While many college football teams took the gridiron Saturday in hopes to continue their march to the College Football Playoff bracket, one of the biggest storylines of Week 11 was the late Ben Herbstreit—the beloved dog of ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit.

Ben, a 10-year-old golden retriever who became a popular figure in college football by traveling alongside Kirk Herbstreit throughout recent seasons, died earlier this week after a battle with cancer.

On Saturday's episode on ESPN's College GameDay, Herbstreit voiced a heartfelt tribute to Ben in a two-minute video montage. Herbstreit was initially going to say a few words before the montage played on the broadcast but was overcome with emotion.

Seeing his longtime partner struggling to get words out, 89-year-old Lee Corso leaned over several times to comfort Herbstreit. It was a pretty special moment for the two colleagues who have worked on the show together since Herbstreit joined in 1996.

College football fans noticed the kind gesture and celebrated Corso on social media:

Herbstreit will be back in the booth Saturday night to call the SEC battle between No. 11 Alabama and No. 14 LSU at Tiger Stadium.

As for Ben? He'll be living in the hearts of the college football world forever.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Lee Corso Applauded for Comforting Tearful Kirk Herbstreit While ESPN Honored His Dog.

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