Countdown to IUFB Kickoff: 25 Days (Lee Corso)

Written By Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)

#25

We have hit the final quarter pole of our Countdown to IUFB Kickoff and today we decided to take a look at the legendary Lee Corso since he will be returning to Bloomington with ESPN’s College GameDay for the Hoosiers opener against Ohio State. Wide receiver Luke Timian is currently wearing number 25 for IU, but we covered him at day 82. 

Lee Corso (Former Coach)

-Record at IU: 41-68-2

-Bowl Game: 1979 Holiday Bowl

-Bucket Wins: 4

- Top 25 Wins: 4

Most fans know Lee Corso from his unique personality and enthusiasm when he is putting head gear on to pick winners on GameDay on Saturday mornings, however Corso was one of the most successful coaches in IU Football history. In fact, Corso has the third most wins as a coach in IUFB history behind Bill Mallory (69 wins) and Bo McMillian (63 wins).

Prior to coaching and an outstanding broadcast career, Corso was roaming the defensive backfields for Florida State in Tallahassee where he earned the nickname “Sunshine Scooter”. Between 1953 and 1957 Corso picked off 14 passes, a school record that stood for over 20 years.

After starring at Florida State, Corso would try his hand at coaching. He was a graduate assistant for FSU in 1958 before becoming the quarterback’s coach at Maryland. After a six-year stint for the Terrapins, Corso moved to Navy to coach the defensive backs.

After three seasons at Navy, Corso was ready for his first head coaching gig and landed at Louisville where he led the Cardinals to a 28-11-3 record with two first place finishes in the Missouri Valley Conference from 1969 through 1972. After those four seasons Corso would take his coaching skills north to Bloomington to try and revitalize the Hoosier Football program.

Lee Corso would be replacing John Pont, the coach who had taken Indiana to the 1968 Rose Bowl but had won just 12 games between 1969-1972. The Hoosiers would get off to a tough start under Corso in 1973 going just 2-9 (0-8), but would defeat West Virginia who was ranked 20th at the time and rival Kentucky.

1974 and 1975 weren’t much better as IU would win one game in 1974, a 34-3 win over Minnesota, and go 2-8-1 (1-6-1) in 1975, but in 1976 the Hoosiers would show signs of life.

The 1976 season was the beginning of a nice run for the Hoosiers as they went 5-6 (4-4) and finished in a tie for third in the Big Ten. That team would knock off Washington, Iowa and Purdue on the road while taking home contests against Northwestern and Wisconsin.

In 1977 IU finished with their first winning record in conference play since 1968. IU would reach the .500-mark as well going 5-5-1 (4-3-1). For the second consecutive season the Hoosiers would win the Old Oaken Bucket and claimed victories over LSU and 19th ranked Minnesota. 1978 would be a step back, but it was still a good season for IU football as they finished 4-7 (3-5) and knocked off the 15th ranked Washington Huskies in Bloomington.

The most successful season under Corso was the 1979 season when the Hoosiers would go 8-4 (5-3) and knock off the previously undefeated BYU Cougars in the Holiday Bowl 38-37 in one of the greatest games in IU history. Three of the four losses were to teams ranked in the top-12 with the fourth loss being a one-point defeat to Colorado. IU finished ranked 16th in the UPI poll and 19th in the AP poll.

Over the last three seasons of Corso’s tenure in Bloomington his teams would go 15-20 (10-16) with two more wins against Purdue. Sam Wyche would replace the fired Corso in 1983 for a season before Bill Mallory would rebuild the program starting in 1984.

While having a record below .500, Lee Corso’s Indiana teams were extremely competitive and fell victim to poor scheduling as they regularly played non-conference opponents in the top-25 or out on the west coast. Had the schedule have been more user friendly and if the bowl system was like it was today, Corso’s Hoosiers would have been to at least two more bowl games.

Lee Corso will be returning to Bloomington as part of ESPN’s coverage of Indiana’s season opener against Ohio State. Corso has been a staple on Saturday mornings with his entertaining picks since 1987. Expect Indiana and the fans to give him an extremely warm welcome.