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Lee Corso picks Tennessee football for sixth time; Here are the past five

By Caleb Calhoun

Lee Corso kisses a Tennessee Volunteers football helmet on the set of the ESPN College GameDay stage outside of Ayres Hall on the University of Tennessee campus in Knoxville, Tenn. on Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022. The flagship ESPN college football pregame show returned for the tenth time to Knoxville as the No. 12 Vols hosted the No. 22 Gators.Kns Espn College Gameday
Lee Corso kisses a Tennessee Volunteers football helmet on the set of the ESPN College GameDay stage outside of Ayres Hall on the University of Tennessee campus in Knoxville, Tenn. on Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022. The flagship ESPN college football pregame show returned for the tenth time to Knoxville as the No. 12 Vols hosted the No. 22 Gators.Kns Espn College Gameday /
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Is it good or bad news for Tennessee football? Lee Corso pulled out Smokey and put on the Vols headgear Saturday, picking them to beat the Florida Gators. Historically, Corso has overwhelmingly bet against UT, donning the opposite team’s headgear 12 times when the Vols were playing in a College GameDay matchup.

This is just the sixth time he has picked UT and the third he has picked them against Florida. When he picks against them, they are 4-8. However, they are 3-2 when he picks in their favor. That’s a good sign for the Vols. On the other hand, he has picked Florida five times over the Vols, and they are 2-3 in those games.

Taking all that into account, there’s not much difference. The whole panel except Kirk Herbstreit picked the Vols. Let’s look back in history with Corso, though. This is what happened in the five games he picked up Tennessee football headgear on College GameDay.

ESPN College GameDay’s host wore Tennessee football Volunteers headgear against the Florida Gators. Kirk Herbstreit went the opposite way.

Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs (11) dumps confetti over his Tennessee teammates as they celebrate their 45-24 win over Virginia Tech at The Battle At Bristol Sunday, September 11, 2016 in Bristol, Tenn.Dobbs Battle At Bristol 2016
Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs (11) dumps confetti over his Tennessee teammates as they celebrate their 45-24 win over Virginia Tech at The Battle At Bristol Sunday, September 11, 2016 in Bristol, Tenn.Dobbs Battle At Bristol 2016 /

839. Final. 24. 847. 45

5. Sept. 10, 2016

The Vols’ last College GameDay matchup with Florida was two weeks after this one, and Lee Corso actually picked Florida in that one. UT won. However, this was the largest crowd ever to witness a college football game, and Corso, with Dale Earnhardt Jr. as a guest picker, picked up a racing helmet and picked the Vols.

They were facing the Virginia Tech Hokies and delivered for Corso. Despite falling behind 14-0 early, the Vols went on a 24-0 second-half run and turned this game into total domination, winning 45-24. The environment was legendary, as the game was at the Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tenn., and had 150,000 fans.

That spot is about equidistant from Knoxville and Blacksburg, Va., and it should have laid the foundation for a future rivalry. Tennessee football won that one, though, although Corso did almost hint that he was going to pick Virginia Tech before saying he couldn’t go against Smokey.

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