ESPN’s Herbstreit weighs in on UCF, Gators and direction of college football: ‘I’m so frustrated’

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The voice on the other end of the phone line was a familiar one to Kirk Herbstreit.

Lee Corso, the legendary former ESPN college football analyst, had heard Herbstreit would be in Orlando on Thursday and wanted to pop by for a visit. Corso lives in nearby Lake Mary.

“He said, ‘When are you coming down,’” Herbstreit recalled. “So, I got off the plane and there he is. I haven’t seen him since last year. He’s waving, I went to embrace him and we both just started crying.”

Herbstreit and Corso worked together on ESPN’s College GameDay for nearly 30 years before Corso, now 91, retired last August.

“It’s that bond and relationship that is like a father-son relationship,” Herbstreit said. “It was good to see him and he looks amazing.”

Herbstreit was in Central Florida to speak to members of Florida Citrus Sports as the group gears up for the college football season.

He’s spent the past three decades as a college football analyst at ESPN and, most recently, has been part of Amazon Prime’s NFL broadcasts.

Like most college football fans, he’s anxious for the season to begin.

“I get through July 4th weekend and I start to get a little bit restless and a little anxious,” said Herbstreit. “I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s coming.’”

It’s been an eventful offseason for the sport, mostly away from the field, with lawsuits and court cases across the country aimed at changing eligibility rules. Conference officials continue to debate expanding the College Football Playoff, while those same leaders hope to get the Protect College Sports Act through Congress.

“There are times when I just want to throw my head into a wall when it comes to following this sport because I’m so frustrated with where we are and a lack of direction of where we’re going,” Herbstreit said. “I remain hopeful. (You go to the games and) they still have the marching bands, they still have the student sections, they still run out the tunnel with those uniforms. For me personally, as much as frustration and chaos is around the sport, I still have that same energy that college football provides.”

Closer to home, Herbstreit likes what he’s seen from UCF coach Scott Frost.

“Anytime you have a coach that’s familiar with what it takes to be able to win, like Scott, it obviously helps,” said Herbstreit. “But the landscape has changed so much from when he was here doing what he did to where we are now. We’re all trying to digest it, but I’m a fan of what he believes in, that old-school approach.

“Last year, there were some signs of seeing it. That’s a Scott Frost type of team, but it’s hard when you’re trying to change things. It takes time to do that. But as long as he’s there, making big personnel decisions and trying to create the right mindset, he’ll get it right. I think he will.”

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Herbstreit also weighed in on new Florida coach Jon Sumrall.

“The way he stepped up to a podium at the SEC meetings; I was just so impressed with the command he had. We all know what the Gators are capable of doing. Maybe I’m just being hopeful or wishful. I miss that brand when that brand’s winning,” he said.

“I think The Swamp is forgotten. When people always ask, ‘What’s your favorite stadium?’ It’s always LSU at night. People have forgotten what The Swamp is. I’m hopeful that he’s going to recruit and bring people in … Let’s hope that the Gators get off to a good start and he can get it going. It’s going to happen with him in charge.”

Please find me on X, Bluesky or Instagram @osmattmurschel. Email: mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com. Sign up for the Sentinel’s Knights Weekly newsletter for a roundup of all our UCF coverage.

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