10/24/2020 football Edit

Gameday Central: Michigan Wolverines Football At Minnesota Golden Gophers

Clayton Sayfie • Maize&BlueReview

Staff Writer

ESPN's 'College GameDay' was in Minneapolis ahead of the matchup between the No. 18 Michigan Wolverines and the No. 21 Minnesota Golden Gophers. Kickoff is set for primetime on ABC (7:30 p.m. ET).

The crowd will be limited to family members of both teams' players and coaches, but the stage is still a big one, in front of a primetime, national audience, to start off the season.

Michigan is breaking in a new quarterback in redshirt sophomore Joe Milton and replaces four starting offensive linemen. The Wolverines' defense returns arguably the top two defensive ends in the conference in junior Aidan Hutchinson and senior Kwity Paye.

On the other side, Minnesota returns a lethal combination with redshirt junior quarterback Tanner Morgan, who threw for over 3,000 yards and 30 touchdowns a year ago, and junior wide receiver Rashod Bateman, the Big Ten's reigning pass catcher of the year.

Michigan hasn't lost in Minneaplis since 1977, and the Gophers have only beaten the Wolverines three times since 1968. The last game the two teams played at TCF Bank Stadium was in 2015, when the Maize and Blue needed a goal-line stand as time expired to dispose of the Gophers.

Michigan Wolverines football plays at Minnesota for the first time since its thrilling win in 2015. (USA Today Sports Images)

Michigan Wolverines At Minnesota Game Information: What Time Is Kickoff?

Kickoff: 7:44 p.m. ET

TV: ABC

On The Call: Chris Fowler (play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (color) and Maria Taylor (sideline)

Radio: Jim Brandstatter (play-by-play), Dan Dierdorf (color) and Doug Karsch (sideline) will call the action on the Learfield/IMG Michigan Football Radio Network. Anchored by WWJ-AM (950) in Detroit.

Series Facts: This will be the 104th all-time meeting between Michigan and Minnesota. The Wolverines own a 75-25-3 advantage int he rivalry and have won 24 of the last 26 games played between the two schools. U-M has a 33-12-1 mark against the Gophers in games played in Minneapolis, including a 2-0 record in games at TCF Bank Stadium, the site of tonight's contest.

Line: Michigan is a 3-point favorite at most sportsbooks, per VegasInsider. The total points over/under is set at 53.5.

Weather Forecast For Kickoff: Michigan Wolverines At Minnesota

The projected temperature at kickoff in Minneapolis is 30 degrees, with a five percent chance of precipitation, per Weather.com. By midnight ET, the temperature is expected to drop down to 27 degrees, with a 25 percent chance for precipitation.