
Lee Corso's final ‘College GameDay' to come at Ohio State in Week 1
Lee Corso's final mascot headgear pick for 'College GameDay' will come at Ohio State, where it all began.
ESPN's flagship college football show will go to Columbus, Ohio, in Week 1, where the Buckeyes will face Texas in what is expected to be a top-five matchup. ESPN said in April that the 89-year-old Corso would retire after Week 1 of the upcoming season, giving him a celebratory sendoff, but it did not name the location. There was some speculation the show could go to the Florida State-Alabama game, as Corso played at FSU in the 1950s alongside actor Burt Reynolds (and because Ohio State-Texas will be broadcast on Fox).
📍 Week 1: Columbus, OH
We're kicking off College GameDay with a trip to Texas-Ohio State, as we celebrate Lee Corso's final show back where he first made headgear history! 🤩 pic.twitter.com/FtOLmXPXKB
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) June 10, 2025
But the show will send Corso off where the headgear picks began. While Corso has been on the show since its inception in 1987, his first mascot pick came at Ohio State in 1996 for the Buckeyes' game against Penn State.
Corso has made 430 headgear picks, from Buckeyes to animals to helmets to full-on costumes. He's correctly picked 66.5 percent of those choices, according to ESPN, including a perfect 11-0 in 1999. Brutus Buckeye has been the most popular pick, chosen 45 times, with Alabama just behind at 38.
'When it was our game, I was always hoping he didn't pick us,' Nick Saban said in April, 'because I knew the players were watching and I wanted reverse rat poison.'
Coach Lee Corso by the numbers 🤯
🐻 430 mascot headgear picks🏈 66.5% win rate of picks all-time🏆 Perfect season = 1999
More on LC's 38 years on @CollegeGameDay: https://t.co/RpjhSPhmQJ pic.twitter.com/nY3hoTDbSm
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) April 17, 2025
'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 news release in April. 'I have a treasure of many friends, fond memories and some unusual experiences to take with me into retirement.'
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