College Football is Back! And we say goodbye to Coach Corso 🏈

This weekend officially kicked off college football season, aka my absolute favorite time of year! Y’all already know football is my number one sport, but there’s just something about college ball that sits a little higher than the NFL for me. The energy, the traditions, the student sections that feel like they could shake a stadium, nothing compares!

And of course, Saturdays in the fall don’t really start until College GameDay comes on. That show has been my Saturday morning cartoons for years. The highlight? Lee Corso’s infamous headgear picks at the end of the show. It’s tradition. It’s iconic. It’s Corso.

Coach Lee Corso in his tux for his final show.

3.5 Million viewers tuned in for his final ride on College GameDay.

But this Saturday was different. August 30 marked Coach Corso’s final College GameDay. After decades (38 years) of making his picks, bringing his humor, and shaping the culture of college football Saturdays, he’s retiring. Over the years his health slowed him down, but he always showed up for that headgear moment. And y’all, ESPN gave him his flowers. It was emotional, it was beautiful, and Corso even came dressed in a tux because, in his words, he wanted to “go out with class.”

For his last pick, they took the show to the 50-yard line of the Ohio State vs. Texas season opener, a massive game with Ohio State defending their championship and Arch Manning making his debut for Texas. It was extra special because the whole headgear tradition started at Ohio State years ago when Corso first asked to borrow Brutus’ mascot head. What began as a one-time stunt became a staple of the show and a piece of college football history.

Coach Cross picks his “first love” Brutus Buckeye and Ohio State.

And fittingly, Corso ended his run perfectly. Every pick he made this weekend was correct, and every school he once coached or played for came away with a win.

It was the perfect send-off for a man who helped make Saturdays what they are. College GameDay won’t continue the headgear pick without him, because that was his thing. And honestly? That’s how it should be.

So, here’s to Coach Corso, the cutest, funniest, most legendary part of our Saturday mornings. Saturdays won’t feel the same without him, but man, did he leave us with memories.