Danny Kanell Says ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit Has More Power Than Anyone With Regard To College Football Playoff

Count Danny Kanell among those who believe that ESPN had a say in the teams selected for the College Football Playoff. But, Kanell believes there is one person most responsible: Kirk Herbstreit.

Kanell joined OutKick's Hot Mic with Chad Withrow and Jonathan Hutton and said that when it comes to college football, people view Herbstreit's words as "gospel." He noted that Herbstreit was the first to float the idea that Florida State might not make the College Football Playoff even if they went 13-0.

That's correct. Kanell couldn't remember if Herbstreit made that assertion before or after the Jordan Travis injury. Well, I can confirm that Herbstreit said Florida State might not get in BEFORE Travis even got hurt.

This clip furthers Kanell's point. Herbstreit put that idea on the radar when College GameDay visited James Madison on the morning of Nov. 18. That was several hours before Travis suffered his season-ending injury.

Kanell went on to say that Herbstreit holds more power in college football than Bob Iger, the CEO of Disney. Disney and ESPN own the television rights to the College Football Playoff.

Danny Kanell (right) says that ESPN commentator Kirk Herbstreit (left) has more power than anyone when it comes to the College Football Playoff. (Photos via Getty Images)

For anyone who thinks ESPN has ZERO say in which teams get into the playoff are being naive. Hell, Booger McFarland implied it on ESPN and his co-workers immediately tried to shut him down for saying the quiet part out loud.

Kanell does go on to say that he doesn't blame Herbstreit for wanting Alabama in over Florida State. He cites last year's National Championship, which featured Georgia pounding TCU 65-7.

"He really was pounding home the 'four best teams' ... I think a lot of people on the Committee paid attention to that," Kanell said.

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