Battle for Little Brown Jug Set for 11 a.m.

The 2008 battle for the Little Brown Jug between Minnesota and Michigan to be played at the Metrodome on Saturday, Nov. 8, will be televised by ESPN or ESPN2 live nationally at 11 a.m. (CT), Big Ten Conference officials announced Monday. The telecast will mark the fourth straight Minnesota game and the fifth time overall this season that the Gophers will be televised on the ESPN networks.

Minnesota has appeared on ESPNU (at Bowling Green), ESPN (at Illinois) and ESPN Classic (at Purdue). This week’s Homecoming battle against Northwestern is set to be televised by ESPN2 at 11 a.m. (CT).

The Minnesota-Michigan rivalry was televised by ESPN as recently as the 2005 season. The last time the battle for the Little Brown Jug appeared on ESPN2 was in 2001.

Michigan leads the all-time series, 69-24, with three ties, and has won two straight in the series. The Gophers' last win over the Wolverines came during the 2005 campaign, when Minnesota pulled out a 23-20 victory at Michigan Stadium.

The game will mark the final meeting between the Gophers and Wolverines in the Metrodome. Minnesota has never defeated Michigan in the Metrodome and won’t face the Wolverines again until the 2011 season in Ann Arbor, Mich. The Wolverines’ next visit to the Twin Cites will be in 2012 at TCF Bank Stadium.