Kirk Herbstreit warns Ohio State it hasn't seen a 'competitive spirit' like Georgia: 'This is a massive challenge'
Kirk Herbstreit isn’t sure if Ohio State is ready to face No. 1 Georgia in Atlanta.
Herbstreit, a former OSU quarterback, talked about the College Football Playoff semifinal clash between the Buckeyes and Bulldogs during a Friday appearance on The Pat McAfee Show.
“Last time we saw Ohio State, we obviously saw them get embarrassed at home against Michigan,” Herbstreit told McAfee, his ESPN colleague. “Now they kind of back in, into this Playoff. The one thing that I would encourage Ohio State players and fans: I don’t know if the hill is any taller than the hill that they’re trying to climb by going into Atlanta to play Georgia. The only thing worse is playing a really good LSU team in New Orleans at the Superdome.”
Herbstreit said Ryan Day’s squad has to be ready for an intense 60 minutes. The ESPN broadcaster warned that the Buckeyes could potentially get embarrassed like they did against the Wolverines.
“This is a massive challenge for Ohio State,” Herbstreit continued. “If they’re not getting their wiring ready for 60 minutes of just… a competitive spirit that I don’t know that they’ve ever seen, then they could get potentially embarrassed in that matchup.
“The ball’s in Ohio State’s court. Are they going to show up with a pissed-off attitude ‘We were embarrassed, let’s go them’ collective force? Or are they going to hit some adversity and crack, become fragmented? That’s when things could get potentially ugly for them. So, hopefully, they’ll have a united front and ready to play ball against Georgia. Because Georgia is comin’!”
The Georgia-Ohio State game is set for 8 p.m. ET on Dec. 31.
“This is gonna be a MASSIVE challenge for Ohio State against Georgia” ~@KirkHerbstreit#PMSLive pic.twitter.com/dix2o7WDzL
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) December 9, 2022