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Kirk Herbstreit Reveals Something He's Never Seen Before in College Football Until Week 6

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jaron Spor | Last updated Oct 6, 2025 7:00 PM ET

Kirk Herbstreit has been involved in college football for many years. He began his college football journey in the late 1980s as a quarterback for the Ohio State Buckeyes, and his career with the team concluded after the 1992 season.

Herbstreit then began his broadcasting career when he was hired by ESPN as a college football sideline analyst in Sept. 1995. The following year, he became a lead analyst on "College GameDay," the program's flagship college football program.

He continues to serve in this role alongside host Rece Davis and fellow analysts Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee and Nick Saban. Additionally, Herbstreit is the lead game analyst for ESPN, which requires him to travel to the biggest game of the week to call the marquee matchup.

Herbstreit, who has witnessed many events throughout his career, shared on the "Nonstop" podcast that he experienced something unprecedented last Saturday. The event took place when the then No. 7 Penn State Nittany Lions lost to the winless UCLA Bruins with a score of 42-37.

UCLA Bruins quarterback Nico Iamaleava (9) runs for a touchdown.© Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

"I've seen a lot of things in college football, I don't think I've ever seen what happened at the Rose Bowl," Herbstreit said. "Penn State coming off a difficult loss to Oregon in a whiteout, in my opinion, Oregon basically beat them twice. They could not shake whatever happened at that whiteout... I'd put this up there. Remember when Appalachian State beat Michigan? I think this is more of an upset than that."

Herbstreit was never clear about which aspects of the upset he hadn't anticipated. However, he pointed out that not only was UCLA winless, but the team had also never led at any point in any game. The Bruins began the season with a 43-10 loss to the Utah Utes, followed by defeats against the Nevada Wolf Pack (30-23), the New Mexico Lobos (35-10) and the Northwestern Wildcats (17-14).

Despite this, UCLA managed to lead the entire game against Penn State, which was coming off a heartbreaking overtime loss to the No. 3 Oregon Ducks at home. The Bruins racked up 446 yards of total offense. Quarterback Nico Iamaleava was instrumental in this performance, throwing for 166 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 128 yards and scoring three times.

For Herbstreit, who’s covered college football’s most dramatic moments, this one likely stood out for its sheer improbability. A winless UCLA team not only beat but dominated a top-10 Penn State squad that had been in the playoff discussion. With Iamaleava’s breakout performance leading the way, the Bruins turned a dismal start into one of the season’s defining moments, and one Herbstreit says ranks among the most shocking in modern college football history.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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