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Notre Dame Leprechaun Saves Lee Corso From Disastrous Moment on 'College GameDay'

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Kevin Borba | Last updated Jan 9, 2025 7:48 PM ET

The ESPN "College GameDay" show before Thursday night's Orange Bowl battle between the No. 7 seed Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the No. 6 Penn State Nittany Lions was filled with action.

It saw Kirk Herbstreit slip in a curse word, Pat McAfee try to counter-jinx Notre Dame by picking against them and Lee Corso nearly take a dive. The latter happened after the panel made their picks for the game, with two picks for Notre Dame and two for Penn State.

With Corso not on camera during that process, the camera then panned to him dressed as a leprechaun with Notre Dame's mascot as they walked onto the stage, indicating he was picking Notre Dame to win. While on stage, Corso and the mascot began to attempt a jig of sorts, which nearly resulted in Corso falling down. Luckily, he was caught by Notre Dame's mascot, and a disaster was avoided for the 89-year-old former football coach.

Just watched Lee Corso try and jig with the leprechaun and almost break a hip pic.twitter.com/rQUKPjOUJw
— JT (@cowboyJayT) January 10, 2025

Corso, who has been a part of "College GameDay" since its creation in 1987, has been the subject of much concern this college football season. Many fans have grown worried over the loose-cannon analyst's health, as he has seemingly slowed down following a stroke in 2009, which has affected his speech.

Luckily for Corso, on top of having the Notre Dame mascot there for him on Thursday, he also has fellow panelist Kirk Herbstreit looking out for him, as he often gives Corso cues and helps him stick to his notes. Something that also happened earlier in the show when Herbstreit reminded him to throw in a line about taking the under for the game.

It's unclear how long Corso will continue to be a part of the show, but college football fans will simply just have to cherish the moments that they have with him moving forward. He's best known for firing off spicy commentary and also wearing the headgear of the team whom he thinks will win in the game of the week.

As for the game itself, ESPN BET had Penn State as a 1.5-point favorite prior to kickoff.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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