Lee Corso
Take away the mascot heads, the sometimes-outrageous comments and the other aspects of the wacky persona that Lee Corso has cultivated over his years in coaching and broadcasting, and you?re left with perhaps the nation?s most passionate and knowledgeable football fan. Athlon Sports sat down with this unlikely spokesman for the college game to get his take on such diverse topics as the 2005 season, the overall health of college football and the unique electricity of an ESPN College GameDay campus visit.
By Athlon Sports
Published: August 2, 2005
Athlon Sports: Is there any way you can see a team other than USC being a preseason No. 1?
Lee Corso: Well, yeah, because of the fact that I think it?s been (awhile) since a team has been in the national championship and then repeated. Psychologically it?s very, very difficult to do. Now, you?ll say, ?Well they did it last year.? No, they didn?t really do it. They only had half of the thing (in 2003). Psychologically, it?s very difficult to get the guys to work hard enough, and the opponents bring their ?A? game every single time because you?re No. 1 now. So now everybody that?s in college football is shooting for USC, and it?s very, very difficult to repeat.
Are you surprised how quickly USC has become so dominant?
No. There is more talent in about 10 square blocks in L.A. than there is in the rest of the country.
What are your thoughts on the Pac-10?
People don?t seem to respect the Pac-10. Do you think it?s up there with the other top leagues?
Oh yeah. You know why (people) don?t respect that league? They don?t see them on television. The Pac-10 doesn?t have an ESPN contract. Nobody sees them. They don?t have an ESPN contract, so therefore they?re not on television and that?s why people don?t understand how good they are. Oh, they?re very, very good, particularly offensively. The best game I saw last year, talent-wise, was not the (national championship game). It was Southern California versus Cal. That was the most talent on the field that I saw last year.
Who was the best player you saw in 2004?
Matt Leinart, by far. He had three second-half rallies on the road last year to win major games. So yeah, he was by far head and shoulders the best football player I saw last year, although the best game I saw played was by (Cal quarterback) Aaron Rodgers. If I remember, he had 23 straight completions against Southern California ? in the Coliseum, away from home. That was the most magnificent game I?ve seen in years and years and years. But the best player is Matt Leinart because of what he did in the second half of games.
Who?s the best player you?ve seen in college football in the past decade?
Matt Leinart.
If you had to win one game for a national title, who would you want calling your plays as the offensive coordinator?
Norm Chow. Head and shoulders, he?s the best offensive coordinator in all of football ? and that includes the pros in my mind. There?s nobody better.
Who would you want as your defensive coordinator?
Pete Carroll. I think he?s the best, by far, in college. I?m prejudiced toward Jim Johnson of the Philadelphia Eagles because he worked for me at Indiana. He?s a heck of a coach. Also, a guy named Trent Walters, who is the defensive backfield coach of the Eagles, he worked for me on my Indiana staff as well, and we still didn?t win. I mean that shows you that I didn?t have any players, but I had two of the best defensive coaches in all of football coaching for me.
What?s the best coaching job in America?
Notre Dame. Because Notre Dame is not a job ? it?s a position.
OK, where?s the easiest place to win?
There?s not any. There?s no place easy anymore. As soon as the (scholarship) numbers went down to 85 there became absolutely no job in America that?s a gimme because there?s so many good football players. See when I coached there was a 120 limit. Well, Woody (Hayes) and Bo (Schembechler) and those guys used to take 40 guys that they didn?t want and put them on the bench so that we couldn?t have them. Well, that?s no longer the case.
What coach would you want your son to play for if your son had to sign a letter of intent today?
Probably the way that it?s going, Pete Carroll. I think he?s got the right attitude. I think he?s a good guy. I think he?s got his life, his personal life and his coaching life in proper perspective. I think he?s a good human being. I think he enjoys having some fun. He has a lot of the things that I believe in.
What is your favorite stadium?
Tennessee. Saturday night, Rocky Top. No comparison. It?s gotta be at night. It?s gotta be at Rocky Top. The intensity and that orange and that Rocky Top stays with you?that?s by far the best venue to play a game of football.
OK, Which league do you think is the best right now?
The SEC. Head and shoulders. Best athletes, best coaches, best stadiums, most rabid fans, most intelligent fans. Everything.
What is the best rivalry in the game?
Army-Navy.
Other than Army-Navy, because I knew you were going to say that.
What the hell did you ask me for then?
OK, what?s the second-best rivalry in the country?
Thank you very much. Second-best rivalry? I say USC-Notre Dame?I got a chance to see it for the first time this year. We had a College GameDay there. That was an electric feeling ? there was electricity in the stands. That?s the second-best rivalry.
What game are you looking forward to this year?
Ohio State-Texas. Two of the best teams in the nation in Columbus, Ohio. Should be a sensational game. Sensational. Ohio State-Texas, September 10th, Columbus, Ohio.
What do you make of the quick hook that some schools have been employing?
It?s no longer five years. I know each case is different but?. Money. The more they pay you the more you?ve got to produce.
You think that?s a fair trade-off for coaches?
Oh yeah. We used to get fired making less money. So now, you might as well ? if you?re gonna get the hook ? you might as well get a lot of money.
So are you saying it?s a bad thing or just?.
No. It?s life. It?s not a bad thing. It?s not a good thing.
Specifically, do you think Tyrone Willingham got fired too quickly?
Yeah. I think Notre Dame prostituted their integrity. See, everybody says it was a color issue. It was. It was green. It was money. Tyrone Willingham got fired because he took them to two (non-BCS) bowl games. When Notre Dame goes to a bowl game, they get every single penny of the payout. He wasn?t producing for Notre Dame when it came to the one area. He wasn?t giving them (enough) money.
The greatest quote of the year ? this was the quote of the century for me. (Notre Dame athletic director) Kevin White said the following thing: ?From Sunday through Friday our football program has exceeded all expectations, but on Saturday we struggle.?
If that doesn?t tell you the bottom line of coaching?that?s the only athletic director I?ve ever heard of that told the truth right out. Tyrone was a great guy, graduating all the guys, but he wasn?t winning enough games on Saturday. And the games he won weren?t enough to take them to major bowl games. So I think Notre Dame, of all the schools, should have never done that, and I?m going tell you why. They?d never fired a coach ? with Bob Davie, Gerry Faust ? that had time on his contract. Now they did it for money. They prostituted their integrity to try to win some more football games, and to me it wasn?t worth it. To me, that?s a black mark on Notre Dame. You?ll say to me, ?Well, everybody else does it.? Yeah, everybody but Notre Dame. Notre Dame should have never done that.
Who are some underrated coaches out there, head coaches?
Kirk Ferentz, Iowa. Very, very good football coach. What he?s done at Iowa is very, very good. I think he?s done a magnificent job. Howard Schnellenberger (at Florida Atlantic) is probably the best all-around coach in America, in my opinion. Nobody better than him. There have been three major coaching turnarounds that have been the best ever ? Bill Snyder at Kansas State; George Welsh winning at Virginia and Navy; and Howard Schnellenberger at Florida Atlantic, taking over at a school that didn?t even have a ball.
Assess the overall health of the college game right now.
I think it?s wonderful, and the biggest thing that makes it good is this new BCS controversy. I love it. That?s good stuff. You know why? The one major thing people continue to lose sight of is the sense of urgency with the regular season in college football now. That?s what it?s got over every other sport. In college football, you lose once, you lose twice for sure, and you?re out of it. So every single game has a sense of urgency during the regular season, and I think that?s what people have forgotten about the BCS. Texas plays Ohio State the second week this season. That means a hell of a lot. Florida State opens with Miami. So I think, yeah, I think it?s in great shape. As long as they can continue to crack down on the guys that are not doing it right, which they seem to have done.
Now looking ahead to this year, can you think of a year that has had maybe as much star power as this year with guys like Adrian Peterson, Reggie Bush, and Matt Leinart back? And Teddy Ginn?
I?ve never seen anything like it. Never seen anything like it. I mean in each position there?s a guy that?s as good as any that has played in a long, long time. Take Bush and Ginn there, you take Peterson, you take (Texas?) Vince Young as an athlete, a quarterback. You take Matt Leinart coming back. I mean these guys are great football players. So, no, I don?t think I?ve seen more star power coming back in a year in a long, long time.
cont.........
Take away the mascot heads, the sometimes-outrageous comments and the other aspects of the wacky persona that Lee Corso has cultivated over his years in coaching and broadcasting, and you?re left with perhaps the nation?s most passionate and knowledgeable football fan. Athlon Sports sat down with this unlikely spokesman for the college game to get his take on such diverse topics as the 2005 season, the overall health of college football and the unique electricity of an ESPN College GameDay campus visit.
By Athlon Sports
Published: August 2, 2005
Athlon Sports: Is there any way you can see a team other than USC being a preseason No. 1?
Lee Corso: Well, yeah, because of the fact that I think it?s been (awhile) since a team has been in the national championship and then repeated. Psychologically it?s very, very difficult to do. Now, you?ll say, ?Well they did it last year.? No, they didn?t really do it. They only had half of the thing (in 2003). Psychologically, it?s very difficult to get the guys to work hard enough, and the opponents bring their ?A? game every single time because you?re No. 1 now. So now everybody that?s in college football is shooting for USC, and it?s very, very difficult to repeat.
Are you surprised how quickly USC has become so dominant?
No. There is more talent in about 10 square blocks in L.A. than there is in the rest of the country.
What are your thoughts on the Pac-10?
People don?t seem to respect the Pac-10. Do you think it?s up there with the other top leagues?
Oh yeah. You know why (people) don?t respect that league? They don?t see them on television. The Pac-10 doesn?t have an ESPN contract. Nobody sees them. They don?t have an ESPN contract, so therefore they?re not on television and that?s why people don?t understand how good they are. Oh, they?re very, very good, particularly offensively. The best game I saw last year, talent-wise, was not the (national championship game). It was Southern California versus Cal. That was the most talent on the field that I saw last year.
Who was the best player you saw in 2004?
Matt Leinart, by far. He had three second-half rallies on the road last year to win major games. So yeah, he was by far head and shoulders the best football player I saw last year, although the best game I saw played was by (Cal quarterback) Aaron Rodgers. If I remember, he had 23 straight completions against Southern California ? in the Coliseum, away from home. That was the most magnificent game I?ve seen in years and years and years. But the best player is Matt Leinart because of what he did in the second half of games.
Who?s the best player you?ve seen in college football in the past decade?
Matt Leinart.
If you had to win one game for a national title, who would you want calling your plays as the offensive coordinator?
Norm Chow. Head and shoulders, he?s the best offensive coordinator in all of football ? and that includes the pros in my mind. There?s nobody better.
Who would you want as your defensive coordinator?
Pete Carroll. I think he?s the best, by far, in college. I?m prejudiced toward Jim Johnson of the Philadelphia Eagles because he worked for me at Indiana. He?s a heck of a coach. Also, a guy named Trent Walters, who is the defensive backfield coach of the Eagles, he worked for me on my Indiana staff as well, and we still didn?t win. I mean that shows you that I didn?t have any players, but I had two of the best defensive coaches in all of football coaching for me.
What?s the best coaching job in America?
Notre Dame. Because Notre Dame is not a job ? it?s a position.
OK, where?s the easiest place to win?
There?s not any. There?s no place easy anymore. As soon as the (scholarship) numbers went down to 85 there became absolutely no job in America that?s a gimme because there?s so many good football players. See when I coached there was a 120 limit. Well, Woody (Hayes) and Bo (Schembechler) and those guys used to take 40 guys that they didn?t want and put them on the bench so that we couldn?t have them. Well, that?s no longer the case.
What coach would you want your son to play for if your son had to sign a letter of intent today?
Probably the way that it?s going, Pete Carroll. I think he?s got the right attitude. I think he?s a good guy. I think he?s got his life, his personal life and his coaching life in proper perspective. I think he?s a good human being. I think he enjoys having some fun. He has a lot of the things that I believe in.
What is your favorite stadium?
Tennessee. Saturday night, Rocky Top. No comparison. It?s gotta be at night. It?s gotta be at Rocky Top. The intensity and that orange and that Rocky Top stays with you?that?s by far the best venue to play a game of football.
OK, Which league do you think is the best right now?
The SEC. Head and shoulders. Best athletes, best coaches, best stadiums, most rabid fans, most intelligent fans. Everything.
What is the best rivalry in the game?
Army-Navy.
Other than Army-Navy, because I knew you were going to say that.
What the hell did you ask me for then?
OK, what?s the second-best rivalry in the country?
Thank you very much. Second-best rivalry? I say USC-Notre Dame?I got a chance to see it for the first time this year. We had a College GameDay there. That was an electric feeling ? there was electricity in the stands. That?s the second-best rivalry.
What game are you looking forward to this year?
Ohio State-Texas. Two of the best teams in the nation in Columbus, Ohio. Should be a sensational game. Sensational. Ohio State-Texas, September 10th, Columbus, Ohio.
What do you make of the quick hook that some schools have been employing?
It?s no longer five years. I know each case is different but?. Money. The more they pay you the more you?ve got to produce.
You think that?s a fair trade-off for coaches?
Oh yeah. We used to get fired making less money. So now, you might as well ? if you?re gonna get the hook ? you might as well get a lot of money.
So are you saying it?s a bad thing or just?.
No. It?s life. It?s not a bad thing. It?s not a good thing.
Specifically, do you think Tyrone Willingham got fired too quickly?
Yeah. I think Notre Dame prostituted their integrity. See, everybody says it was a color issue. It was. It was green. It was money. Tyrone Willingham got fired because he took them to two (non-BCS) bowl games. When Notre Dame goes to a bowl game, they get every single penny of the payout. He wasn?t producing for Notre Dame when it came to the one area. He wasn?t giving them (enough) money.
The greatest quote of the year ? this was the quote of the century for me. (Notre Dame athletic director) Kevin White said the following thing: ?From Sunday through Friday our football program has exceeded all expectations, but on Saturday we struggle.?
If that doesn?t tell you the bottom line of coaching?that?s the only athletic director I?ve ever heard of that told the truth right out. Tyrone was a great guy, graduating all the guys, but he wasn?t winning enough games on Saturday. And the games he won weren?t enough to take them to major bowl games. So I think Notre Dame, of all the schools, should have never done that, and I?m going tell you why. They?d never fired a coach ? with Bob Davie, Gerry Faust ? that had time on his contract. Now they did it for money. They prostituted their integrity to try to win some more football games, and to me it wasn?t worth it. To me, that?s a black mark on Notre Dame. You?ll say to me, ?Well, everybody else does it.? Yeah, everybody but Notre Dame. Notre Dame should have never done that.
Who are some underrated coaches out there, head coaches?
Kirk Ferentz, Iowa. Very, very good football coach. What he?s done at Iowa is very, very good. I think he?s done a magnificent job. Howard Schnellenberger (at Florida Atlantic) is probably the best all-around coach in America, in my opinion. Nobody better than him. There have been three major coaching turnarounds that have been the best ever ? Bill Snyder at Kansas State; George Welsh winning at Virginia and Navy; and Howard Schnellenberger at Florida Atlantic, taking over at a school that didn?t even have a ball.
Assess the overall health of the college game right now.
I think it?s wonderful, and the biggest thing that makes it good is this new BCS controversy. I love it. That?s good stuff. You know why? The one major thing people continue to lose sight of is the sense of urgency with the regular season in college football now. That?s what it?s got over every other sport. In college football, you lose once, you lose twice for sure, and you?re out of it. So every single game has a sense of urgency during the regular season, and I think that?s what people have forgotten about the BCS. Texas plays Ohio State the second week this season. That means a hell of a lot. Florida State opens with Miami. So I think, yeah, I think it?s in great shape. As long as they can continue to crack down on the guys that are not doing it right, which they seem to have done.
Now looking ahead to this year, can you think of a year that has had maybe as much star power as this year with guys like Adrian Peterson, Reggie Bush, and Matt Leinart back? And Teddy Ginn?
I?ve never seen anything like it. Never seen anything like it. I mean in each position there?s a guy that?s as good as any that has played in a long, long time. Take Bush and Ginn there, you take Peterson, you take (Texas?) Vince Young as an athlete, a quarterback. You take Matt Leinart coming back. I mean these guys are great football players. So, no, I don?t think I?ve seen more star power coming back in a year in a long, long time.
cont.........
Last edited:
Hope others enjoyed it as much as I did. Not just because he talked highly of USC. I thought Athlon asked very good questions and Corso gave solid answers. Especially the last 2. We see this guy every Sat. morning so it was nice to get to know more about him. Hopefully they do the same with the other ESPN analysts. Would be interesting to see their different viewpoints. I know there are many who hate Corso or the other commentators but people forget it is not their job to please everyone. Even if they tried too it would be an impossible task.
