Kirk Herbstreit jokes with Pat McAfee about West Virginia's Hail Mary loss

One of the oldest past times in all of sports is cheering against the team your buddy lives, breathes and dies with on every play.

Evidently, that’s the type of relationship Kirk Herbstreit and Pat McAfee have. The longtime ESPN College GameDay analyst joined the latter’s show on Friday, as McAfee was fresh off the heartbreaking loss West Virginia suffered on Thursday.

With 12 seconds left in the fourth quarter and a whole field ahead of it, Houston squeezed out a 41-39 win by way of a game-winning 49-yard Hail Mary.

With no time left on the game clock, Houston QB Donovan Smith launched a bomb to the end zone. After the ball bobbled from hand to hand for what felt like an eternity, the pigskin landed in Stephon Johnson’s hands. Ball game.

To add insult to injury, West Virginia was on the edge of a miraculous win. With 7:24 left in the fourth quarter, the Cougars took a commanding 35-24 lead over the Mountaineers. WVU clawed back, cutting taking the lead and looking to lock up an awesome victory that wasn’t to be.

While Herbstreit has no ill-will towards the Mountaineers, he did enjoy seeing McAfee distraught following West Virginia’s loss to the Cougars.

“I just, it’s not like I hate West Virginia. I just love, like I want the guy to make the field goal so bad, you know, it’s just like I’m having fun cheering against you,” Herbstreit said. “So that’s why, the Colts and West Virginia, all of a sudden I, you know I have nothing against them, but I’d love to see them have some struggles.

“I mean, how does that happen? How many people touched that ball? You guys had a magical season going too. Damn. … I’m proud of you guys. Every week, you’re out to prove everybody wrong. You came so close last night. I’m proud of you guys. The little engine that could.”

Despite the loss, West Virginia tallied 546 yards of total offense in the contest compared to Houston’s 393. Additionally, the Mountaineers converted on 13-of-their-19 third-down attempts. For reference, Houston converted on only three of its nine third-down attempts.

Additionally, West Virginia quarterback Garrett Greene rattled off a career-high 391 passing yards in the game while adding two touchdowns on a 52.6% completion rate.

Regardless, it’s a somber day for the Mountaineers, while Kirk Herbstreit enjoys himself at their expense, taking some playful digs at Pat McAfee on Friday afternoon. We’re sure that’ll continue into tomorrow’s College GameDay show, as well.

On3’s Grant Grubbs contributed to this article.