ESPN star’s past Indiana criticism back in spotlight as Hoosier surges to CFP national title game
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Kirk Herbstreit has spent the last three decades analyzing college football teams and games. He was not on hand for Friday’s Peach Bowl broadcast, but Indiana’s dominant College Football Playoff run still put him back in the spotlight.
Last season, Indiana qualified for the CFP for the first time in program history. Notre Dame defeated the Hoosiers in the first round. Indiana earning one of the coveted 12 spots in the playoffs was met with some criticism, with Herbstreit among those who questioned the selection committee after Indiana’s early postseason exit.
“I hope next that the committee won’t get caught up in what social media and a lot of fringe fans get caught up in … which is wins,” Herbstreit said in December 2024 when asked to share his takeaway from the first-round games.
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Kirk Herbstreit talks to the media during 2025 CFP National Championship Media Day at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
“‘They had 11 wins. They must be good.’ Who did they beat? I think it’s much more important than how many wins you have. That’s [an] old-school way of approaching it. Indiana having 11 wins and beating nobody, that doesn’t mean they’re one of the 12 best teams. Remember … there’s a big difference between ‘deserving’ and ‘best.’ What this is all about is giving us the best 12 teams.”
The Hoosiers have had little trouble getting past either of the two opponents they’ve faced in the 2025 CFP.
INDIANA COACH CURT CIGNETTI WANTED ONE THING AFTER HISTORIC VICTORY OVER OREGON
Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza completed 17 of 20 passes and threw five touchdown passes en route to Indiana’s 56-22 victory over Oregon in the semifinals. After the game, Herbstreit’s past critique of the last Big Ten team standing in the current playoff drew renewed scrutiny.
Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti hoists the George P. Crumbley Trophy after defeating the Oregon Ducks in a 2025 College Football Playoff semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium Jan. 9, 2026 in Atlanta. (Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
One social media user asserted that Herbstreit is “insufferable,” while another suggested the former Ohio State quarterback’s criteria was inconsistent. Others defended Herbstreit, with one X account writing, “He’s not wrong overall.”
Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza throws a pass against the Oregon Ducks in the Peach Bowl Jan. 9, 2026, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. (Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
Shortly after Miami outlasted Ole Miss in Thursday’s Fiesta Bowl, Herbstreit delivered a blunt recruiting message to the sport’s other coaches.
“One thing that I think we’ve been able to witness first hand, if you’re a coach watching this or GM watching this, while you’re chasing five-stars and agents, free agents, and everything you’re dealing with, this is still a team sport, and it’s about winning games,” he told On3.
“Indiana, they don’t got a lot of five stars. You know what they’ve got? They’ve got a team.
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“If you don’t build that, and you just chase five stars, you’re never gonna be here on that stage. You better stop chasing just this craziness, and you better step back and say, ‘If those are your demands, get outta here. We’re gonna go find guys that want to be a part of this.'”
Alabama and Oregon, Indiana’s two opponents in this year’s CFP, have been outscored by a combined 69 points. The Hoosiers will meet Miami in the national title game Jan. 19.
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Chantz Martin is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.
