ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit's latest college football take is one of the worst of the offseason

ESPN GameDay co-host Kirk Herbstreit unleashed a college football take this week that might be one of the worst of the offseason.

Herbstreit joined The Pat McAfee Show this week and he suggested that a surprise team could emerge from the Big 10 and challenge for a spot in the newly expanded 12-team College Football Playoff.

Not exactly a bold take.

I think we all expect a surprise team or two to reach the playoff. It's inevitable with 12 teams now making it to the dance.

But Herbstreit's thoughts on who those surprise teams could be is what's so awful about his take.

Herbstreit pointed out Rutgers as a team that could "make a little bit of a run" thanks to their soft schedule.

He's not wrong that Rutgers' schedule is favorable. It's charmin soft. They somehow avoid playing Ohio State, Penn State, and Michigan.

But that soft schedule isn't going to be enough to get Rutgers to the playoff. For starters, Rutgers is still coached by Greg Schiano, a man who hasn't won more than 10 games as a college coach since 2006. He hasn't even won more than seven games since getting rehired by Rutgers ahead of the 2020 season.

Do we really think that a team that went 7-6 last season with blowout losses to Maryland and Iowa is going to make a serious run at the playoff in 2024? Just because they don't play Ohio State, Penn State, or Michigan?

It seems more than unlikely. After all, Rutgers still plays UCLA, USC, Washington, and Wisconsin. And they play at Maryland and at Virginia Tech. It's easy to see how Rutgers could once again go 7-6 (or worse).

For whatever reason, Herbstreit loves giving Schiano more credit than he deserves. It was the case back in 2017 when he chastised Tennessee for passing on Schiano to replace Butch Jones and it appears to still be the case seven years later.

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