There’s a lot of reasons that should influence the ESPN College GameDay team to book a stay in Happy Valley come October 21.

One could center an argument around the Nittany Lions’ 6-0 start, or Saquon’s Heisman hype, or the fact that this game vs. Michigan could very well decide the fate of the Big Ten east division. However, one reason that should not be neglected is ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit’s surprising support for the Penn State program in recent years.

Naming Penn State the college football story of the year, Herbstreit, a former Ohio State quarterback, was very complimentary of the Nittany Lions after last year’s surprising comeback season. In fact, when it came time for the analysts to make their final picks for which four teams deserved a shot at the National Championship, Herbstreit made a last-minute change.

At first, Herbstreit said Ohio State was the better team all year and therefore deserved a spot in the top four along with Washington because the head-to-head loss against the Nittany Lions should only be used as a tiebreaker.

But eventually, Penn State fans surely remember good ol’ Herbie changing his mind at the last second. Herbstreit’s final rankings included Ohio State at number three and Penn State at number four.

And nobody can forget Herbstreit proclaiming Penn State has the best student section in the country back in 2016. Herbstreit’s high praise of the Penn State student section hasn’t changed this year, as during his annual Herbie Awards, he named Penn State the top student section once again — not bad coming from an Ohio State alumnus.

So set aside that the Nittany Lions’ game against the Wolverines is a classic, unrivaled White Out game here in Happy Valley and ignore the fact that this game could eventually decide which team will represent the Big Ten East in the Big Ten Championship game. All Penn State really needs to get College GameDay here is Herbstreit on its side.

So Herbie, it’s time. Bring College GameDay back to Happy Valley.