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College Football

Kirk Herbstreit mispronounces Arkansas during ESPN CFP rankings show

Sydney Hunte

By Sydney Hunte

Published:

Was it a slip of the tongue or just the matter of him having a little fun? Either way, social media was buzzing not just over Tuesday’s College Football Playoff rankings, but Kirk Herbstreit’s pronunciation of “Arkansas”. Instead of the proper way with “-sas” pronounced “-saw”, Herbstreit curiously said it exactly how it looked.

And, of course, the viewers took notice, responding with either disbelief or derisiveness.

https://twitter.com/Imthatmom3117/status/1199484970034761729

Later on, when confronted about it on Twitter, Herbstreit chalked it up to just being a joke.

Herbstreit apparently said it as a nod to Les Miles, the former LSU coach who is now leading the way at Kansas. Miles famously pronounced it “Ar-Kansas” during a press conference in 2007 where he responded to speculation surrounding him and a potential move to Michigan.

The question is, why did Herbstreit decide then and there to pronounce it that way, or at least give some indication that he was joking during the program itself? The world may never know.

Sydney Hunte

Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.

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