Lee Corso’s headgear journey will end where it started.
ESPN announced Tuesday that “College GameDay” will kick off the 2025 season in Columbus, Ohio for Ohio State’s home game against Texas.
This will be the final show for Corso, the former coach-turned-analyst whose mascot headgear picks became a trademark of Saturday mornings. Although the show has aired since 1987, it has only been on the road since 1993, and Corso did not make his first headgear pick until 1996, when the show originated outside Ohio Stadium and Corso donned Brutus the Buckeye's head while picking Ohio State to beat Penn State.
The 89-year-old Corso has affectionately referred to Brutus as his “first love” over the years.
The Aug. 30 opener between the Buckeyes and Longhorns is a rematch of the College Football Playoff semifinal tilt, which Ohio State won 28-14 before beating Notre Dame in the national championship game.
A visit to the defending champs only makes sense given the magnitude of the game, although there are several other high-profile Week 1 contests that likely earned consideration — particularly Alabama at Florida State, as Corso is a former Seminoles defensive back who once held the program’s career record for interceptions, a number that was first matched by Deion Sanders and later broken by both Monk Bonasorte and Terrell Buckley, who currently holds the record.
The Texas-Ohio State game will actually air on Fox as part of the network’s “Big Noon Kickoff” window, featuring Fox’s traveling pregame show as well.
ESPN announced on April 17 that Corso would retire after one final show in Week 1.
Corso, who has been with the show from the beginning in 1987, will turn 90 on Aug. 7.
He has made 430 headgear selections for his career, with a record of 286-144. Corso was the head coach at Louisville, Indiana and Northern Illinois before entering broadcasting.