I will give Herbie props for taking to task playoff committee members that would hold the Bucks loss to VaTech against them. He really did pull for tOSU quite hard.
Kirk is kind of like the Darth Vader to tOSU... he might say and do some terrible things - but I have every belief that this guy is still in there somewhere.
Here is an alternative interpretation.
Perhaps it is just me, but is it not possible that ESPiN feared that TCU or Baylor would not bring the numbers, in the stadium or especially on TV. Perhaps Kirk shouted to get the largest fanbase in the country into the playoffs, rather than for his alma mater.
What I remember is that he spent the last few years shouting that playing in the B1G was no better than playing in the MAC. He threw Ohio State under the bus the minute that Miller was injured (
link). He put Ohio State into his final four and then almost immediately dropped them after the TSUN game, when Barrett was injured (
link). After the Wisconsin blowout, what choice did he really have except to put Ohio State in?
I do not really see much of a courageous fight. I took some interest when he finally called the SEC for scheduling lower division teams before their big games late in the season. But when he explained that a huge part of his problem was that it left him no games to talk about, I realized nothing had changed. I hope to goodness that Urban Meyer will keep him away from the Buckeyes.
So, fighting hard for Ohio State? Not much evidence of that from him in a long time. Even if there is compelling evidence that he argued for Ohio State, it would not reveal his motivation.
To me, it would be much more believable that he was fighting for ESPiN advertising revenues, not for Ohio State. After all, TCU and Baylor do not have fanbases that compare to Ohio State and no fans travel better than Ohio State. Last year, attendance for Baylor's bowl appearance was down about 10% compared to the prior year. Clemson and Ohio State filled the Orange Bowl last year. Look at these television audience figures (
link), and the commercial rationale for Kirk's behavior is quite easy to identify.
You can bet that Herbstreit will be flying his scarlet and gray colors now and jumping up and down on the sidelines, just so long as there is someone there to photograph him and he can try to leverage that into some insider coverage.
Kirk knows exactly which side he's supporting...his own.