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Kirk Herbstreit Shares Message After Penn State’s Unexpected Surprise

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Hugh Green | Last updated Sep 26, 2025 6:18 PM ET

Kirk Herbstreit has become one of the most beloved personalities in the college football world over the past few years. However, it may not be just because of his incredible analysis, years of experience with ESPN and charming personality. What fans of Herbstreit have become attached to are his dogs.

Herbstreit is a dog dad to four golden retrievers, Theo, Mitch, Beau and Peter. On his social media, Herbstreit has shown off his quartet of goldens, which fans have come to adore. This is especially true for Peter, who goes on the road with Herbstreit during the football season.

With ESPN's "College GameDay" being hosted at Penn State University for the matchup between the No. 6 Oregon Ducks and No. 3 Penn State Nittany Lions this weekend, Herbstreit and Peter were greeted with a surprise on Friday.

As Herbstreit and his dog arrived at Penn State's campus, they were greeted by people from the university who had a box of presents for Peter, per Penn State Football's Twitter/X account. The box contained a football, dog toys, a credential and a cake that had the words "Peter's First White Out" on it, among other things.

Herbstreit responded to the post with some words of his own, thanking the team for the surprise.

"Thank you for thinking of my guy! He always appreciates visiting @PennStateFball Have a great weekend!" Herbstreit said.

Special delivery for Peter @KirkHerbstreit pic.twitter.com/V2s3sjeRdT
— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) September 26, 2025

While Herbstreit and Peter will be at Penn State for "College GameDay" on Saturday morning, the pair will be taking a flight to Athens, Georgia, after the show. Herbstreit, along with Chris Fowler, will be announcing the matchup between the No. 17 Alabama Crimson Tide and No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.

With this surprise from Penn State, the legend of Peter Herbstreit lives on.

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

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