Jan 18, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard (13) talks to the media during 2025 CFP National Championship Media Day at Georgia World Congress Center, Building A. / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The ESPN analyst believes Ohio State will challenge Notre Dame's man-to-man defense right away. How will it play out?

While Herbstreit does his best to stay objective, there certainly has to be a part of him that is absolutely thrilled about the win. The Centerville, Ohio native played quarterback at Ohio State from 1989-93, while two of his sons Jake and Zak walked on at Ohio State.

Aside from the challenges in his personal life, Herbstreit also revealed that his emotional moment stemmed from also being happy for head coach Ryan Day, who just a couple of months ago had fans and analysts calling for him to be fired following the team's loss to Michigan.

After getting emotional on camera during the National Championship broadcast, Kirk Herbstreit revealed why the tears started flowing

ESPN “College GameDay” personality Kirk Herbstreit won’t be making a national championship prediction. The national championship is between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Monday, Jan. 20 at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Kirk Herbstreit reached for a tissue and got emotional when talking about the Buckeyes' win on ESPN on Monday night.

ESPN broadcaster Kirk Herbstreit felt all the emotions during his postgame debrief with Scott Van Pelt and Chris Fowler after his Ohio State Buckeyes won the College Football Playoff national title.

The Fighting Irish lost in the national championship game to Ohio State on Monday, but Herbstreit doesn't think Notre Dame is going anywhere.

During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show following the showdown, Herbstreit elaborated on why he’s all in on Notre Dame moving forward, explaining why he sees the Fighting Irish establishing themselves as a power in the college football world for many years to come.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish dug themselves into a deep hole in the College Football Playoff championship game against the Ohio State Buckeyes. Ohio State had a 31-7 lead midway through the third quarter, but the Irish finally showed some life when Jaden Greathouse scored a touchdown.