Kirk Herbstreit tears up on College Gameday during emotional farewell to beloved dog Ben

College football fans, regardless of team allegiance, were rocked with the horribly sad news that Ben Herbstreit, the beloved dog and travel partner of College GameDay host and ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit, passed away this week. The outpouring of love toward the Herbstreits and Ben was palpable on social media and various programs throughout the week.

Herbstreit, ever the professional, continued about his job. He worked Thursday Night Football for Amazon Prime alongside Al Michael within 24 hours of losing Ben, then showed up in Baton Rouge for College GameDay as well. However, as many expected, the pregame broadcast that had seen Ben come on set and greet the fans in attendance took time to pay tribute to the first dog of college football.

And it was too much for anyone to not get emotional, including Herbstreit, who was overcome with emotion trying to speak after the subject of Ben was brought up, leading to a tribute video package narrated by Herbstreit.

And here's the beautiful tribute in full and in high-quality.

"Dogs are known as man's best friend," Herbstreit said. "But what do you call a dog who becomes a nation's best friend? You call him Ben." We're all crying.

Kirk Herbstreit overcome with emotion during College GameDay farewell to beloved dog, Ben

How can you not get emotional seeing something like that and, more importantly, how could you possibly expect Kirk Herbstreit to keep it all together talking about his dog who clearly meant so much to him? It's truly impossible, and we're all mourning the loss of a good boy together.

Ben was something pure in a sports world that is shockingly scarce of such things. Whether he was rolling on his back at midfield, saying hello to Bevo, Dubs, Uga, or any of the other live mascots where he and Kirk went together, getting pets from Lee Corso or J.J. McCarthy or whoever he came across, college football's best friend was a beautiful light for us all.

Our thoughts continue to be with the Herbstreit family. It takes an incredibly strong man like Kirk to not just share the joy of Ben with the nation of college football but also to publicly share that unrelenting grief now that he's gone. But we love Ben, and always will — and college football might be a little worse now without his light on the sidelines or behind Kirk in the booth.