Kirk Herbstreit’s update on Lee Corso captures college football’s attention

In what can only be considered as one of the best runs in the history of college football, the No.1-seed Indiana Hoosiers capped off their perfect season with a championship.

The Hoosiers knocked off the No. 10-seed Miami Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, winning by a score of 27-21. The win not only made Indiana just the third team in college football history to finish with a 16-0 record, but it gave the program its first championship in football in school history.

Amid the celebration and the ESPN broadcast coming to an end, ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit made sure to shout out his former "College GameDay" counterpart, Lee Corso. Widely viewed as an icon of the sport for his work on the pregame show, the 90-year-old Corso retired from the show at the start of the year.

With that being said, Herbstreit revealed that Corso was still heavily following the season, and that the former Indiana head coach was extremely excited at the success the program was having.

"Chris (Fowler) and I really want to shoutout Lee Corso," Herbstreit said. "I talked with him earlier today. He is completely dialed in and excited about what Indiana was doing. He was picking Indiana. He knew they could pull this off and finish their season, and he said 'Hey, don't forget. 1979, their first bowl season. Our first bowl victory as a school. 1979, beat BYU.'"

"He was completely dialed in and excited about what Indiana was doing." @KirkHerbstreit gives a special shoutout to Lee Corso ❤️ pic.twitter.com/kYh5fdvtTg
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) January 20, 2026

An update that fans online seemed t o have loved.

"Great to see this shoutout," wrote one user.

"Lee Corso’s passion for Indiana football remains unmatched," said a second.

"Love you Coach Lee Corso," commented another.

"I couldn’t be happier for Lee," added another.

"We can’t not mention Coach Corso," exclaimed one fan.

"We love Lee Corso," commented another.

"Shoutout to Coach Corso," added another.

"This made up for him pumping up Miami all game," joked one fan.

Kirk Herbstreit talks to Lee Corso. — Kirk Herbstreit talks to Lee Corso on the set of ESPN College GameDay. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Long before Corso was the beloved analyst for ESPN who chose the winner of the game of the week by putting on that team's mascot headgear, he was the head coach at Indiana. While the school had a football program dating back to 1899, it didn't make its first bowl game appearance until 1967.

However, it wasn't until Corso's seventh year on the job in 1979 that they won their first-ever bowl game. In fact, the dog days of the program's football team were felt even up until this year, as it wasn't until this season that Indiana was able to shed the title of being the losingest team in college football history.

Leading the way for the Hoosiers in Saturday's game, as he has done all year, was Cal quarterback transfer, Fernando Mendoza. He fought through multiple dirty hits and overcame Miami's tenacious pass rush, throwing for 186 yards. However, it was his 12-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter that helped ice the game.

Although Corso wasn't able to be a part of "College GameDay" on Monday, he was able to witness a Hoosiers title, which had seemed inconceivable for practically the program's entire existence.