Report: ESPN had contingency plan if Kirk Herbstreit didn't make Red River Rivalry game in time

Many fans were interested to learn that ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit was not only hosting the network’s flagshop ‘College GameDay‘ show in Eugene, Oregon at 9 a.m. ET — but he was also scheduled to be in Dallas to call the Red River Rivalry matchup.

So when Herbstreit left the set in the middle of the show, announcing to Rece Davis the rest of his crew that he had to catch his flight. GameDay then followed Herbstreit en route to Dallas, where he provided analysis in the back of a white Mercedes-Benz and in plane on the way to the game.

However, ESPN had its bases covered if Herbstreit’s 3.5-hour flight across 2,000 miles were to be delayed and he not make it to the Cotton Bowl on time. SEC Network host and commentator Jordan Rodgers was ready to fill in for Herbstreit at a moment’s notice, according to Colton Sulley of The Oklahoman.

Rodgers was already in Dallas for Saturday morning’s SEC Nation leading up to the first batch of the games. Similarly, he was scheduled to make the trek nearly 800 miles to Lexington, Kentucky to call Vanderbilt‘s matchup against the Wildcats in Kroger Field at 7:45 p.m. ET that evening.

He couldn’t leave Dallas until Herbstreit’s plane touched down, but once he learned Herbstreit was on track to make it for the opening kickoff of Texas vs. Oklahoma, Rodgers’ own journey was only beginning. Rodgers touched on that during the SEC Network broadcast on Saturday night.

As for Herbstreit’s travel, he was filmed on the ride there alongside ESPN College GameDay producer Jonathan Whyley was seated in the passenger seat of the Mercedes-Benz while Herbstreit’s longtime friend, teammate and spotter Deron Brown in the driver’s seat.

Not only did Brown have to keep pace with the car filming Herbstreit next to him, but he also had to make sure they got to the airport safely.

“Safety first,” Brown told The Oklahoman. “We didn’t rehearse it so no one really knew what it was going to be like on live television. But I give a lot of credit because it was creative, fun, a different element and they’ve never done that before.”

Herbstreit eventually made it to the booth to call the game alongside Chris Fowler. Texas would go on to defeat the Sooners 34-3 to improve to 6-0 on the season.