ESPN has announced that the final College GameDay episode featuring Lee Corso will air on August 30, 2025, in Week 1 of the upcoming college football season. The question now turns to where this special episode will take place.
College GameDay revolutionized sports on television by broadcasting from college campuses for their Saturday pregame show, creating an unparalleled atmosphere. Lee Corso’s ability to engage the crowd and energize viewers with his College GameDay mascot headgear picks has significantly contributed to this experience. Just how vital have Corso’s headgear and mascot choices been? ESPN even released statistics on them dating back to his first pick in 1996. The August 30 episode will not only pay tribute to Lee Corso but also celebrate everything that makes college football iconic. The location chosen for this episode will forever be part of the legacy of the program that hosted Corso’s final appearance on College GameDay.
ESPN has yet to announce the location of the farewell episode. However, looking ahead to the Week 1 schedule, two standout games appear to be prime candidates for this pivotal moment: Alabama at Florida State and Texas at Ohio State. A case can be made for both. Florida State stands out since Corso is a Seminoles alum, having played there from 1953-1957 and earning honorable mention All-American honors in 1956 as both a quarterback and cornerback.
The other contender is the highly anticipated CFP semifinal rematch between Texas and Ohio State, featuring two Top 5 teams clashing in Columbus. While Corso does not have direct ties to Ohio State, the school has been a significant part of his television legacy. Columbus is notable because it is where Lee Corso made his very first mascot pick on October 5, 1996, choosing Ohio State over Penn State while wearing the Brutus Buckeye headgear. Ohio State holds the record for the most headgear selections by Corso, with 45 picks over the years.
Thankfully, both of these monumental non-conference games will be hosted on campus rather than in a sterile NFL stadium in Atlanta or Dallas. Another potential location for College GameDay is Indiana, which has celebrated the legendary analyst before. Corso was a coach there from 1973-1982; however, their Week 1 matchup against Old Dominion likely does not merit such a grand send-off.
There is no wrong choice here, but the competitiveness of the games certainly favors Texas-Ohio State. Moreover, the fact that it will probably be a Big Noon Saturday Fox game won’t deter ESPN from being present in Columbus. ESPN has previously shown up when Fox is in town, and they might revel in the opportunity to overshadow Fox’s pregame effort at one of the season’s marquee games.
It would be a storybook ending for Lee Corso if both his first and last headgear pick featured Brutus Buckeye. Perhaps ESPN could even locate the original headgear he wore in 1996 for a truly memorable moment. Conversely, returning to Tallahassee to conclude his TV career would bring everything full circle. Even if Florida State were to lose decisively to the Crimson Tide, seeing him don his old Seminoles uniform again would be an fitting way to conclude his journey.
Ultimately, it seems to boil down to Columbus or Tallahassee. Maybe a headgear pick could be used to reveal the final decision when the time comes.
