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Lee Corso’s final appearance on ESPN’s College GameDay delivered the show’s most-watched episode of all time.
According to preliminary Nielsen ratings, ESPN averaged 3.5 million viewers for Saturday’s program, which paid tribute to the legendary college football analyst live from Columbus ahead of Ohio State’s 14–7 victory over Texas. The show was also simulcast on ESPNU.
As Corso, 90, made his last headgear pick, College GameDay peaked with 5.1 million viewers in its final 15 minutes, just before the noon ET slate of games kicked off.
Fox paid tribute to Corso, too, as its rival pregame show Big Noon Kickoff—also broadcasting live from Columbus—aired Corso’s final pick. Ohio State also put Corso’s final moments on the video boards inside Ohio Stadium.
Final viewership figures will be released Wednesday and will likely push the total number of viewers closer to 4 million.
Before Saturday, College GameDay had never surpassed 3 million viewers for an entire episode. The previous most-watched edition was 2.6 million viewers in November 2007, ahead of a No. 1 Kansas vs No. 2 Missouri matchup, according to Sports Media Watch.
Saturday’s episode was up 40% over last year’s Week 1 edition. The 2024 season was College GameDay’s most-watched on record, averaging 2.2 million viewers per episode.
The first episode of College GameDay in the post-Corso era will be in Norman on Saturday, ahead of Michigan–Oklahoma.
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