Remembering Lee Corso's best Texas Longhorns predictions on day of retirement announcement
Remembering Lee Corso's best Texas Longhorns predictions on day of retirement announcement
After four decades at the network, ESPN announced the retirement of CollegeGame Day legend Lee Corso. Corso, who turns 90 in August, is best known for his mascot headgear picks at the end of each CollegeGame Day show.
Ending a broadcast career that started in 1987, the former coach also was famous for his "not so fast, my friend" retort when he disagreed with someone on GameDay panel and for always holding a No. 2 pencil. Corso spent 28 years as a college and pro football coach, including 15 years as a collegiate head coach at Louisville, Indiana and Northern Illinois.
The Illinois native also played at Florida State, where he was known as the "Sunshine Scooter." He held the school record for career interceptions for two decades and also played quarterback in Tallahassee. Corso's college roommate was future Hollywood star Burt Reynolds.
"My family and I will be forever indebted for the opportunity to be part of ESPN and College GameDay for nearly 40 years," Corso said in a statement. "I have a treasure of many friends, fond memories and some unusual experiences to take with me into retirement."
Started in 1995 at an Ohio State game, the headgear segment became the pregame show's most popular and anticipated segment. Corso's most famous Longhorns pick was for the 2005 BCS title game against USC in the Rose Bowl. Corso put on the Longhorn headgear and was one of the few at ESPN who picked Texas. Vince Young had Corso's back in Pasadena as Texas won the national championship 41–38.
Another time Corso was on an island picking the Longhorns was the 2023 game that saw Texas beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa 34-24. Corso stopped the playing of Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd and told the crew, "Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. That's not the right song, play Texas Song," before putting on the Bevo headgear.
GameDay was also in Austin for the Missouri game in 2008. Corso had some fun with the headgear and picked the No. 1 ranked Longhorns, led by QB Colt McCoy. Texas would oblige, beating the Tigers 56-31. UT would go onto the BCS national title game in the Rose Bowl where they fell to Alabama.
The Texas Longhorns have been featured on ESPN's College GameDay 24 times, 10 times in Austin. The Longhorns are 12-11 in those games.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Colorado vs. Georgia Tech: Game time, TV announced
The Colorado Buffaloes will continue to be in the national spotlight under Deion Sanders. The 2025 season opener against Georgia Tech has been selected for ESPN's national broadcast on August 29 at 8 p.m. ET. This marks the third consecutive year the Buffs have been featured in a major network's Upfront presentation, which is a showcase of premier content for advertisers. Advertisement As part of ABC's Big 12 Upfront slate, Colorado joins a high-profile lineup that includes Iowa State vs. Kansas State in Dublin, Nebraska at Cincinnati, and TCU at North Carolina. This announcement continues an impressive streak for Colorado. The Georgia Tech opener will be the 14th straight contest broadcast on a major network or flagship ESPN, extending a program record. In Coach Prime's first two seasons, 21 of 25 games have been nationally televised. An unprecedented media platform for the Buffs, according to CU Athletics. CU has also bee showcased during the offseason. The Black and Gold spring game was nationally televised on ESPN platforms twice in the last three years, and their 2024 NFL Pro Day aired on NFL Network. These broadcasts show the widespread interest in Sanders' rebuild and the program's rising national profile. Advertisement Related: Shedeur Sanders' shows true colors at Browns minicamp The 2025 opener also carries historic intrigue. While Colorado and Georgia Tech have never met, they famously split the 1990 national championship. Related: Deion Sanders turns heads by welcoming back castaway transfer at Colorado This will be the first of a home-and-home series with Sanders and the Buffs heading to Atlanta next year.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Brian Schottenheimer's culture & connections mean 0 until it all goes to hell
DeMeco Ryans looks like he could play an NFL game today, and he was so young when the Houston Texans named him their head coach that a well meaning journalist could easily confuse when he actually retired from the league as a player. At least that's what I will tell myself for the rest of my days after I committed the idiotic faux pas when I recently asked Ryans the following, 'You played at Alabama, and everyone who played for Coach (Nick) Saban has a Nick Saban story; give me your best Nick Saban story, please?' 'I actually didn't play for Coach Saban,' Ryans said. 'I played for Coach (Mike) Shula.' Bar tender, I'll order a Lazy Idiot please — and let's make that a double. That's so bad. Awful. Ryans' career at 'Bama ended in 2005; Saban's first season at Bama was 2007. Kids, do your homework. With no shovel available to dig a hole, I profusely apologized to the coach and could only own the depths of my stupidity. Ryans was gracious and understanding to a mistake that I cannot not blame on youth, inexperience or prescription medication. There are certain places, and times, when blaming youth and inexperience fits. An NFL head coach, no matter the age, is not going to get a pass because he's new at the job. This applies to Ryan, who was 38 years old when the Texans named him their head coach in January of 2023. It applies to Brian Schottenheimer, who is 51; at 51, Schottenheimer is not a young NFL head coach. The average age of the NFL head coach in 2025 is 48, the lowest it's been in 25 years. But at 51, Schottenheimer is a head coach for the first time in his life. 'The landscape of coaching is changing, where a lot more younger coaches are getting opportunities to coach, because I think it's about that connection,' Ryans said in an interview before he was formally inducted into the Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame last month at AT&T Stadium. Since Schottenheimer was named the new head coach of the Cowboys in January, much has been said and written about his ability to 'connect' with the players in an effort to build a 'culture' he seeks. He put a ping-pong table in the middle of the Cowboys locker room at The Star in Frisco. These sorts of toys are not uncommon in pro sports locker rooms; the Texas Rangers had one for several years until someone in management had it removed because they didn't think a playing a game is serious enough for a profession that is ultimately a game. Schottenheimer recently had the team's quarterbacks, with their families, partake in a lesson where they learned Greek line dancing. Over the weekend, a video of defensive end Micah Parsons calling Schottenheimer to 'say goodnight' went viral on social media. The head coach wasn't thrilled that the video was leaked by the player himself on his TikTok account, but at least it shows Schottenheimer has a relationship with his most talented player, who is currently in a contract holdout of sorts. Former Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett was a fan of these sorts of things; from taking the team to the beach in California, or having them tour the The National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C. the day after a game against the Commanders, Garrett appreciated the team building exercises usually more associated with high school or college. These are well meaning, but keep your expectations modest about their correlation to production, and winning. We aren't even in training camp, so about 101 percent of this means about 00.01 percent. The Cowboys won't know if any of these 'connections' and 'culture' mean a thing until the first losses of the regular season. Can Schottenheimer keep the team when it all goes to hell? When receivers CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens aren't happy that the quarterback won't throw them the ball because they're 'wide' open. When the injury report is 3 miles long, the team has to go into New York for a night game, and the goal is survival. When family and friends of the players listen to the media — be it a member of NBC's Sunday Night Football crew or a podcaster out of Arlington — who point out the team's flaws, and besiege them with that hot air? In Ryans' first two seasons in Houston, he has been commended for the job he's done despite his relative inexperience. The Texans are 20-14 in his two years in Houston, with playoff wins in each season. 'It's not the old school way; a coach just yelling, barking at guys, telling guys what to do. Because I sense you have to be able to explain 'Why?' Ryans said. 'You have to be able to connect the guys, or really show them that you're there for them. 'You care, you understand, and that's why you motivate the guys now. So I think you'll start to see even a bigger train of younger coaches getting in these head-coaching roles.' Brian Schottenheimer is not a young NFL head coach, but he is still a first-time head coach. He will soon learn, if he doesn't already know it, that there are places, and times, when blaming inexperience applies. NFL head coach is not one of those places.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
ESPN analyst has words for SMU Football's playoff credibility
ESPN analyst has words for SMU Football's playoff credibility originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Leave it to Paul Finebaum to stir the pot before the first snap of the college football season. The ESPN analyst, never one to mince words, took aim at SMU football during a recent segment of The Paul Finebaum Show, dismissing the Mustangs' 2024 College Football Playoff berth as unearned. 'Last year, SMU got a third-place ribbon. They had no business being in the CFP,' Finebaum said bluntly. Advertisement The comment has sparked major backlash among Mustangs fans and college football insiders, especially given SMU's standout first year in the ACC. The Mustangs went 11-3, won the ACC Coastal Division, and went undefeated in regular-season conference play before narrowly falling to Clemson 30-27 in the ACC title game. Southern Methodist Mustangs head coach Rhett Lashlee leads his team to the field before the 2024 ACC Championship game against the Clemson Tigers at Bank of America Stadium. :Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images Created: Despite the loss, SMU secured a spot in the expanded 12-team CFP. While their postseason ended with a 38-10 loss to No. 6 Penn State, the selection committee deemed their resume strong enough, especially in a year filled with parity across the Power Four. Finebaum's critique raises a larger question: what does it really take for programs outside the traditional elite to be respected? Advertisement With a 2025 slate that includes matchups against Clemson, Louisville, and Miami, and a non-conference gauntlet featuring Baylor and TCU, SMU has a chance to prove last season wasn't a fluke. The Mustangs aren't just playing for wins this fall, they're playing for national credibility. And thanks to Finebaum, they've got bulletin board material before Week 1. If Finebaum wanted to wake a sleeping giant in Dallas, he may have just succeeded. Related: SMU Football Makes Underrated Hire After Playoff Season Related: SMU Football Faces Backlash After Team GPA Under Rhett Lashlee Surfaces This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 6, 2025, where it first appeared.
