USC won a lot of high-profile games in the Lee Corso era, but not all

Lee Corso was right, to the chagrin of USC fans

On Thursday, it was announced that legendary ESPN College GameDay analyst Lee Corso will be retiring in August. Corso was a noted good luck charm for USC during his career, as the Trojans never lost a game when he donned their headgear.

One of Corso’s most iconic moments, however, was one that USC fans would prefer to forget. Prior to the 2006 Rose Bowl, nearly everyone was picking the Trojans to win and claim their third consecutive national championship. Corso, however, went against the grain and picked Texas to pull off the upset.

Of course, we all know how that story ended. Vince Young scored the game-winning touchdown in the final seconds, proving Corso correct, handing USC its first loss in over two years, and denying the Trojans a shot at history.

Despite this, however, USC fans still have many fond memories of Corso. His final visit to the Coliseum came in 2013, when he correctly picked the Trojans to upset No. 4 Stanford. Corso’s final time putting on the Trojan head gear was prior to the 2017 Rose Bowl, when he correctly picked USC to defeat Penn State.

In California, College GameDay starts at 6 AM on Saturdays, with Corso’s head gear pick coming around 9. Many USC fans—myself included—would wake up far earlier than they usually would on Saturday mornings primarily to watch Corso make his selection. College GameDay will not be the same without Corso on the desk, and he will be massively missed by college football fans around the country.