Kirk Herbstreit no longer appears in ESPN’s CFP rankings

Between his role as ESPN’s top college football analyst and broadcasting Thursday night football on Amazon’s Prime Video, Kirk Herbstreit is obviously a busy man.

But his schedule has gotten a little easier this football season, as he will no longer appear on ESPN’s weekly College Football Playoff rankings.

Herbstreit was absent from this season’s inaugural rankings reveal show on Nov. 5, which came as his beloved dog, Ben, struggled with health issues before eventually passing away later in the week. However, the former Ohio State quarterback confirmed during Saturday’s broadcast of Alabama’s win over LSU that he will no longer appear on the show going forward — something Chris Fowler apparently didn’t realize when he read a promo for the weekly program.

“I backed off from it,” Herbstreit said, cutting off Fowler’s banter.

“Is it congratulations or condolences?” Fowler asked rhetorically. “I think we know the answer.”

All Hebrstreit could do is laugh as he promoted that Joey Galloway, Booger McFarland and Greg McElroy would provide the analysis for the show going forward.

Fowler’s comment was an apparent reference to the backlash Herbstreit faced as a result of last season’s controversial playoff ranking. Despite claiming a perfect 13-0 record and an ACC championship, Florida State was left out of the four-team playoff even though two of the teams seeded ahead of the Seminoles — Texas and Alabama — suffered regular-season losses.

Herbstreit’s defense of Florida State’s suspension made him a target of angry Seminoles fans, who accused him and his employer of SEC bias. And while the playoffs have since expanded to 12 teams, it appears that ESPN’s top analyst is now recusing himself from participating in any potential controversy that may arise from it.

On one hand, it’s understandable that Herbstreit would want to sit out such conversations, especially given that Florida State fans had used some of his past playoff positions against him. In some ways, it’s not unlike how he refrains from choosing the game he wants to call in each week’s College GameDay.

Conversely, given the prominence of the College Football Playoff — and what ESPN is paying for it — it certainly seems odd for the network’s top analyst to be absent from the weekly reveal of its rankings. While Herbstreit wants to stay away from the subjective nature of playoff rankings, the reality is that they play a huge role in how fans consume the sport, as well as how it crowns its national champion.

While he may no longer participate in the weekly rankings reveal, discussing playoff rankings on platforms such as GameDay and the plays he calls, especially as the season progresses. It will be interesting to see how Herbstreit navigates such conversations and whether he makes the final playoff rankings.