Crain & Cone Three Ways to FIX College Football with KIRK HERBSTREIT
Feb 16, 2026
Kirk Herbstreit, former Ohio State QB and longtime college football analyst, joins to debate three fixes for the sport. They tackle reshaping the calendar and limiting in-season moves. They dig into broadcast issues like long commercial breaks and TV production tensions. They also take on inconsistent targeting calls and confusing safety rules.
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Calendar Creates Perverse Incentives
- The college football calendar is chaotic and pressures coaches and players during the postseason.
- Kirk Herbstreit argues a fixed rule keeping coaches and players committed until season end would reduce midseason movement and recruitment panic.
Lock Movement Until Season End
- Create a rule that prevents coaches and players from switching schools or jobs until the season ends.
- Delay coaching hires and portal activity until after the College Football Playoff to let programs recruit without urgent disruption.
Broadcast Structure Breaks Game Flow
- College games have longer, more frequent commercial breaks than the NFL, disrupting game flow.
- Herbstreit links this to broadcast economics and scheduling differences that force more ad inventory into college telecasts.