The College GameDay crew has arrived in South Bend.

On Saturday morning, Rece Davis, Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, Desmond Howard and the rest of the gang will be in front of the bright lights for the first time of the 2018 college football season, on the set of the most popular pre-game show in sports. But some folks can’t wait the extra few hours for their analysis.

While in South Bend on Friday, Howard was stopped by local reporters to give a brief breakdown of Saturday night’s clash between No. 14 Michigan and No. 12 Notre Dame. One of the topics was transfer quarterback Shea Patterson.

Howard had positive things to say about the former 5-star prospect, and believes Patterson brings something to the Wolverines that they’ve been missing.

“He’s a guy, like a lot of quarterbacks we see now in college football, who can extend plays,” Howard said of Patterson. “If things break down, he’s just not going to sit back there and take a sack.

“The receivers, the tight ends and the running backs they know they always have to stay live because the play will be extended because of his ability to be mobile.”

Patterson certainly provides Michigan with a new element under center and could be the missing piece the Wolverines have needed since Jim Harbaugh took over.

Earlier in the day, local reporters also met up with fellow GameDay analyst Lee Corso, who also gave his thoughts on the rivalry showdown on Saturday night.

Michigan and Notre Dame go toe-to-toe for the first time since 2014 at 7:30 p.m. ET.