Lee Corso has been many things — a college football coach, Burt Reynolds' college roommate and America’s favorite college football lovin’ crazy grandfather on ESPN's College GameDay, where he makes his "headgear picks" each week on location during college football Saturdays.
Corso's 38-year GameDay career full of classic moments saw its final full season in 2024, with a Week 1 game in 2025 his final game before retirement, when Corso ended as he started his headgear picks: Picking Ohio State.
Below, we've also included a history of all of Corso's best moments, all-time record and more from his legendary run on College GameDay.
All-time record
Corso owns a career 286-144 all-time headgear pick record, hitting on 66% of his picks since the tradition started in 1996. He has one undefeated season to his name, going a perfect 11-0 in 1999. His worst season came a few years later in 2002, posting a 4-9 record.
| Year | Record | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 4-1 | 80% |
| 1997 | 4-4 | 50% |
| 1998 | 5-4 | 55.56% |
| 1999 | 11-0 | 100% |
| 2000 | 7-5 | 58.33% |
| 2001 | 5-6 | 45.45% |
| 2002 | 4-9 | 30.77% |
| 2003 | 12-3 | 80% |
| 2004 | 10-4 | 71.43% |
| 2005 | 11-4 | 73.33% |
| 2006 | 11-5 | 68.75% |
| 2007 | 12-4 | 75% |
| 2008 | 11-7 | 61.11% |
| 2009 | 11-5 | 68.75% |
| 2010 | 12-5 | 70.59% |
| 2011 | 13-4 | 76.47% |
| 2012 | 10-6 | 62.50% |
| 2013 | 12-6 | 66.67% |
| 2014 | 13-5 | 72.22% |
| 2015 | 6-12 | 33.33% |
| 2016 | 10-8 | 55.56% |
| 2017 | 10-7 | 58.82% |
| 2018 | 11-7 | 63.63% |
| 2019 | 14-6 | 70% |
| 2020 | 12-4 | 75% |
| 2021 | 14-5 | 73.68% |
| 2022 | 9-4 | 69.23% |
| 2023 | 11-5 | 68.75% |
| 2024 | 12-5 | 70.59% |
| 2025 | 1-0 | 100% |
Fun facts about Corso's picks:
- Ohio State is his most picked team, donning the Buckeye head gear 46 times in his career.
- He picked against Oklahoma and Georgia 22 times each, the most of any schools. He went 6-16 when picking against the Sooners and 13-9 when picking against the Bulldogs.
- He picked 69 different teams on College GameDay.
- He went 17-0 when picking Southern Cal, the best individual record for any team.
- He picked 91 SEC matchups, the most of any single conference.
The numbers behind Lee Corso's headgear picks 👀 pic.twitter.com/CwAnp7rvE9
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) August 29, 2025
Best Corso GameDay moments
Final headgear pick
Corso's picks came full circle, as he picked Ohio State on his final appearance on GameDay.
"Give me my first love!"
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) August 30, 2025
Lee Corso's first-ever headgear pick belonged to Brutus and the Buckeyes and it's only fitting that his last one is the same ❤️ pic.twitter.com/A8Fgj8b3TR
First headgear pick
Throwback to Lee Corso’s very first headgear pick on College GameDay 👏 pic.twitter.com/5DRKwOwuAe
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 12, 2023
Corso and Katy Perry
Live alligator in Gainesville
When Coach held a live gator 😳🐊
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 12, 2023
His 400th pick happens this Saturday on #CollegeGameDay 🏈 pic.twitter.com/OWxteEwvCs
Madness in Norman
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) August 21, 2025
Crowd surfing in Happy Valley
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) August 20, 2025
Special delivery
📦A special delivery for Corso's Army-Navy pick 📦 pic.twitter.com/1sxicHB818
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) December 8, 2018
Live duck in Eugene
Lee Corso's pick made @TheOregonDuck cake a fan! pic.twitter.com/w897fQtNuQ
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 22, 2018
Corso (kind of) apologizes to UGA
Did Lee Corso's longstanding beef with Uga the dog affect his GameDay pick? 🤔
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 21, 2019
(📍 @NationalGuard) pic.twitter.com/NZcJEh0V0X
Compilation of his best picks
