It's back.
ESPN's College GameDay, which shunned the Gophers for the first 30 years of its existance, is originating from the Univeristy if Minnesota campus for the second straight Gopher football regular season home game.
Last Nov. 30, the popular lead-up show to college football Saturday games had its set parked in front of Northrup Auditorium and aired live hours before the Gophers' clash against Wisconsin.
The Gophers haven't had a home game since, thanks to the Big Ten's decision to delay, then reinstate fall football in this COVID-19-marred year of 2020.
It's believed to be the fifth time in the show's history that the broadcast has visited the same site for two consecutive home games.
And there's good reason for Saturday's broadcast from inside T-C-F Bank Stadium; the Minnesota-Michigan matchup is among the top games of the day.
First of all, it's the much-delayed start of the Big Ten season.
Second, both the Gophers and Wolverines are ranked, even though neither has played a game.
Third, it's the mother of all trophy games, the winner taking home the Little Brown Jug, a story that dates back more than a century and has been copied all over the country.
The show airs beginning at 8:00 a.m. Saturday on the WorldWide leader of sports.
GameDay's setting will be much different, as is just about everything this year.
They'll set up shop inside the stadium, and there will be no audience.
Oh sure, Lee Corso will be performing his mascot-head game prediction, but this time he'll do it virtually.
You may remember last fall when Corso donned the head of Goldy Gopher and predicted a Minnesota win over Bucky Badger, which didn't happen.
Before last year, College GameDay never originated from the site of a University of Minnesota football game... home or away.
The game between the Gophers and Wolverines kicks off at 6:30 p.m. Saturday with players and coaches' families only in the stands.
It'll be the prime time game on ABC television.