College Football Cheat Sheet: Lee Corso's Final Ride

For my money, Labor Day weekend is one of the best on the sports calendar. After a long offseason, college football will control a holiday weekend up until Monday. Following an excellent Thursday night that included some fun games, we still have four more nights of football remaining.

KSR’s College Football Cheat Sheet has returned for the 2025 season to set the table on Fridays for the football weekend all season long. There are numerous Power Four vs. Group of Six/FCS matchups sprinkled throughout the first full slate but some big-time games are staggered in a good way on Saturday before a huge Notre Dame vs. Miami non-conference matchup arrives on Sunday and Bill Belichick makes his debut on Monday night.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Let’s set the table.

Farewell, Lee Corso

Before any game is played on Saturday, the entire college football word will have two eyes on television or will be buried in their phone on social media for a very special event. ESPN’s “College GameDay” will kickoff the season in Columbus for Texas-Ohio State at the place where the madness all began.

Back in October 1996, Lee Corso put on a mascot head for the first time ahead of Ohio State-Penn State just three years after GameDay’s first road show. From there, a legend was born. Nearly thirty years later, the college football legend will officially step away and retire at age 90.

"Lee Corso is college football." 🙌

See you on Saturday for Coach Corso's final headgear pick 🧡 pic.twitter.com/2d3ZdRvUNC

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) August 28, 2025

College football is my favorite spot. Each of you reading this likely knows that. I’m not sure everyone agrees, but I do think the consensus among the general sport population is that this the most ridiculous sport. I’m not sure any other team sport comes close. Rivalry trophies, going decades without crowing national champions, bowl games, realignment, tearing down goalposts, and returning to the place you spent from age 18-22 (or longer) to act like a wild man again at tailgates in the fall. It is simply the best and an absolute roller coaster.

No one embodied that better than Lee Corso.

“College GameDay” became a staple for anyone who followed college football from the late 1990s until social media took off some point after 2010. GameDay never went away but there was a time in almost every college football fan’s life where they can vividly remember anticipating Corso putting on a mascot head. He was your wild, unhinged uncle and you loved him. No matter what, he could put a smile on your face. Even when we didn’t get to hear “not so fast, my friend” or some of his other catchy analysis as he aged, he still could create a special energy and take you back to a younger time in your life whenever it came time to put on a mascot head.

Lee Corso is college football. Wacky, hilarious, never know what you’re gonna get, ridiculous, and passionate. Saturdays in the fall when I drink coffee and watch “College GameDay” with my sons as they age, and begin to come fans, simply will not be the same. I got to live through a special time where college football experienced exponential growth from a regional sport to a borderline national pastime. Corso played a massive role in all of that. I’m not sure if I will even be able to watch his send off in the press box at Kroger Field on Saturday because I know the man tears are coming. I know I’m not the only one.

Lee Corso was simply the best. He was a true character and an integral piece of the fabric of college football for three decades. He made people fall in love with it because it’s the best. I — and am sure many of you reading this — will miss him dearly.

College football is a sport driven by wild tradition and unique characters. Corso was perhaps the best character. It won’t be the same without him.

The Slate

Tarleton State at Army	6pm ET (Friday)	CBS Sports Network
Kennesaw State at Wake Forest	7pm ET (Friday)	ACC Network
App State vs. Charlotte	7pm ET (Friday)	ESPNU
Western Michigan at Michigan State	7pm ET (Friday)	FS1
Western Illinois at No. 12 Illinois	7:30pm ET (Friday)	Peacock
Auburn at Baylor	8pm ET (Friday)	FOX
Georgia Tech at Colorado	8pm ET (Friday)	ESPN
UNLV at Sam Houston	9:30pm ET (Friday)	CBS Sports Network
Central Michigan at San Jose State	10:30pm ET (Friday)	FS1
Syracuse vs. No. 24 Tennessee (Atlanta)	Noon ET	ABC
Mississippi State at Southern Miss	Noon ET	ESPN
VMI at Navy	Noon ET	CBS Sports Network
No. 1 Texas at No. 3 Ohio State	Noon ET	FOX
Duquesne at Pittsburgh	Noon ET	ACC Network
Northwestern at Tulane	Noon ET	ESPNU
Ball State at Purdue	Noon ET	Big Ten Network
Florida Atlantic at Maryland	Noon ET	Big Ten Network
Toledo at Kentucky	12:45pm ET	SEC Network
Old Dominion at No. 20 Indiana	2:30pm ET	FS1
Eastern Kentucky at Louisville	3pm ET	ACC Network
Bucknell at Air Force	3:30pm ET	CBS Sports Network
Marshall at No. 5 Georgia	3:30pm ET	ESPN
Nevada at No. 2 Penn State	3:30pm ET	CBS
South Dakota at No. 22 Iowa State	3:30pm ET	FOX
Temple at UMass	3:30pm ET	ESPN+
No. 8 Alabama at Florida State	3:30pm ET	ABC
Montana State at No. 7 Oregon	4pm ET	Big Ten Network
Illinois State at No. 18 Oklahoma	6pm ET	ESPN+
Coastal Carolina at Virginia	6pm ET	ACC Network
UTSA at No. 19 Texas A&M	7pm ET	ESPN
North Dakota at No. 17 Kansas State	7pm ET	ESPN+
LIU at No. 15 Florida	7pm ET	ESPN+
Missouri State at USC	7:30pm ET	Big Ten Network
UTEP at Utah State	7:30pm ET	CBS Sports Network
UAPB at No. 23 Texas Tech	7:30pm ET	ESPN+
No. 9 LSU at No. 4 Clemson	7:30pm ET	ABC
New Mexico at No. 14 Michigan	7:30pm ET	NBC
Georgia State at No. 21 Ole Miss	7:45pm ET	SEC Network
Eastern Michigan at Texas State	8pm ET	ESPN+
Rice at Louisiana	8pm ET	ESPN+
East Texas A&M at No. 16 SMU	9pm ET	ACC Network
Georgia Southern at Fresno State	9:30pm ET	FS1
Northern Arizona at No. 11 Arizona State	10pm ET	ESPN+
Idaho at Washington State	10pm ET	The CW
Hawaii at Arizona	10:30pm ET	TNT
California at Oregon State	10:30pm ET	ESPN
Colorado State at Washington	11pm ET	Big Ten Network
Utah at UCLA	11pm ET	FOX
Virginia Tech vs. No. 13 South Carolina (Atlanta)	3pm ET (Sunday)	ESPN
No. 6 Notre Dame at No. 10 Miami	7:30pm ET (Sunday)	ABC
TCU at North Carolina	8pm ET (Monday)	ESPN

College Football Gambling Corner

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A rematch in Columbus

We will not have to wait long for the best game of the weekend. Shortly after Lee Corso puts on the mascot head, toe will meet leather on the banks of the Olentangy. No. 1 Texas is a small road dog against No. 3 Ohio State. It’s a rematch of last year’s tightly contested national semifinal game. It features two of the best head coaches in the sport, two of the best rosters, and two former five-star recruits taking over at QB1.

Both teams have a great chance to make the playoff. A loss doesn’t hurt either, but a win will give us a true No. 1 ranked squad heading into Week 2. It’s a terrific kickoff game. Oh, there’s also the Big Ten vs. SEC storyline along with Ohio State vs. Dave Portnoy, Arch Manning, and Corso’s final show.

There’s a lot going on here. College football, man.

It’s time for Hugh Freeze to win some football games

Hugh Freeze begins year three at Auburn with a record that is three games below. 500. The Tigers have not won more than six games in a season since 2019. This program can’t get out of its own way but it’s clear that the pieces are now in place for this program to make some real noise in the SEC again. Just look at the roster.

Auburn has stacked consecutive top-10 high school recruiting classes together and just spent some big money in the transfer portal. Freeze should have a terrific offensive line, a top-10 pick (Keldric Faulk) anchoring the defense, and an elite wide receiver unit. It’s time for results.

This team needs to win. The first opponent is tricky.

Dave Aranda had another bounce-back season at Baylor going 8-4 last year before losing to LSU in the Texas Bowl. Sawyer Robertson is quietly one of the best returning quarterbacks in college football and could have a top-15 offense this year. The Bears can challenge Auburn, and we know things can get weird in college stadiums on Friday nights.

This is a fascinating Week 1 matchup.

Death Valley Bowl

The college football world will be locked in on one specific game in the prime-time Saturday window when Clemson hosts LSU in a top-10 matchup. It’s a contest between two very good quarterbacks, two established head coaches, and two programs who are looking to prove themselves. That could deliver some good drama in Week 1.

Neither team is out of the playoff hunt with a loss but could be in great position with a big non-conference win. Brian Kelly desperately needs a big Week 1 victory. Dabo Swinney could prove that he has another national title contender after taking three losses to SEC foes last season.

This one should be good. Takes will flow no matter the result.

Canes host Irish on Labor Day Sunday

That famous “Catholics vs. Convicts” game is a thing of the past, but we all go back to that matchup whenever Notre Dame and Miami face on the gridiron. The last time the Irish made this trip to South Florida, the Canes rocked Brian Kelly’s team in 2017 as the turnover chain reached the peak of its powers under head coach Mark Richt.

Now these storied programs will meet for the 28th time just eight years after that shocking blowout win for Miami. The coaches are different but both programs are still looking to prove that they belong on a national championship stage. Mario Cristobal has a new defensive coordinator and a brand new transfer quarterback (Carson Beck). Marcus Freeman has a new defensive coordinator and a young blue-chip quarterback (CJ Carr).

A win for either side would be a big resume boost.

Bill Belichick is really doing this

The marathon college football weekend will end on Monday with quite the grand finale. For the first time, Bill Belichick will serve as a head coach on a college football sideline when North Carolina hosts TCU.

Yeah, this game is going to do a monster TV numbers.

The Heels are one of the biggest unknowns in college football entering the 2025 campaign with over 60 new players. TCU has one of the best quarterbacks in college football (Josh Hoover), and should compete for both a playoff berth and Big 12 title this season. This matchup should give us a good glimpse of where North Carolina truly sits as they begin this unique experiment.

What a fun way to end this first weekend.

The rest of the college football card

— Colorado hosts Georgia Tech on Friday night in a game that features the co-national champs from 1990. The Yellow Jackets have a bunch of returning pieces and are a dark horse in the ACC race. Colorado is going through a rebuild after losing Travis Hunter and Sheduer Sanders. Meanwhile, Deion Sanders was absent most of the offseason as he battled — and defeated — cancer. This is a fascinating non-conference matchup between two teams that appear to have high ceilings this fall.

— Tennessee will play its first game without Nico Iamaleava on Saturday afternoon in Atlanta against Syracuse. The Vols are a double-digit favorite as Syracuse goes through a big rebuild. This game will be our first glimpse of former App State quarterback Joey Aguilar and what he looks like in Josh Heupel‘s spread system. Also, it will be a lot of orange. Probably too much orange.

— Last season was a long year for Florida State. Mike Norvell completed a massive overhaul this offseason both through coaching staff and player personnel. Now we will get to see if he can engineer a true bounce-back. New FSU offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn will get to call plays against Alabama again as Ty Simpson makes his first start at quarterback. It’s a helmet logo game featuring two head coaches who have skeptics entering the season. That’s the good stuff.

— Speaking of Nico Iamaleava, the former five-star recruit will make his UCLA debut in the after dark window on Saturday night against Utah at the Rose Bowl. Shenanigans seem inevitable as Utah resets on offense, and the Bruins field a team that added a ton of help from the transfer portal.

— Brent Pry needs a big season at Virginia Tech. The Hokies return star quarterback Kyron Drones, but have reset the roster around in and have two new coordinators. Expectations are super high for South Carolina thanks to the return of LaNorris Sellers. However, this team lost its offensive coordinator and a handful of draft picks. This one could get funky on Sunday afternoon in Atlanta in one of the best quarterback matchups of the weekend.