{"id":372214,"date":"2026-08-15T11:54:36","date_gmt":"2026-08-15T11:54:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/372214\/"},"modified":"2026-08-15T11:54:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T11:54:36","slug":"espns-herbstreit-weighs-in-on-ucf-gators-and-college-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/372214\/","title":{"rendered":"ESPN’s Herbstreit weighs in on UCF, Gators and college football"},"content":{"rendered":"

The voice on the other end of the phone line was a familiar one to Kirk Herbstreit<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Lee Corso<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe said, \u2018When are you coming down,\u2019\u201d Herbstreit recalled. \u201cSo, I got off the plane and there he is. I haven\u2019t seen him since last year. He\u2019s waving, I went to embrace him and we both just started crying.\u201d<\/p>\n

Herbstreit and Corso worked together on ESPN\u2019s College GameDay for nearly 30 years before Corso, now 91, retired last August.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s that bond and relationship that is like a father-son relationship,\u201d Herbstreit said. \u201cIt was good to see him and he looks amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Herbstreit was in Central Florida to speak to members of Florida Citrus Sports<\/a> as the group gears up for the college football season.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s spent the past three decades as a college football analyst at ESPN and, most recently, has been part of Amazon Prime\u2019s NFL broadcasts.<\/p>\n

Like most college football fans, he\u2019s anxious for the season to begin.<\/p>\n

\u201cI get through July 4th weekend and I start to get a little bit restless and a little anxious,\u201d said Herbstreit. \u201cI\u2019m like, \u2018Oh my gosh, it\u2019s coming.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are times when I just want to throw my head into a wall when it comes to following this sport because I\u2019m so frustrated with where we are and a lack of direction of where we\u2019re going,\u201d Herbstreit said. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Closer to home, Herbstreit likes what he\u2019s seen from UCF<\/a> coach Scott Frost<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnytime you have a coach that\u2019s familiar with what it takes to be able to win, like Scott, it obviously helps,\u201d said Herbstreit. \u201cBut the landscape has changed so much from when he was here doing what he did to where we are now. We\u2019re all trying to digest it, but I\u2019m a fan of what he believes in, that old-school approach.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast year, there were some signs of seeing it. That\u2019s a Scott Frost type of team, but it\u2019s hard when you\u2019re trying to change things. It takes time to do that. But as long as he\u2019s there, making big personnel decisions and trying to create the right mindset, he\u2019ll get it right. I think he will.\u201d<\/p>\n

Herbstreit also weighed in on new Florida coach Jon Sumrall.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 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\u2019m just being hopeful or wishful. I miss that brand when that brand\u2019s winning,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think The Swamp is forgotten. When people always ask, \u2018What\u2019s your favorite stadium?\u2019 It\u2019s always LSU at night. People have forgotten what The Swamp is. I\u2019m hopeful that he\u2019s going to recruit and bring people in \u2026 Let\u2019s hope that the Gators get off to a good start and he can get it going. It\u2019s going to happen with him in charge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Please find me on X, Bluesky or Instagram @osmattmurschel. Email: mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com<\/a>. Sign up for the Sentinel\u2019s Knights Weekly<\/a> newsletter for a roundup of all our UCF coverage.<\/p>\n

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