ESPN's College GameDay announces Week 9 destination

College GameDay, ESPN’s flagship college football show, announced its Week 9 location on Monday, tweeting that it will travel to East Lansing, Michigan for a historic matchup between Michigan and Michigan State.

"𝙏𝙃𝙄𝙎 𝙄𝙎 𝙎𝙋𝘼𝙍𝙏𝘼!"

We're heading to East Lansing for No. 6 @UMichFootball vs. No. 8 @MSU_Football LIVE from Ralph Young Field! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/3Gh5KVHHxb

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) October 25, 2021

College GameDay will be on-site to preview what could be an epic Big Ten showdown as No. 8 Michigan State hosts No. 6 Michigan — the first time that the Wolverines and Spartans have faced as AP top-10 opponents since 1964, when Michigan upended Michigan State to punch a ticket to the Rose Bowl.

The in-state rivalry, which will host both College Gameday and FOX Noon Kickoff this weekend, has provided some iconic moments in college football history, from the “Trouble with the Snap” play in 2015 to Charles Woodson reeling in another pick to solidify his Heisman Trophy-worthy application. Michigan and Michigan State have rarely met as top-ranked opponents in recent years; the Spartans claimed a win in the series in 2020, 27-24, to break a two-year losing streak to Jim Harbaugh’s Wolverines.

College GameDay has not traveled to East Lansing since Sept. 12, 2015, when then-No. 5 Michigan State topped No. 7 Oregon, 31-28.

Paul Finebaum digs up Jim Harbaugh, Michigan after earning national attention, College GameDay

ESPN college football analyst Paul Finebaum has been hard on Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh, who has an underwhelming history in seven seasons at Michigan. Harbaugh has made it to five bowl games, winning just one, and has a 56-22 record while coaching the Wolverines.

This season, however, is a much different story. Harbaugh has coached Michigan to a 7-0 start, and with a chance to make it 8-0 against an undefeated Michigan State program — in front of College GameDay, no less — Finebaum is buying back in on Harbaugh, unburying him from a mound of previously criticism.

“I think all eyes are on Jim Harbaugh,” Finebaum said of the Wolverines’ coach on The ESPN College Football Podcast. “This is a guy that I have buried. I have been to Lowe’s and Home Depot buying the biggest shovels I can find because I have now repositioned him in all his Maize and Blue. With a win against Michigan State, which should not have been considered that big of a deal when August ended, he is back where he was a couple of years ago, waiting for Ohio State. So, I think it’s all about Harbaugh.”

Harbaugh’s Michigan Wolverines, off to the best start in his seven-year tenure at the helm, enter the contest with a 7-0 record. But make no mistake: Michigan State has plenty of reason to be excited, too. The Spartans have pulled off a remarkable rebuild in Mel Tucker’s second season in East Lansing, and they boast a 7-0 record of their own.

Finebaum said on The ESPN College Football Podcast that he believes Michigan will manage to defeat its rival on the road, and Harbaugh’s defense seems to be a big reason why. The Wolverines, through seven games, have allowed an average of just 299 yards per game, which ranks 11th in the nation and fourth among Power Five programs.

“My headline Sunday morning is, ‘Harbaugh back from the dead,’” Finebaum said of college football’s marquee Week 9 game.

While Michigan State is coming off a bye, Michigan needed to beat Northwestern to solidify a matchup of unbeaten college football teams, and the Wolverines delivered: in a 33-7 win over the Wildcats, Harbaugh’s rushing attack stole the show. Sophomore Blake Corum took 19 carries for 119 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while senior Hassan Haskins chipped in 23 carries for 110 yards and two touchdowns of his own.

Michigan State will have to keep Harbaugh’s rushing attack in check if it hopes to tack on another win Saturday, as the balanced Wolverines’ attack largely dictates the fate of the offense. Corum has amassed 729 rushing yards, averaging 6.3 yards per carry, plus ten touchdowns, while Haskins has 602 yards and ten touchdowns of his own.