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Picking the pickers: Each B1G guest picker on College GameDay
Published:
“Not so fast!”
Lee Corso’s famous words have been shouted at countless guest pickers on ESPN’s College GameDay. If we’re lucky, there will be countless more.
Here are the top guest pickers at each Big Ten school that can only hope to be yelled at by college football’s human mascot.
Illinois — Nick Offerman
Before he was Ron Swanson, he was a small-town Illinois kid who went to college in Champaign. That mustache belongs on national television at all times.
Indiana — Mark Cuban
Mavericks owner/Shark Tank regular/Billionaire/multi-million dollar IU donor…should I go on? He’s done it twice before, but neither were for his beloved Hoosiers.
Iowa — Mila Kunis
You want to see Ashton Kutcher? I want to see how much Mila has been paying attention on the sidelines.
Maryland — Scott Van Pelt
The guy bleeds red and gold and is obviously no stranger to GameDay having run a segment on the show.
Michigan — Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen
Can you imagine Corso sitting at a table with Gisele? Oh, Brady is cool, I guess.
Michigan State — Magic Johnson
Mr. Michigan State is shown as many times during Spartan basketball games as Tom Izzo. He wouldn’t turn down a little airtime for football, either.
Minnesota — Chris Pratt
No, Pratt isn’t a Minnesota grad but he did grow up in the state and is a passionate football fan. Few celebs are bigger right now, which would make for some brilliant Corso superhero references.
Nebraska — Warren Buffett
Surely Buffett would jump at the chance to represent the team he’s been watching for 84 years. And while he’s there, maybe he can buy the Huskers a headliner win.
Northwestern — Stephen Colbert
Any excuse to get the NU grad back on TV before he starts hosting “The Late Show” is a good one.
Ohio State — LeBron James
He did it in 2008, but that was in his first go-around in Cleveland. LeBron might have some different unfinished business after he incorrectly picked his Buckeyes to beat Penn State.
Penn State — Jeff Gordon
He has a new Penn State car after his partnership with Axalta Coating Systems. Though last time Gordon crossed over to a different sport on a national stage, it didn’t turn out so well.
Rutgers — Todd Frazier
The Toddfather owns New Jersey. Few are more entertaining in sports right now than the Rutgers grad.
Purdue — Jim Gaffigan
The comedian only spent one year at Purdue, where he tried walking on to the football team. He has come back several times since his undergraduate days. This is what he had to say before he performed in West Lafayette in 2007:
“I have so many fond memories from Purdue. Most seem to involve walking. I walked onto the football team and walked away after I didn’t like getting my head bashed in. I remember walking to some classes that were, for some reason, at 7 a.m., walking to Hardee’s at 11:30 at night, finally buying a bike, and then walking after it fell apart after two days. Go Boilers.”
Wisconsin — J.J. Watt
Corso should think twice before he corrects one of Watt’s picks. Really.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Tradition. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.