ESPN’s College GameDay set to return to University of Minnesota

After visiting the University for the first time ever last year, ESPN College GameDay will return for the Gophers first game of the 2020 season.

Image by The Minnesota Daily

A Gophers football player watches from the sidelines during a game on Sept. 16, 2017.

by Tony Liebert, Sports Reporter

Published October 17, 2020

On Saturday, ESPN announced that it will bring back College GameDay to the University of Minnesota for the Gophers season opener against Michigan.

To open the 2020 football season, No. 24 Minnesota is scheduled to welcome No. 19 Michigan to TCF Bank Stadium on Oct. 24. Before the game kicks off at 6:30 p.m. on ABC, the Gophers’ football program will once again be in the national spotlight.

ESPN’s College GameDay is a weekly college football preview show that travels across the country, broadcasting the show from where they believe to be the week’s top matchup. Next week’s show will air from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturday. GameDay visited Minnesota for the first time ever in last year’s regular-season finale, a 38-17 loss to Wisconsin.

This year’s College GameDay program has a much different feel. Last November when Minnesota hosted Wisconsin, Gophers fans packed the Northrop Mall on campus to see Rece Davis, Desmond Howard, Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso and guest picker Eric Decker break down the matchup.

This year, no fans are present and Corso makes his mascot headgear selection from his Florida home, where the rest of the on-air crew will be seated at their typical desk setting inside the stadium to maintain social distancing.

No fans is quite a change from the show’s typical atmosphere, but fans can participate virtually through their website, www.collegegameday.com.