Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images “Jared Goff, Jared Goff” chants break out on ESPN’s College GameDay set in Ann Arbor—Ford Field is going to be nuts on Sunday night. The state of Michigan is drenched in an atmosphere of football. The Detroit Lions open the 2024 season on Sunday night, taking on the Los Angeles Rams at Ford Field, while the defending National Champion Michigan Wolverines (ranked No. 10 team in the country) is hosting the Texas Longhorns (No. 3) on Saturday. ESPN’s “College GameDay” is in Ann Arbor for their Saturday morning college football preview show, with a wave of Michigan fans crowding the set as they await kickoff. The crowd typically brings poster boards with fun writing on them, cheers for the local teams, and furiously boos their rivals. But a funny thing happened when the analysts turned their attention to the Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. Colorado Buffalos game. Former Michigan Heisman trophy winner and one-time Lion, Desmond Howard opened the conversation by talking about the Huskers quarterback, freshman sensation Dylan Raiola. Howard mentioned that he played with Dylan’s dad Dominic during his stint with the Lions, and just the mere mention of the local professional football team drew an immediate reaction from the crowd: “Jared Goff, Jared Goff,” chants erupted from the crowd. Jared Goff chants from the College GameDay crowd at Michigan pic.twitter.com/PTDwL2tlmr— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) September 7, 2024 The chant, of course, originated last January at the Lions playoff game against the Rams, when the return of Matthew Stafford led to a city rallying to show its support for their current quarterback, Goff. Since then, the chant has popped up in several places, mostly sporting events throughout 2024, but it illustrates the passion this city has for the Lions. With the Lions welcoming the Rams back into town for the season opener, the city certainly seems ready for another playoff run, and they appear to be gearing up to blow the roof off Ford Field on Sunday night. “It’s our job to continue to excite our fan base,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said on Friday. “I’ve said it before, they’re going to do their part, they’re going to do their part. As long as we handle our business, it’ll be a place for us, this city, that stadium, it will be home-field advantage. It will, and not every team can say that in this league at their own place.”