Kirk Herbstreit Admits ESPN's College Football Coverage Needs To Improve

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Kirk Herbstreit wishes ESPN would pay more attention to college football.

ESPN geared up for more college coverage by hiring analyst Josh Pate, Will Compton, and Taylor Lewan. Those three will host a Bussin’ & Pate On Campus college football show on Friday nights throughout the 2026 season.

While speaking to Compton and Lewan on their Bussin’ With The Boys podcast, Herbstreit wished they could hold their show every weeknight because they “need more college football on ESPN.” The longtime College GameDay correspondent argued that ESPN’s current daily programming neglects college football in favor of the same handful of topics.

“I think our own place has been very, very guilty of those morning shows. It’s NFL or LeBron James or the Yankees or the Dodgers. They’re playing the hits,” Herbstreit said.

“They’re not breaking down what’s going on in Nebraska, unless there’s turmoil, unless there’s some kind of controversy. Then they’re going to want to get into it … but otherwise, they’re not talking college football. And I’m like, wait a second, why are you always talking NBA and MLB and WNBA, but where’s college football on your rundown? It’s the second-biggest sport.”

Does ESPN need more college football?

Many sports fans may have shared Herbstreit’s frustrations about ESPN programming after seeing First Take discuss the Dallas Cowboys or debate Jordan vs. LeBron for the umpteenth time. Herbstreit’s point may relate to the quality of college football coverage as much as the quantity, as one could argue that Ohio State and Alabama are among the teams discussed ad naseum throughout the season.

Diehard fans probably aren’t finding the detailed analysis they crave. They could at least hear more college football conversations on ESPN airwaves.

Although he rarely makes First Take or Get Up cameos, Herbstreit frequently appears on The Pat McAfee Show to discuss the game with his College GameDay colleague. McAfee hosted his daily afternoon show on college campuses last year.

When hiring Pate, ESPN SVP Mike Foss discussed a desire to expand the network’s college football offerings.

“Going into this fall we made a concerted effort to follow college football in a really meaningful way,” Foss told Front Office Sports in January. “It’s something McAfee has done masterfully on his show as well. We just wanted to widen the tent. We saw going into this season that audiences were going to be astronomical. Collectively we made a push to make sure all our shows were equipped to have those conversations in a substantial way.”

This story was originally published by The Spun on Aug 25, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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