Lee Corso will make his final headgear pick at the same place he made his first.
ESPN announced Tuesday that it will be at Ohio State’s season opener against Texas for its Week 1 episode of College GameDay, which will double as Corso’s final show.
Week 1: Columbus, OH
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) June 10, 2025
We're kicking off College GameDay with a trip to Texas-Ohio State, as we celebrate Lee Corso's final show back where he first made headgear history! pic.twitter.com/FtOLmXPXKB
Corso, who turns 90 in August, will retire after the season-opening episode of GameDay.
The legendary ESPN analyst and former college football coach has picked the Buckeyes 45 times since he first started making headgear picks in 1996, a tradition that began in Columbus thanks to Kirk Herbstreit’s wife Alison, who was a cheerleader at Ohio State. Corso picked the Buckeyes to beat Penn State on that day – they did – and his mascot head prediction has served as GameDay’s grand finale ever since.
The Aug. 30 show before Ohio State’s season opener against the Longhorns will mark the 26th time Ohio State has hosted GameDay, the most of any school. Ohio State has a 45-21 all-time record when appearing on GameDay and is 19-6 when hosting ESPN’s pregame show.
It will mark the fifth straight Ohio State game attended by GameDay, which was on site for all four of the Buckeyes’ College Football Playoff during their national championship run last season.
| Date | Game | Location | WINNER |
|---|---|---|---|
| SEPT. 28, 1996 | #4 OHIO STATE at #5 NOTRE DAME | SOUTH BEND, IN | OHIO STATE, 29–16 |
| OCT. 5, 1996 | #4 PENN STATE at #3 OHIO STATE | COLUMBUS, OH | OHIO STATE, 38–7 |
| OCT. 26, 1996 | #2 OHIO STATE at #20 IOWA | IOWA CITY, IA | OHIO STATE 38–26 |
| OCT. 4, 1997 | #8 IOWA at #7 OHIO STATE | COLUMBUS, OH | OHIO STATE, 23–7 |
| OCT. 3, 1998 | #7 PENN STATE at #1 OHIO STATE | COLUMBUS, OH | OHIO STATE, 28–9 |
| SEPT. 14, 2002 | #10 WASHINGTON STATE at #6 OHIO STATE | COLUMBUS, OH | OHIO STATE, 25–7 |
| NOV. 23, 2002 | #12 MICHIGAN at #2 OHIO STATE | COLUMBUS, OH | OHIO STATE, 14–9 |
| JAN. 3, 2003 | BCS CHAMPIONSHIP: #2 OHIO STATE vs. #1 MIAMI | TEMPE, AZ | OHIO STATE, 31–24 (2OT) |
| AUG. 30, 2003 | #17 WASHINGTON at #2 OHIO STATE | COLUMBUS, OH | OHIO STATE, 28–9 |
| NOV. 15, 2003 | #11 PURDUE at #4 OHIO STATE | COLUMBUS, OH | OHIO STATE, 16–13 (OT) |
| NOV. 22, 2003 | #4 OHIO STATE at #5 MICHIGAN | ANN ARBOR, MI | MICHIGAN, 35–21 |
| SEPT. 10, 2005 | #2 TEXAS at #4 OHIO STATE | COLUMBUS, OH | TEXAS, 25–22 |
| OCT. 8, 2005 | #6 OHIO STATE at #16 PENN STATE | UNIVERSITY PARK, PA | PENN STATE, 17–10 |
| SEPT. 9, 2006 | #1 OHIO STATE at #2 TEXAS | AUSTIN, TX | OHIO STATE, 24–7 |
| SEPT. 23, 2006 | #24 PENN STATE at #1 OHIO STATE | COLUMBUS, OH | OHIO STATE, 28–6 |
| SEPT. 30, 2006 | #1 OHIO STATE at #13 IOWA | IOWA CITY, IA | OHIO STATE, 38–17 |
| NOV. 18, 2006 | #2 MICHIGAN at #1 OHIO STATE | COLUMBUS, OH | OHIO STATE, 42–39 |
| JAN. 8, 2007 | BCS CHAMPIONSHIP: #2 FLORIDA vs. #1 OHIO STATE | GLENDALE, AZ | FLORIDA, 41–14 |
| OCT. 27, 2007 | #1 OHIO STATE at #25 PENN STATE | UNIVERSITY PARK, PA | OHIO STATE, 37–17 |
| NOV. 17, 2007 | #7 OHIO STATE at #23 MICHIGAN | ANN ARBOR, MI | OHIO STATE, 14–3 |
| JAN. 7, 2008 | BCS CHAMPIONSHIP: #2 LSU at #1 OHIO STATE | NEW ORLEANS, LA | LSU, 38–24 |
| SEPT. 13, 2008 | #5 OHIO STATE at #1 USC | LOS ANGELES, CA | USC, 35–3 |
| OCT. 25, 2008 | #3 PENN STATE at #10 OHIO STATE | COLUMBUS, OH | PENN STATE, 13–6 |
| SEPT. 12, 2009 | #3 USC at #8 OHIO STATE | COLUMBUS, OH | USC, 18–15 |
| JAN. 1, 2010 | ROSE BOWL: #8 OHIO STATE vs. #7 OREGON | PASADENA, CA | OHIO STATE, 26–17 |
| OCT. 16, 2010 | #1 OHIO STATE at #18 WISCONSIN | MADISON, WI | WISCONSIN, 31–18 |
| NOV. 13, 2010 | PENN STATE at #7 OHIO STATE | COLUMBUS, OH | OHIO STATE, 38–24 |
| JAN. 4, 2011 | SUGAR BOWL: #8 ARKANSAS vs. #6 OHIO STATE | NEW ORLEANS, LA | OHIO STATE, 31–26 |
| SEPT. 29, 2012 | #14 OHIO STATE at #20 MICHIGAN STATE | EAST LANSING, MI | OHIO STATE, 17–16 |
| OCT. 5, 2013 | #4 OHIO STATE at #16 NORTHWESTERN | EVANSTON, IL | OHIO STATE, 40–30 |
| DEC. 7, 2013 | B1G CHAMPIONSHIP: #10 MICHIGAN STATE vs. #2 OHIO STATE | INDIANAPOLIS, IN | MICHIGAN STATE, 34–24 |
| NOV. 8, 2014 | #13 OHIO STATE at #7 MICHIGAN STATE | EAST LANSING, MI | OHIO STATE, 49–37 |
| JAN. 12, 2015 | CFP CHAMPIONSHIP: #5 OHIO STATE vs. #3 OREGON | ARLINGTON, TX | OHIO STATE, 42–20 |
| NOV. 21, 2015 | #9 MICHIGAN STATE at #2 OHIO STATE | COLUMBUS, OH | MICHIGAN STATE, 17–14 |
| OCT. 15, 2016 | #2 OHIO STATE at #8 WISCONSIN | MADISON, WI | OHIO STATE, 30–23 (OT) |
| NOV. 26, 2016 | #3 MICHIGAN at #2 OHIO STATE | COLUMBUS, OH | OHIO STATE, 30–27 (2OT) |
| DEC. 31, 2016 | FIESTA BOWL: #3 CLEMSON vs. #2 OHIO STATE | GLENDALE, AZ | CLEMSON, 31–0 |
| AUG. 31, 2017 | #2 OHIO STATE at INDIANA | BLOOMINGTON, IN | OHIO STATE, 49–21 |
| SEPT. 9, 2017 | #6 OKLAHOMA at #2 OHIO STATE | COLUMBUS, OH | OKLAHOMA, 31–16 |
| OCT. 28, 2017 | #2 PENN STATE at #6 OHIO STATE | COLUMBUS, OH | OHIO STATE, 39–38 |
| SEPT. 15, 2018 | #4 OHIO STATE vs. #16 TCU | FORT WORTH, TX | OHIO STATE, 40-28 |
| SEPT. 29, 2018 | #4 OHIO STATE at #10 PENN STATE | STATE COLLEGE, PA | OHIO STATE, 27–26 |
| NOV. 24, 2018 | #4 MICHIGAN at #10 OHIO STATE | COLUMBUS, OH | OHIO STATE, 62-39 |
| JAN. 1, 2019 | ROSE BOWL: #9 WASHINGTON vs. #6 OHIO STATE | PASADENA, CA | OHIO STATE, 28-23 |
| SEP. 28, 2019 | #6 OHIO STATE at NEBRASKA | LINCOLN, NE | OHIO STATE, 48-7 |
| NOV. 23, 2019 | #9 PENN STATE at #2 OHIO STATE | COLUMBUS, OH | OHIO STATE, 28-17 |
| DEC. 28, 2019 | FIESTA BOWL: #3 CLEMSON vs. #2 OHIO STATE | GLENDALE, AZ | CLEMSON, 29-23 |
| OCT. 31, 2020 | #5 OHIO STATE at #8 PENN STATE | STATE COLLEGE, PA | OHIO STATE, 38-25 |
| JAN. 1, 2021 | SUGAR BOWL: #3 OHIO STATE vs. #2 CLEMSON | NEW ORLEANS, LA | OHIO STATE, 49-28 |
| JAN. 11, 2021 | CFP CHAMPIONSHIP: #3 OHIO STATE vs. #1 ALABAMA | MIAMI GARDENS, FL | ALABAMA, 52-24 |
| NOV. 20, 2021 | #7 MICHIGAN STATE at #4 OHIO STATE | COLUMBUS, OH | OHIO STATE, 56-7 |
| NOV. 27, 2021 | #2 OHIO STATE at #6 MICHIGAN | ANN ARBOR, MI | MICHIGAN, 42-27 |
| JAN. 1, 2022 | ROSE BOWL: #6 OHIO STATE vs. #12 UTAH | PASADENA, CA | OHIO STATE, 48-45 |
| SEPT. 3, 2022 | #5 NOTRE DAME at #2 OHIO STATE | COLUMBUS, OH | OHIO STATE, 21-10 |
| NOV. 26, 2022 | #3 MICHIGAN at #2 OHIO STATE | COLUMBUS, OH | MICHIGAN, 45-23 |
| DEC. 31, 2022 | CFP SEMIFINAL: #4 OHIO STATE vs. #1 GEORGIA | ATLANTA, GA | GEORGIA, 42-41 |
| SEPT. 23, 2023 | #6 OHIO STATE at #9 NOTRE DAME | SOUTH BEND, IN | OHIO STATE, 17-14 |
| OCT. 21, 2023 | #6 PENN STATE at #3 OHIO STATE | COLUMBUS, OH | OHIO STATE, 20-12 |
| NOV. 25, 2023 | #2 OHIO STATE at #3 MICHIGAN | ANN ARBOR, MI | MICHIGAN, 30-24 |
| OCT. 12, 2024 | #2 OHIO STATE at #3 OREGON | EUGENE, OR | OREGON, 32-21 |
| NOV. 2, 2024 | #4 OHIO STATE at #3 PENN STATE | STATE COLLEGE, PA | OHIO STATE, 20-13 |
| NOV. 23, 2024 | #5 INDIANA at #2 OHIO STATE | COLUMBUS, OH | OHIO STATE, 38-15 |
| DEC. 21, 2024 | #9 TENNESSEE at #8 OHIO STATE | COLUMBUS, OH | OHIO STATE, 42-17 |
| JAN. 1, 2025 | ROSE BOWL: #8 OHIO STATE vs. #1 OREGON | PASADENA, CA | OHIO STATE, 41-21 |
| JAN. 10, 2025 | COTTON BOWL: #8 OHIO STATE vs. #5 TEXAS | DALLAS, TX | OHIO STATE, 28-14 |
| JAN. 20, 2025 | CFP CHAMPIONSHIP: #8 OHIO STATE vs. #7 NOTRE DAME | ATLANTA, GA | OHIO STATE, 34-23 |
| AUG. 30, 2025 | OHIO STATE vs. TEXAS | COLUMBUS, OH | TBD |
College GameDay will go live at 9 a.m. on ESPN on Aug. 30. The first two hours of the show will be broadcast from outside St. John Arena while the crew will move inside Ohio Stadium for the final hour of the show.
FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff pregame show will also be in Columbus for Ohio State vs. Texas as FOX will broadcast the game on its national network at noon.
