Kirk Herbstreit breaks down UCLA QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson ahead of Oregon game

It’s a top-10 matchup in Eugene later today as Oregon hosts UCLA. But first, ESPN College GameDay takes the stage, with the gang partying in the wee hours of the morning on the west coast. The shift in time zones doesn’t bother GameDay veteran Kirk Herbstreit. The ESPN analyst was up at roughly 5 a.m. to appear on SportsCenter to break down the UCLA quarterback.

Which he did in grand detail, explaining exactly why Dorian Thompson-Robinson became a star in his final season while also begging Bruins coach Chip Kelly to run the dang ball to set up his playmaking QB in the best possible situations. Here was Herbie early in the morning out in Pac-12 country. Pac-12 before light, not after dark.

Anyway, here’s what Herbstreit had to say regarding DTR ahead of the kid’s biggest game of his career to date.

“Remember, he’s a four-year starter. The game has slowed down immensely for him. And he benefits from having a running game and an offensive line. You know, Zach Charbonnet in the backfield takes a lot of the pressure off of him. Now he can run it. But what I’ve seen is him sitting in that pocket and distributing the ball incredibly accurate with his throws.

“And because of that experience that he has, he comes into this game, I think he won’t be intimidated by the crowd. If they can run the football, the line of scrimmage in this game — to me, I know it’s a Pac-12 game — it’s going to be everything. Chip, run the ball and take some of the pressure off DTR if you can. That potentially sets up for a back-and-forth kind of game. This quarterback right now, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, playing as well as any quarterback in the country.”

As well as anyone in the country. A bold statement given the quarterback play we saw last weekend between Hendon Hooker and Bryce Young. But we’ll allow it since the Bruins are undefeated and DTR is shredding Pac-12 defenses