Looking back at Lee Corso's headgear picks for Tennessee in College GameDay history

ESPN on Thursday announced the retirement of longtime, legendary College GameDay analyst Lee Corso. The last GameDay appearance for the headgear-wearing, game-picking Corso will be August 30 for the start of the 2025 college football season.

Corso’s infamous game picks date back to the 1996 season and include 430 in total, with a 288-144 overall record. GameDay and Corso were on location for 22 Tennessee Football games, whether at home at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, on the road or at a neutral-site. 

Corso went 16-6 picking Tennessee games, including a 6-2 record when picking the Vols to win. Here’s a look back at Corso’s headgear picks for Tennessee:

1999: Tennessee over Notre Dame

Corso picked against Tennessee four times between September 1997 and September 1999 — Florida over Tennessee in 1997, Georgia over Tennessee in 1998, Florida State over Tennessee in the BCS National Championship Game on January 4, 1999, and Florida over Tennessee in 1999 — before finally picking the fourth-ranked Vols to beat No. 24 Notre Dame in Knoxville on November 6, 1999. Tennessee rolled to a 38-14 win over the Fighting Irish behind 196 yards passing and three touchdowns from Tee Martin and 232 yards rushing as a team, with two more scores on the ground.

2002: Tennessee over Florida

Corso picked No. 4 Tennessee over No. 10 Florida in Knoxville in September 2022, but the Vols weren’t up for the task in a 30-13 loss. Rex Grossman threw fore 324 yards and two touchdowns and the Gators ran for 131 yards and a score in the rain-soaked win at Neyland Stadium. 

2006: Tennessee over South Carolina

Corso picked No. 8 Tennessee to win at South Carolina in October 2006 and the Vols proved him right after scoring 17 straight points to start the fourth quarter on the way to a 31-24 win at Williams-Brice Stadium. Erik Ainge threw for 254 yards and two touchdowns. Robert Meachem caught five passes for 106 yards and Bret Smith caught both touchdown passes.

2012: Tennessee over Florida

Corso again picked No. 23 Tennessee to beat No. 18 Florida at home in 2012, with GameDay back in Knoxville for the first time in a decade, but the Vols fell 37-20 in the primetime kickoff. Tennessee led 20-13 midway through the third quarter, but the Gators closed with straight points, starting with an 80-yard Trey Burton touchdown run.

2016: Tennessee over Virginia Tech

Corso picked No. 17 Tennessee to beat Virginia Tech in the Battle at Bristol in 2016 and the Vols rolled to a 45-24 win at Bristol Motor Speedway, in front of a record-setting crowd of 156,990. Joshua Dobbs had five total touchdowns in the rout, throwing for three and rushing for two. The Hokies jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, before Tennessee answered with a 24-point second quarter and 45 of the game’s next 48 points.

2022: Tennessee over Florida

Corso picked No. 11 Tennessee to No. 20 Florida in Knoxville and the Vols took care of business in the first of two GameDay trips to Neyland Stadium. Hendon Hooker was dominant with 461 total yards and three total touchdowns. He completed 22 of 28 passes for 349 yards and two scores and ran 13 times for 112 yards and a touchdown. 

2022: Tennessee over Alabama

Corso’s last appearance in Knoxville was a legendary night at Neyland Stadium. Corso picked No. 6 Tennessee to upset No. 3 Alabama and the Vols did just that on a 40-yard walk-off field goal from Chase McGrath. Hooker threw for 385 yards and five touchdowns, with all five going to Jalin Hyatt, who caught six passes for 207 yards in his record-setting performance.

2024: Tennessee over Oklahoma

Corso’s last Tennessee pick was another Tennessee win. He picked the sixth-ranked Vols to win at No. 15 Oklahoma last September and Josh Heupel led his team to the win in his long-awaited return to Norman.