Kirk Herbstreit reacts to Alabama-Georgia: ‘That was one hell of a football game’
Kirk Herbstreit is a former quarterback at Ohio State and a longtime analyst and announcer for ESPN.
But at heart, the 55-year-old is just a plain old college football fanatic, like any fan who doesn’t have a microphone in front of them. So, naturally, Herbstreit was still rubbing his eyes in awe late Saturday night over the college football classic he had just witnessed in Tuscaloosa.
Yes, we’ve only completed 5 weeks of the 2024 season, but Alabama’s epic 41-34 victory over Georgia can already be classified as a Game of the Year candidate.
“Wow. I don’t even know what to say. That was one hell of a football game with Alabama and Georgia,” said Herbstreit, who had his ever-popular dog, Ben, and son, Jake, with him after calling Saturday night’s thriller with Chris Fowler on ABC. “Just want to congratulate both of those teams. …. Down 30-7 at half, it’s over. And then Georgia just kind of kept climbing back. (Carson) Beck made some big plays late when it mattered. … You’re thinking they came all the way back and won it. And then (Jalen) Milroe, once again, one play later, he hits the freshman, the 17-year-old Ryan Williams.”
WHAT. A. GAME. @GeorgiaFootball @AlabamaFTBL pic.twitter.com/08feNpfJFl
— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) September 29, 2024
Of course, the game wasn’t quite over after that iconic, 75-yard touchdown pass from Milroe to Williams with 2:18 left, which Herbstreit pointed out in his postgame video. Beck drove Georgia down to the Alabama 20-yard line, but he was intercepted by freshman defensive back Zabien Brown to seal the Bulldogs’ fate.
“Congrats to both teams. Bama wins this one. These two teams never let us down,” said Herbstreit. “That’s what makes college football the best.”
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.