One more for the road. It has been a beautiful ride for Lee Corso at ESPN, but the former head coach of the Louisville Cardinals, the Indiana Hoosiers and the Northern Illinois Huskies will be retiring from the College GameDay set after one last show in Week 1 of the 2025 season. Corso will be turning 90 in early August, having worked for ESPN since before I was alive way back in 1987. This last show will be all about L.C., folks.
There are a few obvious choices for where the GameDay crew could end up going one last time with Corso. Texas at Ohio State in Columbus is not only a game featuring two College Football Playoff locks, but it is also the site of Corso's first-ever headgear pick way back in 1996. Of course, his alma mater of Florida State has a huge game at Doak Campbell in Tallahassee against vaunted Alabama.
While going to either Indiana or Louisville would be of great sentimental value, neither the Hoosiers nor the Cardinals have a Week 1 adversary worthy of the GameDay crew. Of course, there are a few others options to consider besides just the heavy hitters potentially on the docket in Columbus and Tallahassee. Whatever ESPN decides will be the right choice for Corso. I cannot believe it is over.
Let's start by sending Corso off with a bang in the college football capital of the world: Atlanta.
4. Syracuse Orange vs. Tennessee Volunteers (Atlanta, GA)
Even though Syracuse vs. Tennessee is a high-quality Week 1 game, it is a neutral-site matchup featuring two teams Corso has no attachment to. The only reason I am suggesting this game is that it will be at majestic Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, home of the College Football Hall of Fame. Corso didn't have the coaching record to get in, but as a contributor, he should be in already.
So what I am suggesting is the GameDay crew get in contact with the College Football Hall of Fame and do what is right by giving Corso among the highest honors in the sport he's dedicated his life to. It would be a great way to surprise him, and we need to stop safe-guarding Halls of Fame anyway. Without Corso, how many of us are fans of this great sport?
This is an extreme pipe dream, but it's one way to make sure Corso gets the respect he deserves.
3. LSU Tigers at Clemson Tigers (Clemson, SC)
I had to throw one other option into the mix outside the two big games we all know ESPN is trying to figure out. With LSU going to Clemson, I think there are two reasons why College GameDay may go there with Corso. The first is we could see Corso touch Howard's Rock and then run down the back of the end zone to really go out with a bang. Of course, this game would have to be played at night, too.
But the other, and perhaps far better, reason is for Corso to decide once and for all where the real Death Valley is located: Clemson, South Carolina, or Baton Rouge, Louisiana. This may be too tall of a task for him, but his vast experience in the college football world makes him arguably the best candidate for it. Letting a 90-year-old man decide where Death Valley really is would be so unbelievably American.
I doubt Omar Bradley will be able to make it to the game at Clemson, but he would be there in spirit.
2. Alabama Crimson Tide at Florida State Seminoles (Tallahassee, FL)
If ESPN wants to play it safe, College GameDay will go back to where it all began for Corso. He played quarterback and defensive back for the Florida State Seminoles in the 1950s. His college roommate was Burt Reynolds. This is where Corso got this first taste at being a coach, serving as a graduate assistant immediately after he was done playing. Corso also lives in Florida, so this makes for an easy trek.
Alabama may be a huge draw, but the Crimson Tide are not a serious threat to win the College Football Playoff this year. Truth be told, Florida State still needs to triple its win total from a year ago to even achieve bowl eligibility. Tallahassee is a special place for Corso, and college football as a whole. The only reason to go there is out of familiarity and to avoid Big Noon Kickoff in Columbus.
This is why I would argue that both pre-game shows should go to Columbus to pay Corso his respect.
1. Texas Longhorns at Ohio State Buckeyes (Columbus, OH)
Who am I kidding? It has to be Columbus! Texas vs. Ohio State: These are two of the four teams in college football I feel the most confident about making the College Football Playoff, along with Clemson and Penn State. Ohio State is the defending national champions. Texas is now quarterbacked by football's first family's chosen son, Arch Manning. Plus, this is College GameDay!
The greatest contribution Corso has given the sport is his headgear selections. He did his first one way back in 1996, when he donned Brutus Buckeye's dome to say Ohio State was going to win. Outside of Florida State, Indiana and Louisville, few places carry as much sentimental value to what Corso has meant for the sport than Columbus. It is the biggest game of the weekend, so let's go!
The big question is whether Corso will be supporting Brutus Buckeye or Hook 'Em the Longhorn Week 1.