Kirk Herbstreit lamented the current state of college football Saturday morning during ESPN’s Week 5 broadcast of College GameDay, saying players have too much control and more accountability is needed.

The decision by UNLV quarterback Matthew Sluka to redshirt 3 games into the season over NIL-related disputes has sparked conversation throughout the sport about the modern game.

Sluka’s agent told the AP this week the quarterback was promised $100,000 to transfer to the school in the offseason but that money has not been paid. UNLV claims there was no signed agreement (which has not been disputed) and that Sluka’s camp made “financial demands” upon the school to continue playing. The fallout — a 3-0 team in contention for the College Football Playoff losing its starting quarterback — has many throughout the sport grappling with how to navigate college football’s new reality.

“We’re all for them getting paid, but we’re not all for the players having all the control,” Herbstreit said. “I think we went from one extreme where the players didn’t have a lot of control to now the players having all the control. There needs to be some accountability for the players.

“I feel like some players select college, which, to me is a 4-year decision. Your twins [directed at Desmond Howard] just went to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. That’s a huge decision for them academically and connections and where they’re going in their futures. I feel like we’re teaching these kids it’s almost like a 7-on-7 all-star team. Hey, you go here, you go here, you go here, and they’re missing out on what those relationships can be. The NFL is great, but once that’s done, you need somewhere to have as a home and these guys aren’t going to have a home because they’re bouncing around too much.”

The way college athletes are compensated now has become painfully convoluted. And with the NCAA drowning in litigation, it has become toothless to set or enforce guardrails. Opening the door to eligibility for multi-time transfers has compounded the issue.

With a House settlement looming that would allow schools to directly pay players, many throughout the sport have called for players to be able to collectively bargain with universities.

Earlier in the GameDay conversation, Rece Davis said it was “despicable” that someone in or around UNLV would make an NIL promise and then not make good on that promise, but he stopped short of absolving Sluka. “You can’t just bail on the team,” Davis said.