5 best Lee Corso headgear picks of all time as legendary sportscaster retires with one last College GameDay appearance ft. Brutus Buckeye

Lee Corso is set to retire from the College GameDay broadcast on Saturday as Ohio State faces the Texas Longhorns. The 90-year-old has been a part of the College GameDay crew since 1987 and will be fondly remembered by fans.

From signature remarks like ‘Not so fast, my friend,’ and ‘Appreciate you, young man,’ to famous headgear picks, he leaves us with lots of memories. In honor of his final headgear pick on Saturday, below are our top five Lee Corso headgear picks of all time.

Top five Lee Corso headgear picks

5. Big Al, 2008

This is one of Lee Corso’s most controversial headgear picks that gave us the “ugly dog” statement. College GameDay was in Athens for No. 3 Georgia vs. No. 10 Alabama in an SEC rivalry. It wasn’t Corso’s choice of the underdogs that was memorable from this pick, but his manner of doing it. Before putting on Big Al’s headgear, the former coach said:

“I would have gone to Georgia if I didn’t go to Florida State, but that dog is ugly.”

Be sure Georgia fans didn’t find it funny.

4. Mike the Tiger, 2019

Texas fans will remember this as the day Matthew McConaughey yanked the LSU mascot headgear off Corso. As they’ll also not forget, that act didn’t suffice as Corso’s oracle already spoke, and Joe Burrow led the Tigers to a 45-38 victory over Texas.

College GameDay host Rece Davis recounted the memorable pick, saying:

“We were at Texas-LSU one year, and he put on the LSU headgear. … Matthew McConaughey started trying to rip it off, and L.C. had a little bloody ear from it. Not much, L.C. is tough.”

3. Gators, 2019

A true Florida man, Corso, brought a live baby gator on College Gameday broadcast in a Florida vs. Auburn game in 2019. The College Gameday crew looked on in disbelief as the veteran correctly predicted the Gators to win. The Gators beat the Tigers 24-13 to extend their unbeaten start to the 2019 season.

2. The Ducks, 2009

The Oregon Ducks are one of Corso’s most predicted teams. Of the 21 times he picked the Ducks, however, none is as memorable as this example from 2009, when the Ducks hosted USC. Corso’s pick ended with him hopping on a bike for a ride out of the College GameDay set after embracing the Duck.

1. Brutus Buckeye, 1996

Corso’s first-ever headgear pick still stands out as one of his memorable moments on the sets of College GameDay. The iconic moment is made even more significant by the potential of another Buckeye pick to close his career on Saturday, a full-circle moment. This has included over 280 correct picks, a 67% win percentage.

About the author

Kayode is a College and High School Sports writer at Sportskeeda since June 2023. Hailing from Nigeria, he has an undergraduate degree in Linguistics and African Languages, and has previously had stints as an entertainment and politics writer for around 7 months. Adept at creating content around historical perspectives, he strives to report stories based only on verified information. His mantra is - truth is always more important than sensationalism.

A fan of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Kayode admires how Nick Saban developed talent at the team and delivered consistent results, and hopes that the post-Saban era is just as fruitful. He is thoroughly impressed by Johnny Manziel’s talent, and feels that Shedeur Sanders is massively underrated. Nick Saban is his all-time favorite college coach.

While Kayode believes there is little to separate college and mainstream sports, pro leagues absorbing the best athletes leads to their quality being higher. Witnessing the Colorado Buffaloes’ hot streak at start the 2023 football season was one of his all-time favorite college sports moments.

When not writing, Kayode enjoys reading and watching sports documentaries. His most recent watch was "Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In."

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Edited by Kim Daniel Rubinos