Lee Corso Pays Tribute To 'First Love' For Final Headgear Pick At Ohio Stadium

Lee Corso and college football go hand-in-hand after his 40 years of service on College GameDay. Saturday in Columbus, Corso and his College GameDay crew set up shop to cover the Ohio State Buckeyes game against the Texas Longhorns to open each of their seasons.

Corso was joined at the desk by Rece Davis, Nick Saban, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard and Pat McAfee, the five who will continue to carry on the legacy of the 90 year old.

Throughout the entire show, Corso was enamored by tributes, thoughtful words and gifts, including a customized Buckeyes helmet given to him by Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day.

Corso was hired by ESPN in 1987 after a career as a player and coach that landed him in many different Halls of Fame, including Indiana, Louisville and Florida State as well as the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame and the state of Florida Sports Hall of Fame.

It was not until 1996 that Corso started his headgear tradition, putting on the Brutus head and picking the Buckeyes to win in their matchup against Penn State.

Saturday marked his 431st and final headgear selection with his record coming in at a staggering 286-144, not including the Buckeyes matchup with Texas. He has worn the headgear of 69 different teams.

Corso announced his retirement back in April, saying "My family and I will be forever indebted for the opportunity to be part of ESPN and College Gameday for nearly 40 years. I have a treasure of many friends, fond memories and some unusual experiences to take with me into retirement.”

There was never any doubt that Corso would get the send off he deserved. Lead anchor of College GameDay, Rece Davis, stated, "With the popularity and cultural phenomenon that ‘GameDay’ became, there’s no one more responsible for that than Lee Corso. He changed the way the game was covered with the irreverence, the humor, the lack of a filter, all of those things that sort of set the tone and the standard."

It was a special moment Saturday morning at Ohio Stadium. Moving inside the stadium as the show closed out with Corso for one final time, the Ohio State Marching Band spelled out 'CORSO' with the crowd and millions at home awaiting the final headgear pick.