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

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