop. “These idiots say, ‘How much do people pay you to say this bulls**t?’ F*** off,” Herbstreit fired back, his frustration bubbling over after years of defending himself against the same tired narrative. 

The ESPN analyst, who’s been with the network for three decades, made it abundantly clear that he’s exhausted by fans who refuse to accept that maybe the SEC’s dominance isn’t some manufactured ESPN conspiracy. “I just get so f***ing tired,” he continued, his voice dripping with exasperation. “These people talking about the SEC, how much they pay you. Are you kidding me? I’ve been here for 30 years.”

“Everybody recognizes the SEC is a step ahead of everybody else. Why is this so hard for people to put your arms around? Wake up. It’s a reality,” he added, clearly fed up with having to explain the same thing over and over. According to him, he’s calling the sport the way he sees it. And if people can’t accept that the conference producing the most NFL talent and national champions might actually be better, then they’re living in what he called “a fake world.”​