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A college football tradition will see its final installment at the start of the 2025 season when Lee Corso makes his final headgear pick on ESPN's "College GameDay."
The pregame show has developed into a cultural phenomenon since it first went on the air in 1987, and it's largely thanks to Corso, a star in his playing days at Florida State and a beloved, energetic coach in college and the USFL. ESPN announced April 17 that the 89-year-old Corso would retire from the network after the Aug. 30 show kicking off the new college football season.
It's hard to imagine Saturdays in the fall without the fun-loving Corso making his pick in front of a raucous live audience, eagerly waiting for him to put on the head of the home team's mascot. He's put on just about every team's mascot outfit, none more than that of Brutus Buckeye, the one that started it all. Corso has picked Ohio State 45 times throughout his game-picking career.
What about his alma mater? FSU has hosted "College GameDay" nine times since "Sunshine Scooter" started his tradition, and Corso has made headgear picks in 28 games involving the Seminoles, according to Cole's Gameday Blog, which has tracked every one of his famed selections from across the decades. Here's a look at the history of Corso's fan-favorite tradition, as well as his record picking FSU games:
Lee Corso started the tradition on Oct. 5, 1996, when he put on the head of Ohio State's mascot to announce his pick of the No. 3 Buckeyes to beat No. 4 Penn State at the Horseshoe in Columbus, Ohio. They walloped the Nittany Lions 38-7, and a new tradition was born.
Since then, Corso has made many a viral video with his picks. He nearly fell out of his seat firing a gun for Oklahoma. He let an F-bomb over the air when tossing aside an SMU megaphone in favor of Houston's Shasta head. He had live gators alongside Emmitt Smith to pick Florida. And who can forget him bringing Uga onto the desk before saying "that dog is ugly!" and picking Alabama.
Lee Corso has made a total of 431 picks involving some sort of mascot costume since first donning the Brutus head in 1996. According to Cole's Gameday Blog, which tracks big-name predictions across a variety of sports, Corso has been correct on 66.59% of those picks, going 287-144.
According to Cole's Gameday Blog, Lee Corso has made headgear picks for 28 FSU games. The first came Nov. 8, 1997, when he picked his alma mater, ranked No. 3 in the AP poll, to defeat No. 5 North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was right: FSU won 20-3.
His most recent headgear pick involving the Seminoles came during the COVID-shortened 2020 season, when he correctly picked Miami to beat FSU in Mike Norvell's first season. Corso has been on a roll picking FSU games: He's got a 13-game winning streak that goes back 16 years.
The Seminoles are 15-13 in games involving a Corso headgear pick. He has picked his alma mater to win all four national championship games in his time on "College GameDay," going 2 for 4 with those picks.
Here's the complete list of headgear picks involving FSU. All rankings are according to the AP poll at the time. Corso's pick is in bold:
An ESPN news release said Lee Corso's final game would be Aug. 30, the first full Saturday of the 2025 college football season. It is not yet decided where "College GameDay" will be stationed that day. Defending champion Ohio State, Corso's first ever headgear pick, hosts Texas that day, while Clemson hosts LSU. Another big matchup that day is his alma mater, Florida State, hosting Alabama.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Lee Corso headgear picks, record with Florida State football games
Continue reading...
The pregame show has developed into a cultural phenomenon since it first went on the air in 1987, and it's largely thanks to Corso, a star in his playing days at Florida State and a beloved, energetic coach in college and the USFL. ESPN announced April 17 that the 89-year-old Corso would retire from the network after the Aug. 30 show kicking off the new college football season.
It's hard to imagine Saturdays in the fall without the fun-loving Corso making his pick in front of a raucous live audience, eagerly waiting for him to put on the head of the home team's mascot. He's put on just about every team's mascot outfit, none more than that of Brutus Buckeye, the one that started it all. Corso has picked Ohio State 45 times throughout his game-picking career.
What about his alma mater? FSU has hosted "College GameDay" nine times since "Sunshine Scooter" started his tradition, and Corso has made headgear picks in 28 games involving the Seminoles, according to Cole's Gameday Blog, which has tracked every one of his famed selections from across the decades. Here's a look at the history of Corso's fan-favorite tradition, as well as his record picking FSU games:
When did Lee Corso start headgear?
Lee Corso started the tradition on Oct. 5, 1996, when he put on the head of Ohio State's mascot to announce his pick of the No. 3 Buckeyes to beat No. 4 Penn State at the Horseshoe in Columbus, Ohio. They walloped the Nittany Lions 38-7, and a new tradition was born.
Since then, Corso has made many a viral video with his picks. He nearly fell out of his seat firing a gun for Oklahoma. He let an F-bomb over the air when tossing aside an SMU megaphone in favor of Houston's Shasta head. He had live gators alongside Emmitt Smith to pick Florida. And who can forget him bringing Uga onto the desk before saying "that dog is ugly!" and picking Alabama.
Lee Corso headgear record
Lee Corso has made a total of 431 picks involving some sort of mascot costume since first donning the Brutus head in 1996. According to Cole's Gameday Blog, which tracks big-name predictions across a variety of sports, Corso has been correct on 66.59% of those picks, going 287-144.
Lee Corso headgear record picking Florida State
According to Cole's Gameday Blog, Lee Corso has made headgear picks for 28 FSU games. The first came Nov. 8, 1997, when he picked his alma mater, ranked No. 3 in the AP poll, to defeat No. 5 North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was right: FSU won 20-3.
His most recent headgear pick involving the Seminoles came during the COVID-shortened 2020 season, when he correctly picked Miami to beat FSU in Mike Norvell's first season. Corso has been on a roll picking FSU games: He's got a 13-game winning streak that goes back 16 years.
The Seminoles are 15-13 in games involving a Corso headgear pick. He has picked his alma mater to win all four national championship games in his time on "College GameDay," going 2 for 4 with those picks.
Here's the complete list of headgear picks involving FSU. All rankings are according to the AP poll at the time. Corso's pick is in bold:
- Nov. 8, 1997: No. 3 Florida State 20, No. 5 North Carolina 3 (Chapel Hill, NC)
- Oct. 24, 1998: No. 6 Florida State 34, No. 20 Georgia Tech 7 (Atlanta, GA)
- Jan. 4, 1999: No. 1 Tennessee 23, No. 2 Florida State 16 (Fiesta Bowl, BCS National Championship)
- Nov. 20, 1999: No. 1 Florida State 30, No. 3 Florida 23 (Gainesville, FL)
- Jan. 4, 2000: No. 1 Florida State 46, No. 2 Virginia Tech 29 (Sugar Bowl, BCS National Championship)
- Oct. 7, 2000: No. 7 Miami 27, No. 1 Florida State 24 (Miami, FL)
- Nov. 18, 2000: No. 3 Florida State 30, No. 4 Florida 7 (Tallahassee, FL)
- Jan. 3, 2001: No. 1 Oklahoma 13, No. 3 Florida State 2 (Orange Bowl, BCS National Championship)
- Oct. 13, 2001: No. 2 Miami 49, No. 14 Florida State 27 (Tallahassee, FL)
- Oct. 26, 2002: No. 6 Notre Dame 34, No. 11 Florida State 24 (Tallahassee, FL)
- Oct. 11, 2003: No. 2 Miami 22, No. 5 Florida State 14 (Tallahassee, FL)
- Nov. 29, 2003: No. 9 Florida State 38, No. 11 Florida 34 (Gainesville, FL)
- Sept. 17, 2005: No. 8 Florida State 28, No. 17 Boston College 17 (Chestnut Hill, MA)
- Sept. 4, 2006: No. 11 Florida State 13, No. 12 Miami 10 (Miami, FL)
- Oct. 3, 2009: Boston College 28, Florida State 21 (Chestnut Hill, MA)
- Nov. 28, 2009: No. 1 Florida 37, Florida State 10 (Gainesville, FL)
- Sept. 17, 2011: No. 1 Oklahoma 23, No. 5 Florida State 13 (Tallahassee, FL)
- Sept. 22, 2012: No. 4 Florida State 49, No. 10 Clemson 37 (Tallahassee, FL)
- Oct. 19, 2013: No. 5 Florida State 51, No. 3 Clemson 14 (Clemson, SC)
- Nov. 2, 2013: No. 3 Florida State 41, No. 7 Miami 14 (Tallahassee, FL)
- Jan. 6, 2014: No. 1 Florida State 34, No. 2 Auburn 31 (BCS National Championship, Pasadena, CA)
- Aug. 30, 2014: No. 1 Florida State 37, Oklahoma State 31 (Arlington, TX)
- Sept. 20, 2014: No. 1 Florida State 23, No. 22 Clemson 17 (Tallahassee, FL)
- Oct. 18, 2014: No. 2 Florida State 31, No. 5 Notre Dame 27 (Tallahassee, FL)
- Jan. 1, 2015: No. 3 Oregon 59, No. 2 Florida State 20 (Rose Bowl)
- Sept. 17, 2016: No. 10 Louisville 63, No. 2 Florida State 20 (Louisville, KY)
- Sept. 2, 2017: No. 1 Alabama 24, No. 3 Florida State 7 (Atlanta, GA)
- Sept. 26, 2020: No. 12 Miami 52, Florida State 10 (Miami Gardens, FL)
- Corso's record: 20-8
When and where will Lee Corso make his last headgear pick?
An ESPN news release said Lee Corso's final game would be Aug. 30, the first full Saturday of the 2025 college football season. It is not yet decided where "College GameDay" will be stationed that day. Defending champion Ohio State, Corso's first ever headgear pick, hosts Texas that day, while Clemson hosts LSU. Another big matchup that day is his alma mater, Florida State, hosting Alabama.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Lee Corso headgear picks, record with Florida State football games
Continue reading...
