REST IN PEACE BEN
Kirk Herbstreit's grieving the loss of man's best friend ... breaking down over his dog Ben's death live on-air.
The football commentator appeared on ESPN's "College GameDay" Saturday morning ... just two days after he announced he and his wife had to put down his golden retriever -- who traveled with him to many of his games.
During the broadcast, ESPN played a clip all about Ben ... with Kirk talking about how he was far more than just a dog or travel companion -- and, clearly Ben's still feeling very raw emotionally 'cause he could barely talk about Ben during the show.