By Brian Harmon
AUBURN, AL — While the college football world was still recovering from the morning’s slate of games, the real action was happening on the tarmac at Auburn-Opelika Robert G. Pitts Airport.
Mere hours after wrapping up ESPN’s College GameDay in freezing Ann Arbor, Michigan, the network’s top brass touched down on The Plains, and I was there to capture the arrival.
In the video, which has already begun circulating on social media, you can see the sleek private jet taxiing to a halt just hours before kickoff. The door opens, and out steps Kirk Herbstreit, visibly shifting modes from “studio analyst” to “game broadcaster.” He was fresh off the set at the Big House, where he broke down Ohio State’s clash with Michigan, only to hop a 700-mile flight to call the 2025 Iron Bowl on ABC.
Walking alongside him was play-by-play legend Chris Fowler, the voice of the sport’s biggest moments. The footage captures a candid, behind-the-scenes look at the logistical marvel that is modern college football broadcasting. While fans were tailgating, these guys were cruising at 40,000 feet, reviewing Alabama’s defensive stats and Auburn’s quarterback packages.
Perhaps most notably, the video catches a glimpse of the legendary Nick Saban deplaning. Saban, who sat on the GameDay desk in Michigan that morning, made the trek back to the state he ruled for 17 years to witness the rivalry firsthand.
“It’s the hardest working team in sports media,” one commenter noted on the post. “Herbie is in Michigan for breakfast and Auburn for dinner. Insane.”
The Iron Bowl is always electric, but seeing the broadcast royalty arrive minutes before the sun went down added a layer of Hollywood drama to the pregame atmosphere. The stars didn’t just align for this game; they flew in on a DASSAULT AVIATION FALCON 2000.
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