Kirk Herbstreit couldn’t help but get emotional at the end of Ohio State’s 34-23 win over Notre for the College Football Playoff national championship on Monday.

The ESPN analyst, and former Ohio State player, was visibly shaken when asked by Scott Van Pelt for his reaction to the win.

“When I call these games I’m incredibly objective,” Herbstreit said. “I love all of these Ohio State teams, but this team because of what they went through to get to this point, you’re just happy.”

Herbstreit, who played quarterback at Ohio State from 1989 to 1993, said Ohio State and coach Ryan Day faced adversity all season.

“They went to hell and back. We can try to make this sound soft, but my thing is, I talk to these players. I talk to these coaches. I know what they faced after that Michigan game,” Herbstreit said. “I know the pain, and I know that a lot of people thought, ‘The hell with this guy. Who else can be the guy?’ … (Ryan Day) just handled it, took the high road and didn’t say anything.

“He went out, got his team ready to play four games, and they won it. And I think that’s why I’m emotional.”

Will Howard hit big-play receiver Jeremiah Smith for 56 yards on a late third-and-11 to lock down a game that had been a laugher, then turned into something else. Trailing 31-7, Notre Dame scored two touchdowns and two 2-point conversions to make it a one-score game late in the fourth quarter. But Howard’s big throw to Smith set up a field goal that started the celebration in earnest. Ohio State won its sixth title and first since the 2014 season.

“I hear the stories behind the curtain,” Herbstreit said about Day on the broadcast. “I know what he and his wife and his family go through. It’s really, it’s tough. It’s tough to be a coach at a premium school where you’re expected to win every game. He handled it with such class.”

Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. He can be heard on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile App from 6 to 9 a.m. daily.