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Kirk Herbstreit reacts to Ohio State’s scorching start vs. Tennessee
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Kirk Herbstreit is a former Ohio State quarterback who is very plugged into the program in Columbus.
He knows what makes the Buckeyes tick, in a number of ways. And in this case, the ESPN college football analyst knows what might have ticked them off on Saturday night at the Horseshoe as they kicked off their first-round College Football Playoff game against Tennessee.
Specifically, it was the mini sea of orange that greeted the Ohio State players in their own house, with their season on the line and with the black cloud of the Michigan loss still hanging over the program. Herbstreit believes all of that motivation and angst might have contributed to the Buckeyes starting the game possessed, in a good way.
Ohio State barnstormed to a 21-0 lead after the 1st quarter, answering the bell in a way nobody would’ve believed about an hour earlier.
“It’s pretty obvious, between the negativity after the Michigan game, they walk out in their home stadium, they see maybe 40,000 Tennessee fans, it became even more of an us-against-the-world mentality for Ohio State within that locker room,” said Herbstreit after Quinshon Judkins’ 1-yard touchdown run gave the Buckeyes a 14-0 lead not even 7 minutes into the game. “They came out swinging here early. It was imperative they got off to a good start for Ryan Day, and they’ve certainly done that with a couple scores early.”
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.
