Kirk Herbstreit took a bit of a victory lap over what he termed as the “lunatic fringe” of the Ohio State fan base in the closing moments of the Buckeyes’ dominating win over Tennessee on Saturday night.

The Buckeyes blasted the Vols 42-17, advancing to the quarterfinals where they will meet top-seeded Oregon. Herbstreit was asked by play-by-play man Chris Fowler if the victory would earn back any goodwill for Ryan Day after Ohio State’s stunning loss to Michigan on Nov. 30.

Herbstreit responded with some strong criticism of Ohio State fans who wanted Day fired in the aftermath of the loss to the Wolverines.

“I can’t speak on behalf of the lunatic fringe,” Kirk Herbstreit said. “I’m not sure how they operate.

“The lunatic fringe at Ohio State is as powerful as anywhere in the country,” Herbstreit added. “I don’t know. I’m sure they’ll be happy tonight and be fired up about what this Ohio State team did, but god forbid they lose to Oregon. They’ll want to fire [Day] again.”

Herbstreit also took a jab at pundits on First Take for their treatment of Day as well.

“First Take tried to fire him, they thought he was done,” Herbstreit added. “So I’m excited to see what they talk about on Monday after this performance. They had him out. They were trying to find replacements. But here he is, he’s still got his hat on. He’s still coaching.”

Day has an overall record of 67-10 as Ohio State’s head coach, but is under heavy scrutiny after losing 4 consecutive games to rival Michigan.

Ohio State and Oregon will have their rematch in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day.