Kirk Herbstreit won’t pick a winner for South Carolina-LSU on ‘GameDay.’ Here’s why
As “College GameDay” wraps up from Columbia on Saturday morning, ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit will pick a winner for the biggest games on the Week 3 football schedule.
With one notable exception.
While everyone else on the “GameDay” desk and a guest picker will choose a winner for Saturday’s South Carolina-LSU game, Herbstreit won’t offer an opinion on the outcome between the Gamecocks (2-0) and Tigers (1-1). Why?
He’s calling their game on ABC.
Under a long-standing policy that he has attributed to ESPN management in the past, Herbstreit, arguably the most famous announcer in the sport, does not pick a winner for the college football game (or games) he’s covering that weekend as a broadcaster for the sake of neutrality.
The assumed reasoning: Game announcers, like the rest of sports media, are supposed to be impartial — without bias toward either team in a game they’re calling or covering — and Herbstreit picking a winner before he calls what’s usually the biggest college football of the weekend doesn’t exactly jibe with that.
The policy will be in effect Saturday morning in Columbia since Herbstreit was assigned earlier this week to call the South Carolina vs. No. 16 LSU game (noon, ABC) as the color analyst alongside his usual partner, Chris Fowler.
While Gamecocks fans will get to see if Lee Corso makes his iconic “headgear pick” for USC or LSU, as well as who former Alabama coach Nick Saban and others on the desk think will win, Herbstreit won’t offer an opinion.
Herbstreit, 55, discussed the policy on air with “GameDay” colleague Pat McAfee last year — coincidentally, as the show broadcast from Charlotte ahead of the Week 1 Duke’s Mayo Classic game between South Carolina and North Carolina.
“I think you’re allowed, you just choose not to,” McAfee joked.
“No, they tell me I’m not allowed to,” Herbstreit said.
The Herbstreit rule
Fowler and Herbstreit are considered ESPN’s “A team” and usually call each week’s 7:30 p.m. night game on ABC as well as one of the two College Football Playoff semifinals. They’ve also been the broadcasters for every CFP national championship game since 2014.
As you’d imagine, Herbstreit’s status as one of the game’s top broadcasters leads to a ton of crossover with “GameDay,” where he’s been appearing since 1996. Near the end of its weekly 9 a.m. to noon broadcast, analysts on the show pick the results of roughly 10 to 12 marquee college football games on the schedule — and Herbstreit’s assignment is almost always involved.
The former Ohio State quarterback got a break in Week 0 and was able to pick all five games during the “GameDay” broadcast from Dublin, Ireland ahead of Georgia Tech-Florida State since he wasn’t assigned to call a game that weekend.
The Herbstreit policy was back in effect for Week 1, though, as he did not pick a winner for the Notre Dame-Texas A&M game (which he called that Saturday night on ABC) or the Southern Cal-LSU game (which he called the following Monday night on ABC) during “GameDay.” Everyone else on set made a prediction.
That was a similar setup to this weekend, as “GameDay” had selected College Station, Texas (home of Texas A&M) as its travel location for Week 1 ahead of the Aggies’ huge home game vs. the Fighting Irish.
In Week 2, Herbstreit was also mum on his game assignment and didn’t pick a winner for the Tennessee-NC State game in Charlotte, per a website that tracks each analyst’s weekly “College GameDay” picks.
It’s unclear how long the Herbstreit policy dates back, but there are online mentions of him not picking the game he calls dating back to 2008. Herbstreit has appeared on “GameDay” for 28 years and has been ESPN and ABC’s lead game college football game analyst since 2006.
One consolation prize for South Carolina fans attending “College GameDay” on Saturday: They’ll probably get a glimpse at Herbstreit’s beloved dog, a 10-year-old golden retriever named Ben, who’s taken the internet by storm.
SOUTH CAROLINA VS. LSU
Who: South Carolina (2-0, 1-0 SEC) vs. No. 16 LSU (1-1, 0-0 SEC)
Where: Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, S.C.
When: Noon Saturday
TV: ABC
Stream: ESPN app
Line: LSU by 7
