Fans of Cinderella must have been ecstatic upon hearing on Sunday that MAC champion Northern Illinois had crashed the 2012 BCS bowl season, with the Huskies heading to the Orange Bowl. ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit was not one of them.
“The fact that Northern Illinois is in the BCS in 2012 is really a sad state for college football and where we are with the current system,” Herbstreit said during the BCS Selection Show. “They don’t deserve to be in the BCS this year.
“To leave teams out like Georgia, Florida, Texas A&M and Oklahoma, all of us want to see those teams in games that matter. And you’re going to give us Northern Illinois? … If you’re going to be a non-automatic qualifier, you’ve got to go out and you’ve got to dominate when you play … What has Northern Illinois done this year to make you say, ‘Remember 2012?’ ”
It’s worth pointing out that both David Pollack and Jesse Palmer also voiced issues with the Huskies’ resume prior to Herbstreit’s rant, but neither of them ripped NIU to the extent that their colleague did.
And before you knew it, the Twittersphere was abuzz with reactions to Herbstreit’s opinion.
Who’s more unhinged now, Karl Rove on election night or Herbstreit right now?
— BCS Guru (@BCSGuru) December 3, 2012
Is Kirk Herbstreit really that desperate to see Oklahoma lose another BCS game? Please.
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 3, 2012
Let’s see if Herbstreit spends an equal amount of time and energy ripping Wisconsin.
— Mark Ennis (@Mengus22) December 3, 2012
We understand that Herbstreit was trying harder to bash the current bowl system than he was Northern Illinois. But he failed miserably in that regard. And ironically, in trying to bash the BCS, he came across as a bully-like supporter for those teams that benefit most from it.
[ESPN]
