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ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit Tries to Reconcile With FSU Fanbase After Backlash

"We should be lifting Florida State up. This is one of their best seasons that they've had, and they're undefeated."

Tommy Mire

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ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit and the Florida State fanbase have been at blows after comments made by Herbstreit about FSU's historic snub from the College Football Playoffs garnered uproar from across the country.

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It seems the Ohio State alumni would like to change the narrative and walk back statements made before, during, and after the selection process in which he rallied to replace FSU with either Texas or Alabama despite them having a perfect 13-0 season and winning the ACC. Herbstreit went on The Coach JB Show to talk about the situation.

"We should be lifting Florida State up. This is one of their best seasons that they've had, and they're undefeated. I don't know how this whole thing, like I've been a Florida State guy -- in the era that I grew up with Deion Sanders, I mean, how could you not be drawn to Florida State and the brand, and Bobby Bowden was the most lovable big-time coach there was. I've always been a Florida State guy. Even their uni's, their look, they've just been my team. For people to kind of insinuate that I'm out to get Florida State is the most ridiculous thing."

After a somewhat veiled approach and nearly in the same sentence, he again criticized the fanbase after the Seminoles' decline following the 2013 BCS National Championship.

"At the end of the Jimbo [Fisher] era, before Willie [Taggart], they just kind of lost their way. They became super individuals. They became all about the league, all about getting to that next level," Herbstreit said. "I think it took them maybe five or six years, even when Mike [Norvell] first got there, they had that cancer within that program, and it took him, if you remember, that first couple of years right around COVID, people wanted him to be fired."

After Fisher left Florida State for Texas A&M, FSU fans and the university found themselves in a coaching search for the first time since they hired Bowden as a head coach in 1973. Fans wanted multiple coaches to fill the vacancy and multiple candidates were vetted during Florida State's head coaching search. Herbsreit said that the fanbase should appreciate where they are at 13-0.

"I mean, they wanted Deion Sanders. They wanted anybody. Their own fans that are killing me right now, they were killing Mike Norvell. They thought he was a bomb and that he couldn't coach," Herbstreit continued. "So, it is kind of is what it is, but that is a rabid fan base that has to really appreciate where they just were just a couple of years ago to where they are right now, and Mike Norvell deserves all the credit to what he's been able to pick up because they were lost as a brand for about five or six years."

No. 5 Florida State will face No. 6 Georgia in the Orange Bowl on December 30 at 4:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.

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Tommy Mire
TOMMY MIRE

Tommy Mire joined NoleGameday in 2023 as a writer and editor. He initially worked as lead voice at SBNation's Tomahawk Nation and contributes to football, NFL and recruiting coverage. Connect with Tommy on Twitter at @TommyM3III

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