Legendary ESPN College Gameday host Lee Corso is retiring after 38 seasons of picking teams, and for most of that time, using his famous headgear picks. However, there is one headgear selection that Michigan fans will remember forever and thank Corso for.
Back in 2023, when Michigan was undefeated and playing in the National Championship against also undefeated Washington, it seemed like it was Michigan versus everyone. The gameday crew seemed pretty split on who to pick for the championship, and while Corso respected everything that Washington had done during the season, he was going with the Wolverines.
"I have great respect for Washington, but I'm picking Michigan."
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) January 9, 2024
CORSO IS TAKING MICHIGAN TO WIN THE #NationalChampionship#CollegeGameDay pic.twitter.com/WQDLlKVQjP
Os course, Michigan fans know what happened in the end, the Wolverines went on to put a beat down on the Huskies to top off their undefeated season and win the National Championship, their first since 1997.
While Corso uses headgear to pick a lot of his teams, Michigan doesn't have headgear for a mascot, so instead, he takes the iconic Michigan helmet and wears that anytime he has ever picked the Wolverines.
Corso did have one more Michigan game after that National Championship in the 2024 season. It was the Michigan-Texas game where the Wolverines were still ranked in the top 25 coming off their National Championship season, although this was a very different team. Many of the players from the 2023 team went onto the NFL, even former head coach Jim Harbaugh fled for the NFL.
So, for the Michigan vs. Texas game in Ann Arbor, it was a wonder who Corso was going to pick. The ESPN legend did go with Texas and was unfortunately correct in his selected as it was one of Michigan's worse losses of the season in 2024.
With Week 1 being Corso's final show on August 30, it doesn't seem as though ESPN College Gameday will be in Ann Arbor as Michigan takes on New Mexico. Many are speculating he will head to Columbus, Ohio, for the Ohio State vs. Texas game, the team he first picked as his headgear selection in 1995 when he chose Brutus the Buckeye, one of Corso's most picked mascot heads.
Even though Corso loves Brutus, Michigan fans will forever remember Corso picking the Wolverines in the National Championship and then Michigan sealing the victory not only for themselves, but for Corso.