‘I’m not crying’ – Lee Corso’s final College GameDay draws emotional tributes as ‘insane’ fan goes viral
The time has come for Lee Corso to officially walk into the sunset.
The college football icon’s illustrious four-decade career comes to a close following the conclusion of the opening Saturday of the 2025 ‘College Football GameDay.’
Arriving to the set for the final time, the 90-year-old came dressed for the occasion, sporting a black-tie tuxedo. In the video posted by SportsCenter, he was speaking to long-time colleague Kirk Herbstreit, and was chanting ‘Go Buckeyes’.
Oklahoma State University reporter Reagan Harris commented under the video with five emotional words: “I’m not crying, you are…”
To honor their beloved colleague, the College GameDay crew, made up of Rece Davis, Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee, Nick Saban and Herbstreit all wore their own headgear of Corso, while crowds of people were seen waving cut-out masks of the legendary figure.
The tributes didn’t stop there, though, as Ohio State Buckeyes coach Ryan Day joined the crew to present Corso with a bespoke silver and red helmet which said ‘Coach Corso’ decorated with stickers making up the same amount of times that the coveted analyst picked the Buckeyes to win.
“On behalf of everybody at Ohio State, I just want to thank you for everything you’ve done for college football,” Day said.
“So this helmet right here has your name on it, but it also has a Buckeye leaf for every time you’ve chosen Ohio State with the mascot.
“That’s for you right there, and then, here’s one more right here, if you need one for later at noon.”
Throughout Corso’s time covering the sport, the former Florida State University player and coach was most known for his headgear picks, in which he made his 431st – and final – pick on Saturday.
His final pick was exactly the same as his first, backing Brutus and the Buckeyes against the Texas Longhorns, spearheaded by Arch Manning.
When making the selection, Corso said, “This is one of the easiest picks I’ve ever made. Texas is loaded. Texas has never won. They have a Manning at quarterback, poor Ohio State. They aint’ got a chance.
“Give me my first love,” he added before grabbing the headgear of Brutus, to which he received a standing ovation, by all in the stadium – even some Longhorns fans.
College football is a huge deal for the fans, but some of them have gone to the extremes in their preparations for their team’s season opener.
Ahead of the Buckeyes-Longhorns game, ESPN’s Amber Wilson went out and spoke to some fans who had been camping outside Ohio Stadium for over 24 hours.
“I overestimated things,” one fan, who camped out for 29 hours, said. “Security didn’t even know where to point me to. I was just by myself sleeping on the sidewalk.”
“I didn’t have any classes. I am a Monday through Thursday kid. Fridays are for the boys,” he later said.
When asked by Wilson on whether they felt “sweaty and disgusting” having camped out all night for the game, some other Buckeyes fans said, “Oh yep, go Bucks.”
Furthermore, a female Buckeyes fan was asked whether she was also sleeping outside after too, where she said, “I feel like one of the boys today, but I am actually representing the ladies as the first one in line for the girls.”
The contest didn’t exactly live up to the pre-game hype, though Corso’s headgear pick did come into fruition with the third-seed Buckeyes defeating the one-seeded Longhorns 14-7.
Manning completed 17-for-30 of his passes for 170 yards, a touchdown and an interception, while he rushed for an additional 38 yards from 10 carries.
Ohio quarterback Julian Sayin had a more timid outing, completing just 13-of-20 of his passes for 126 yards and a touchdown, while running back CJ Donaldson Jr shouldered much of the offensive load, rushing for 67 yards off of 19 carries and a touchdown.
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