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Posted on Wed, Aug 15, 2012 : 2:20 p.m.

ESPN's College GameDay to feature Michigan's season opener against Alabama

By Kyle Meinke

The Michigan football team will face Alabama in the nation's biggest season opener. And now, the game will be played on the nation's biggest TV stage.

ESPN announced Wednesday that College GameDay -- the network's flagship college football show -- will broadcast live from outside Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, for the Sept. 1 game.

It's the second time in as many seasons that GameDay has featured the Wolverines. Last year, the show dropped in on Ann Arbor for Michigan's prime-time matchup against rival Notre Dame -- the first night game in Big House history.

The Wolverines staged a 17-point second-half comeback in that game, a rally that was punctuated by a touchdown pass from quarterback Denard Robinson to receiver Roy Roundtree in the corner of the end zone with 2 seconds left.

Michigan won 35-31.

The GameDay crew also broadcast the Wolverines' 23-20, overtime victory against Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl, meaning it was on hand for two of the team's most memorable wins from last season.

One of the show's featured broadcasters, Desmond Howard, was a Heisman Trophy winner at Michigan.

Kyle Meinke covers Michigan football for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at 734-623-2588, by email at kylemeinke@annarbor.com and followed on Twitter @kmeinke.

Comments

MassMittenz

Thu, Aug 16, 2012 : 11:22 a.m.

I doubt we can pull out a win against Alabama with this current team. This team is not as experienced as last seasons squad and we had too many key losses to keep us in the game. Then I think about the key losses that we may have this season for the opener and it makes me cast doubt. We had a magical season in 2011, but I don't expect to have that kind of success again until 2013. We had the ball bounce our way more often than not and I doubt that it happens two years in a row. Regardless, of Alabama losing many players to the draft, they have never fell off track, and we don't have the horses to make it close. We don't have a good enough passer, we are missing our starting RB and the WR corps doesn't have a standout/gamebreaker. I hope Hoke and Co. can make a liar out of me, but I'm already looking for to our B1G schedule. Go Blue

MassMittenz

Fri, Aug 17, 2012 : 2:26 p.m.

Bludogg97, No not a graduate nor an ex-player of the Big Blue, but I'm a passionate fan. I graduated from Northwood where I played Football two seasons as a walk-on. Hey, but I'm going to the UofM (Flint) for my master's this fall, so maybe that counts. (LOL) I respect your decision to disagree, but Hoke and Staff are supposed to talk that way about the next opponent. I'll go on record as stating that we won't win this game, but we have a shot at being competitive. Even if we are competitive in this game we only have two ways of making this happe. , #1- This is the first game of the season and maybe we catch Bama off gaurd. #2- We spread out Bama and depend on Denard to freelanceand make plays with his feet. That's it! But even if we are able to make those two things happen, we still don't have the horses to accomplish this feat. PSU, who was a better team than us last played tough against Alabama, but our 2012 team isn't nearly as talented, yet.....

Bludogg97

Thu, Aug 16, 2012 : 6:20 p.m.

Mass point taken..you mentioned "We" several times, are you an Alum or X player of Blue? Just wondering.. I respectfully disagree because I heard Greg Mattison ,and Brady speak on the radio with Ray Bentley (bbl 107.3) this morning,and they got me all fired up... They mentioned several freshman,and red shirts ,and the likes of experienced players that are progressing well. Greg M. mentioned the players are fired up and all are looking forward to this game. The Bama game is a formidable task,but I believe Michigan will be there in the end... MGOBLUE..

MRunner73

Wed, Aug 15, 2012 : 10:26 p.m.

ESPN's CGD might as well join the party. Afterall, number 2 vs number 8. Will Michigan fare better than the beating the Spartans took in their bowl game against AL? Can AL easilly beat the point spread? Can Denard show the magic he did against Notre Dame and be a real Heisman contender? Yep, lots of drama to hype. Good to see Michigan get the national attention. I am starting to get nervous. GO BLUE!!

SemperFi

Wed, Aug 15, 2012 : 7:47 p.m.

If games are played on paper, then this one is already over. Oh oh, they have to line up and play them on the field. I guess we'll have to wait for the outcome.

Howard the Duck

Wed, Aug 15, 2012 : 7:12 p.m.

The Wolvies won't get lucky this time. Alabama will administer discipline on the national stage.

Ross

Wed, Aug 15, 2012 : 7:39 p.m.

Perhaps, Howard. Who knows though, Denard is usually pretty electric early in the season. GO BLUE!