Emotions were high for everyone who had their team playing in the college football national championship on Monday night, even on the ESPN broadcast team.
Kirk Herbstreit, who played his college football at Ohio State as a quarterback from 1989-93, could not contain his emotions after watching his Buckeyes win the school's ninth national title, this time over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
The 34-23 victory for the Buckeyes led Herbstreit to be reflective on this resilient group that went on a dominant playoff run following a tough loss to their rival Michigan Wolverines.
As Herbstreit was explaining overcoming adversity next to his play-by-play colleague Chris Fowler, his eyes began to well up with tears, and he could not hold them in.
"Oh, don’t start with me, man," Herbstreit, who grew up about an hour away from Ohio State in Centerville, told his ESPN colleague Scott Van Pelt during the postgame show. "I’m a little emotional. I’m just fired up for these guys.
"When I call these games, I’m incredibly objective. You know, I love all these Ohio State teams, but this team because of what they went through to get to this point, you’re just happy."
When the cameras cut back to the broadcast booth, Herbstreit was spotted grabbing a handkerchief off camera to wipe tears away as Fowler continued to speak.
Fans know all too well how it feels when their favorite teams win championships, as tears sometimes flow as a result. The same goes for alumni at schools.
Herbstreit played football for the Buckeyes after being the school’s first player to commit after the hiring of John Cooper as head coach in 1988. Herbstreit was the Ohio Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior at Centerville High School.
He did not get real action until his junior season, when he was used sparingly over 11 games. However, Herbstreit was the starter throughout his senior season, when he threw for 1,904 yards with four touchdowns and six interceptions over 11 games.
Additionally, while Herbstreit discussed the adversity this team went through this season, he also faced some personal adversity through a big loss in his life.
Herbstreit's beloved golden retriever, Ben, who was a consistent presence on ESPN’s "College GameDay," was put down after his battle with cancer.
"This is really hard to write but so many of you have loved and cared about Ben that I wanted to let you know. We found out today the cancer had spread throughout Ben's organs and there was nothing left we could do – we had to let him go," Herbstreit wrote back in November.
On the first "College Gameday" after the difficult decision to put Ben down, Herbstreit could not even speak as emotions poured over him discussing his beloved companion.
Ben’s brother, Peter, has been along for the ride with Herbstreit as he continues to travel the country with one of his dogs by his side.
There have been highs and lows for Herbstreit this college football season, and it ends with tears of joy.
ESPN on Monday decided to air a message from President Trump during halftime of the college football national championship between Ohio State and Notre Dame.
Trump could not make the game, which took place at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, as he was celebrating his return to the White House and going to inauguration balls.
His message, however, was clear: "the golden age of America has begun."
"Hello to my great, fellow Americans. This has been a historic and exciting day for our country. In recent years, our people have suffered greatly, but starting now, we’re going to bring America back and make it safer, richer and prouder than ever before," Trump said.
"We’ll have a nation filled with compassion, strength and exceptionalism. Through our power and might, we will stop wars, and we will bring our world to peace. We will be respected again, and we will be admitted again — admired like we haven’t been in many, many years. We’ll put America first, and by doing so, we’re gonna make America great again.
"In less than three months since the election, you have already seen it happening. You can feel the excitement, and you can see the confidence and spirit returning to our nation. Together we are going to lead our county to glorious new heights. The golden age of America has just begun.
"To all of the players and fans watching tonight, I know it’s been a long and difficult journey. It’s been a long season, but you have two tremendous teams, and get to the game and go out and fight hard and fight fair and let the better team win. And I’m going to enjoy watching it. Thank you, and good night."
ESPN caught social media flak for deciding to air the message.
Trump has been seen on ESPN at college football games before. He attended the national championship in January 2020 when it took place in New Orleans.
Four Chilean men have been arrested in connection with a string of burglaries that includes the home of Cincinnati Bengals star quarterback Joe Burrow.
The four suspects were arrested following "an ongoing investigation involving burglaries of multimillion-dollar homes in multiple states," according to WLWT-TV, citing court documents.
Sergio Cabello, Bastian Morales, Jordan Sanchez and Alexander Chavez were arrested in Clark County after being pulled over by Ohio State Highway Patrol on Jan. 10, according to the documents.
"All four males were identified as being illegally in the country or overstaying their permissions," the arrest report read, as all the men provided fake IDs.
In terms of Burrow, the court documents added that authorities found "an old LSU shirt and Bengals hat, believed to be stolen from the December 9, 2024 burglary in Hamilton County, Ohio," which is where Burrow’s home is located.
The search of the vehicle the suspects were in also discovered "two Husky automatic center punch tools wrapped in a cloth towel." The tool has been used by the South American Theft Group, according to authorities.
All four suspects have been charged with engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, participation in a criminal gang, possessing criminal tools and obstructing official business.
Burrow’s home was burglarized while he was in Dallas facing the Cowboys on "Monday Night Football" on Dec. 9. Police were called to Burrow’s home by Olivia Ponton, a model and social media influencer who was identified as Burrow’s employee in the incident report.
Ponton and her mother, Diane Ponton, called 911 as the former was at the home while it was being broken into.
"Someone is trying to break into the house right now," Diane Ponton was heard saying on the recorded 911 call. "My daughter is there. This is Joe Burrow's house. She is staying there. He's at the football game. She's wondering what she should do, if she should be hiding or if she should go outside."
Burrow discussed the break-in a few days after its occurrence during a media availability, where he stressed the difficulty of living a life where his personal information is in the public’s eye.
"So obviously everybody has heard what has happened. I feel like my privacy has been violated in more ways than one. And way more is already out there than I would want out there and that I care to share, so that's all I got to say about that," Burrow began.
"We live a public life, and one of my least favorite parts of that is the lack of privacy. And that has been difficult for me to deal with my entire career. Still learning. But I understand it's the life that we choose. Doesn't make it any easier to deal with."
The NFL released a memo earlier this year urging players to be on high alert after homes were hit, which included Kansas City Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported at the time that the FBI was investigating the crime spree, "which is believed to be tied to a South American crime syndicate."
In the memo, the league urged players to take precautions, including installing home security systems. They were also encouraged not to post images of expensive items or live updates of their comings and goings on social media.
This version of Mikal Bridges looks nothing like the one Brooklyn traded away, but his revamped role could be the key to New York ascending in the East.
Ohio State Buckeyes stars Will Howard and Jack Sawyer gave praise to God on Monday night following their college football national championship victory over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Howard and Sawyer each made key plays throughout the College Football Playoffs to lift Ohio State to the win. Against Notre Dame, Howard threw two touchdown passes and made a clutch throw on third down to Jeremiah Smith late in the 34-23 win. Sawyer had three tackles in the game. He had a scoop-and-score in the semifinals against Texas.
The Kansas State transfer had faith on his mind as confetti rained down on the field at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
"First and foremost, I gotta give the glory and the praise to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I wouldn’t be here without him," Howard said. "I wouldn’t be here without my teammates, without my family, without everyone that bet on me back in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, I’m at a loss for words right now."
Howard praised God again as he received the Offensive MVP Award.
"Before I say anything, I gotta give my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ all the glory, all the praise. Amen," he said, adding that he was "so glad God gave me a chance to be a Buckeye."
Sawyer appeared to be stunned when talking about how he and his teammates came back to school in order to win the national championship.
"This is the best feeling I’ve ever felt in my life. This is exactly what we had envisioned when we all decided to come back – to go out and do it this way and end on this note," he said.
"We just thank God for giving us the ability to go out and here and do it, through the ups and the downs. He was with us on our side and we knew that. Overcame the adversity and, man, this just feels so good."
Cody Simon was named the Defensive MVP of the game. He put faith first as well.
"The Lord did something special on this team and we’re just so thankful," Simon said. "Everyone on this team, we all bought in. I love every guy out here – put the work in this whole year."
Both teams’ faith was on full display coming into the championship.
Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard suggested before the game it was the players’ beliefs in God that guided them to the national title game.
"I truly think things happen for a reason. Not only us, but Ohio State as well. I think we’re the two main teams to just publicly display our faith the most," he said, via Sports Michiana. "I don’t know if this is some divine teaching, you know, who put us here.
"I truly believe that Jesus was looking over both our shoulders throughout the whole season and put these two teams on a pedestal for a reason."
Jake Paul and Mike Tyson were once enemies in the ring, but on Monday night, they appeared to be best friends as they celebrated President Trump’s inauguration.
A video from the Starlight Ball showed Tyson on Paul’s shoulders at one point during the festivities. Both boxers were seemingly having a great time with other revelers as Trump was inaugurated as the 47th president of the United States.
Paul was a major supporter of Trump throughout his election campaign. He was seen at the inauguration earlier in the day at the Capitol Rotunda in Washington. He was with his brother, Logan, and UFC star Conor McGregor as they took a bus over to the event.
"Today is about togetherness in every way. Fists down, unity up. Honored to be here. God Bless America," Paul wrote.
"Any American who isn’t in support of Trump after this speech simply hates America and doesn’t want what’s best for this country and the world," he added.
Tyson supported Trump during his 2016 campaign. Their relationship dated back to when Trump had casinos in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and Tyson was at the height of his boxing career.
Paul and Tyson fought in a Netflix spectacle back in November. Paul won via unanimous decision.
Fox News' Kelley Kramer contributed to this report.
