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College Gameday sets sights on Columbus for Lee Corso's final show as Texas takes on Ohio State

by: Evan Vieth06/10/25
Lee Corso, Texas Longhorns
Lee Corso, Texas Longhorns (Sara Diggins-Austin American-Statesman)

Lee’s last show is returning to where it all started.

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Legendary college football coach and personality Lee Corso has been a staple of College Gameday since its inception in 1987, but his famous donning of the headgear began in Columbus in 1996, when the analyst correctly predicted Ohio State to defeat Penn State. Corso and the College Gameday crew have made it a tradition to pick every major game of the week on the show, with Corso’s final selection involving the headgear of whichever team he believed would win at the venue where the show was hosted.

Now, 29 years and many mascot heads worn later, Corso is ending his career on College Gameday right where the tradition began: Columbus, Ohio, for Texas’ Week 1 matchup against Ohio State.

Despite Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff owning the rights to the game, ESPN’s College Gameday will make the trip north to broadcast their show in what may be a matchup between the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country heading into the season. Unprecedented for sure in this era of TV rights and sponsorships, this Week 1 matchup may end up being one of the best games of the regular season.

Texas is no stranger to the Gameday show in hostile Big Ten environments. The Longhorns saw the crew in Week 2 of last season, when Texas defeated Michigan 31-12 in the Big House. Corso, of course, correctly picked the Horns to win.

The Longhorns had a worse fate the last time they hosted the show, bringing along Corso and company for the Week 8 matchup against the Georgia Bulldogs. Despite Corso donning the Hook ‘Em hat, the Longhorns were trounced at home by the Bulldogs in a “Welcome to the SEC” beatdown.

As our own Joe Cook has pointed out before, Corso has been very efficient in his picks on College Gameday. The former FSU quarterback and Indiana head coach has correctly chosen the winner 66% of the time on the show. Unfortunately for Texas, Ohio State is Corso’s most selected team and the one with which he started this tradition. A betting man would likely predict him choosing the Buckeyes in his final show.

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The networks and stars of the college football world are finding any way possible to make their way to Columbus for this matchup between two of the biggest programs in the sport. Texas will have its work cut out for it, especially with all the media attention it will be receiving heading into the noon kickoff, but fans will be rewarded with comedy and content in Corso’s final show. It’ll be the end of an era in college football, right as Texas tries to begin an era of its own.

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