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Michigan vs. Minnesota Preview: How to Watch, Score Predictions and More

Everything you need to know about Saturday's battle for the Little Brown Jug, including start time, how to watch, the rest of week nine's slate and more.

Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

The bye week is in the rear-view mirror for the No. 15 Michigan Wolverines (5-2, 2-1) as they head to the Twin Cities to take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers (4-3, 1-2).

Michigan is looking to bounce back in a big way following the last-second loss to MSU two weeks ago and they are in good position to grab a nice road win on Halloween night.

The storyline of the week revolves around Minnesota head coach Jerry Kill's decision to retire due to growing concerns over his health. Defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys steps in to take over the team in the interim. The emotional response from the Gophers could play a big part in how this game shakes out.

The biggest key for Michigan seems to come in the form of not letting the same game end up as two losses. Heartbreak against MSU aside, they have had two weeks to regroup and refocus and are expected to do just that on Saturday night.

De'Veon Smith and Drake Johnson are expected to be healthy and good to go, which is needed to get the run game back on track. The Wolverines have been making steady progress each week, but ran into a brick wall against the Spartans.

Defensively, Michigan should be able to continue it's dominance. Minnesota is a pedestrian team offensively and Mitch Leidner has struggled a bit this year. Harbaugh says when you go on the road, you have to "pack a defense." They'll do just that.

In terms of a prediction, Michigan should be able to take care of business this week pretty easily and bring the Little Brown Jug back to Ann Arbor. I have the Wolverines winning by a score of 34-13.

Be sure to use The Crowd's Line widget below to put your score predictions in and compare with the rest of the community.

Game Info

Teams: #15 Michigan at Minnesota

Date: October 31st, 2015

Location: TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, MN (52,525)

Kickoff: 7 p.m. ET

Television: ESPN/WatchESPN

Radio: Michigan/IMG Sports Network (for a list of affiliates, click here)

Spread: Michigan -13.5

Fun Facts

  • Michigan is 73-25-3 all-time against Minnesota and have won 22 of the last 24 meetings.
  • Michigan has won the last 15 meetings on the road against Minnesota going back to 1977.
  • Brad Nessler, Todd Blackledge and Holly Rowe will be on the call for Saturday's game.
  • The Little Brown Jug is the oldest trophy game in college football, dating back to 1903. It started when Michigan left behind a water jug at Minnesota in its haste to get off the field after a wild finish and crazy loss. Minnesota painted it and kept it as its own. When Fielding Yost called to get the jug back, he was told they would have to win it back, and Michigan did just that the next time the two teams played in 1909. The rest is history.

Hitting the Links: MnB's Michigan vs. Minnesota Coverage

10-30 - Michigan vs. Minnesota: Staff Roundtable and Predictions

10-29 - The Michigan Man Podcast 275: Minnesota Preview with Gopher Radio Voice Michael Grimm

10-29 - S&P+ Projects Michigan to Win Big

10-29 - Behind Enemy Lines: Q&A with The Daily Gopher

10-28 - Minnesota HC Jerry Kill Retires, Tracy Claeys Named Replacement

10-28 - Getting to Know the Minnesota Golden Gophers

10-27 - The Michigan Man Podcast 274: The Wolverine's Michael Spath Joins the Show

10-27 - Week Nine B1G Odds: Michigan Laying Double Digits

10-26 - Harbaugh on Little Brown Jug: "We Want It"

10-26 - Freep Column: State of the Wolverines After the Bye

10-25 - Michigan Opens as a 13.5 Point Favorite Over Minnesota

Week Nine College Football Television Schedule

Thu, Oct 29, 2015
7:00 PM ET
ESPNWatchESPN
North Carolina at (23) Pittsburgh
7:30 PM ET
FS1FoxSportsGo
West Virginia at (5) TCU
7:30 PM ET
CBSS
Western Michigan at Eastern Michigan
7:30 PM ET
ESPN3WatchESPN
Buffalo at Miami (OH)
7:30 PM ET
ESPNUWatchESPN
Texas State at Georgia Southern
10:30 PM ET
ESPNWatchESPN
Oregon at Arizona State
Fri, Oct 30, 2015
7:00 PM ET
ESPN2WatchESPN
Louisville at Wake Forest
7:00 PM ET
ESPNUWatchESPN
East Carolina at Connecticut
8:00 PM ET
FS1FoxSportsGo
Louisiana Tech at Rice
10:15 PM ET
ESPN2WatchESPN
Wyoming at Utah State
Sat, Oct 31, 2015
12:00 PM ET
FSNFoxSportsGo
Western Kentucky at Old Dominion
12:00 PM ET
ESPNNWatchESPN
UCF at Cincinnati
12:00 PM ET
CBSS
South Florida at Navy
12:00 PM ET
ESPN2WatchESPN
Illinois at Penn State
12:00 PM ET
ESPNUWatchESPN
Nebraska at Purdue
12:00 PM ET
BTNBTN2Go
Rutgers at Wisconsin
12:00 PM ET
ESPNWatchESPN
(19) Mississippi at Auburn
12:00 PM ET
SECNWatchESPN
South Carolina at Texas A&M
12:00 PM ET
ABC
Syracuse at (17) Florida State
12:30 PM ET
ESPN3WatchESPN
Virginia Tech at Boston College
1:00 PM ET
ESPN3WatchESPN
Massachusetts at Ball State
2:00 PM ET
ESPN3WatchESPN
Central Michigan at Akron
2:30 PM ET
ESPN3WatchESPN
UTEP at Southern Miss
3:00 PM ET
ESPN3WatchESPN
Georgia Tech at Virginia
3:00 PM ET
FOXFoxSportsGo
USC at Cal
3:00 PM ET
PAC12Pac-12 Live
Colorado at (24) UCLA
3:30 PM ET
ABC/ESPN2WatchESPN
(3) Clemson at NC State
3:30 PM ET
CBSSEC Live
(11) Florida at Georgia
3:30 PM ET
FSNFoxSportsGo
Marshall at Charlotte
3:30 PM ET
FS1FoxSportsGo
(14) Oklahoma at Kansas
3:30 PM ET
ESPNWatchESPN
(12) Oklahoma State at Texas Tech
3:30 PM ET
ABC/ESPN2WatchESPN
Maryland at (10) Iowa
3:30 PM ET
ESPNUWatchESPN
Boise State at UNLV
3:30 PM ET
CBSS
San Diego State at Colorado State
3:30 PM ET
ESPN3WatchESPN
Troy at Appalachian State
4:00 PM ET
ESPNNWatchESPN
Tulsa at SMU
4:00 PM ET
SECNWatchESPN
Tennessee-Martin at Arkansas
5:00 PM ET
ESPN3WatchESPN
Louisiana-Monroe at Louisiana-Lafayette
7:00 PM ET
ESPN3WatchESPN
Georgia State at Arkansas State
7:00 PM ET
CBSS
Tulane at (16) Memphis
7:00 PM ET
PAC12Pac-12 Live
Oregon State at (13) Utah
7:00 PM ET
ESPN2WatchESPN
Vanderbilt at (18) Houston
7:00 PM ET
ESPNUWatchESPN
Miami (FL) at (22) Duke
7:00 PM ET
ESPNWatchESPN
(15) Michigan at Minnesota
7:00 PM ET
FS1FoxSportsGo
Texas at Iowa State
7:00 PM ET
ASN
Texas-San Antonio at North Texas
7:30 PM ET
SECNWatchESPN
Tennessee at Kentucky
8:00 PM ET
ABC
(9) Notre Dame at (21) Temple
8:00 PM ET
ESPN3WatchESPN
Idaho at New Mexico State
10:30 PM ET
CBSS
Air Force at Hawaii
10:30 PM ET
ESPNWatchESPN
(8) Stanford at Washington State
11:00 PM ET
FS1FoxSportsGo
Arizona at Washington