Corso picks against South Carolina football despite getting key to the city, McAfee claims Mayor of Cock Town title

The best College GameDay environment so far for the 2024 season was in Columbia, South Carolina. Gamecock fans were ready and rowdy as they started camping out around Gamecock Park shortly after midnight.

The party continued when the GameDay crew began their show at 9:00 AM, and even through Pat McAfee's constant jokes about Carolina's mascot name, the garnet and black faithful were impressive all morning.

Adding to the environment, Gamecock superfan Darius Rucker performed for the crowd outside of Williams-Brice Stadium, and South Carolina basketball coach Dawn Staley was the choice for the GameDay celebrity guest picker.

By the time the crew moved inside of Willy B, every corner of Williams-Brice was full of fans ready to make a difference for their Gamecocks as they took on the 16th-ranked LSU Tigers. The panel of Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee, Nick Saban, and Coach Staley made their picks from right next to the South Carolina sideline, and some of them endeared themselves to their hosts more than others.

Kirk Herbstreit did not pick the game because he was on the broadcast call, but Desmond Howard picked LSU, Nick Saban picked LSU (he previously coached there), Pat McAfee picked South Carolina and claimed to be the honory mayor of "Cock Town," and Dawn Staley naturally picked South Carolina.

When Lee Corso made his famous headgear pick, the College GameDay legend broke the tie by donning a Mike the Tiger head, picking the Bayou Bengals. Earlier in the day, Columbia mayor Daniel Rickenmann presented Corso with a key to the city, but the gesture did nothing to sway Corso's selection.

As toe meets leather in just a few minutes, Shane Beamer's South Carolina football team will be fighting for their first win over LSU since 1994 and their first 3-0 start to the season since Steve Spurrier and his visor roamed the sidelines in Columbia.