Lee Corso has one more show left in his “College GameDay” career.
This year’s Week 1 show will be the last for the longtime ESPN analyst. Corso, 89, has taken a reduced role on the show in recent seasons after he suffered a stroke in 2009.
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Though Corso has not been on set for all three hours of each “GameDay” episode for the last few years, he still makes his famous predictions at the end of every show. Corso’s picks are well-known by nearly every college football fan and have often devolved into hilarity and hijinks. Here are some of Corso’s best picks from his over 30 years of traveling with “College GameDay” as it goes from campus to campus in the fall.
Corso’s first pick
Little did we know that Corso’s trolling of Notre Dame would be the indirect start to his prediction tradition. The first “GameDay” show that went to a college campus happened in 1993, when the show went to South Bend, Indiana, for No. 1 Florida State vs. No. 2 Notre Dame. Corso, a Florida State alum, put on a Florida State hat to pick the Seminoles over the Fighting Irish.
Notre Dame won the game 31-24, but lost the following week and the Seminoles got the last laugh. Florida State was declared the AP national champions after beating Nebraska in the Orange Bowl.
The first time he put on a mascot head
Three years later, the tradition of Corso putting on a mascot head for his prediction started when Corso picked Ohio State and put the Brutus Buckeye head on.
The accidental F-bomb
As “GameDay” was at Houston for a game with SMU, Corso grabbed a Mustangs megaphone to make his prediction. It was a deke, and he let some profanity slip as he tossed the megaphone off the set.
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Yes, the video below has adult language.
Corso’s filter hasn’t always been the best. He also left his fellow crew members in shock when he said “not so fast, midget” to a child during a prediction segment.
Getting on a motorcycle with Puddles
Ohio State is Corso’s most-picked team. He’s chosen the Buckeyes in 45 games, seven more times than he’s picked Alabama in games. He’s also picked Oregon 21 times, and he’s gotten creative with Oregon’s mascot, Puddles. Sometimes you have to use a prop.
Bill Murray’s tackle
Bill Murray was the celebrity picker in 2013 when Florida State visited Clemson. As Corso came out dressed as Chief Osceola, Murray playfully took Corso to the turf that was laid out in front of the set.
Chaos with Katy Perry
Katy Perry was on set when Ole Miss hosted Alabama in 2014. Perry picked Ole Miss. Corso picked Alabama and put on the Big Al head. Their disagreement over the game winner led to Perry throwing corn dogs at the camera.
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Perry ended up being right. Ole Miss won, 23-17.
Corso comes back to Indiana
“College GameDay” visited Indiana on a Saturday for the first time in 2024 as the Hoosiers were in the midst of an undefeated start to the season. It was an emotional homecoming for Corso, as he correctly picked the Hoosiers to beat Washington.
Corso was the coach at Indiana from 1973 through 1982. It was the longest coaching stop of his career as the Hoosiers were 41-68-2 in his time with the school. His best season came in 1979, as Indiana went 8-4 and went to the Holiday Bowl. The Hoosiers had never won more than eight games in a season since then until going 11-2 in 2024 and making the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff.
