While the Texas and Ohio State game might have been the biggest game of the season, the hours before kick-off were focused on another main character of college game days.
Lee Corso made his final appearance on ESPN College GameDay as the show kicked off the first full Saturday of the season, and everybody, even FOX's Big Noon Kickoff, was focused on Coach's last hurrah.
During the show, ESPN cut to an on-field interview of Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian, who was walking around The Shoe hours before his team took the field. Of course, he was asked what he thought of Corso's legacy.
Sark immediately started praising Corso, going as far as to say that the world of college football wouldn't be as popular if it weren't for the ESPN analyst's career on College GameDay.
"The popularity and the expansion for college football to grow, that wouldn't have happened without Lee Corso," Sarkisian said of the beloved college football icon. "Coach Corso, thank you very much for all that you've done for our sport. I love you, man. We wouldn't be where we are today, in the state of college football, without you."
Corso started on the show nearly four decades ago, when College GameDay first aired in 1987, and he started making a headgear selection in 1996. Where did his first-ever headgear pick take place?
Well, none other than Columbus, OH, where the Texas Longhorns and Ohio State Buckeyes were playing after his final appearance, featuring his pick between Hook'Em's headgear and Brutus's.
"We wouldn't be where we are today, in the state of college football without you."
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) August 30, 2025
Steve Sarkisian on what Coach Corso means to college football 🧡 pic.twitter.com/d70L9OTlYS
At the end of Corso's last appearance, he would pick between the Buckeyes' headgear and the Longhorns' headgear, capping off a 40-year-long career that was filled with 432 game-day selections.
Texas and Ohio State were scheduled to kick off at 11 a.m. CT from Columbus, and the game would be broadcast on FOX.