Stressed out Detroit Tigers fans got a little reprieve Thursday night. The Tigers had lost eight straight games and fallen out of first place in their division for the first time since April, but they finally got a win, beating the Guardians in Cleveland 4-2.
Michigan Public sports commentator John U. Bacon joined Morning Edition host Doug Tribou to talk about the Tigers' epic collapse, and the Detroit Lions' return to form.
Football schedule:
Cleveland Browns at Detroit Lions - Sun., 1:00 p.m.
Michigan, Michigan State - Off until Oct. 4
Doug Tribou: The Tigers and Guardians are now tied for first place, but if they end the season tied, the Guardians would win the division because they won the season series between the two teams. Three games left — will the Tigers get back on track?
John U. Bacon: Boy, great question on that. Frankly, if you were objective and outside, you probably wouldn't bet on it. The Tigers collapsed — 15.5 games in front of Cleveland not that long ago — that should get your attention. Pretty incredible. But they showed some life [Thursday] night. The best thing they've got going for them is the law of averages. You can't flip a coin and get 12 heads in a row, which is about what they were doing at that point.
So the problem is they've got the Boston Red Sox up next, the Boston Red Sox and the Tigers could be fighting for the last wild card spot between them. So the Boston Red Sox are going to give the Tigers all they've got.
DT: And notable here that the Tigers, as we're saying, not only could lose the division after having this huge lead, but could also fall completely out of the playoffs and miss the wild card. Just amazing. And it's going to be sort of must-watch, must-listen-to entertainment here in the final closing days of the season.
John, let's move on to college football. Michigan will be off this weekend. The Wolverines were on the road last weekend against Nebraska without head coach Sherrone Moore on the sidelines. He was finishing his suspension linked to the team’s sign stealing saga. Despite that, Michigan fans had plenty to celebrate. They beat Nebraska on the road 30-27. Lots of big highlight plays there. Now that he’s back for the rest of the season, what should Moore focus on to build on the team’s momentum?
JUB: Well, keep doing what you're doing, obviously. The team looked pretty strong. They're still a young team, inexperienced in certain places, but the new offensive coordinator, Chip Lindsey, has done a fantastic job working with a true freshman quarterback [Bryce Underwood] on a team he's never coached before. He's doing a great job.
[Defensive Coordinator] Wink Martindale did a very good job last year in the second half of the season with the defense. He's falling into the same trap he did last year, which is making it too complicated and the guys have to think too much instead of reacting. So if I'm Mr. Moore, I would say to Wink Martindale: Do what you did in the second half of last year.
DT: Michigan State lost to the University of Southern California last weekend 45-31. MSU is 3-1 this season. The good news for the Spartans is that they looked competitive against a Top 25 team for big stretches of the game, but the bad news is they really couldn’t stop USC’s offense. What does MSU need to fix now that it’s into its tough Big Ten schedule?
JUB: Well, you said it. It's defense. And under Mark Dantonio — a couple of coaches ago — even in their down seasons, which weren't very many, they always, always, always had a great defense and were tough as nails. And I'm not seeing that under Coach Smith. With Dantonio, therefore you were always in the game. Could upset almost anybody because the scores tended to be quite low.
So the defense here is the issue. Aidan Chiles, the quarterback, is doing quite well. He was the problem last year. He's not the problem this year.
DT: The Lions are coming off a big 38-30 win on the road against the Ravens. They sacked Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson seven times. What’s working for Detroit and what adjustments do they need to make when they take on the Browns at Ford Field this weekend?
JUB: Doug, what is working? They sacked Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson seven times. Honestly, Doug, your questions are so good this week i just have to nod for the most part [Laughs]. Yes. You're you're spot on. Obviously, Aidan Hutchinson is back as a defensive lineman. The defensive line for Detroit looks fantastic.
This team after Week 1, a bad loss to the Green Bay Packers, the divisional rival, were given up for dead. And now they seem to be a contender again after this game. So what they really have to do is stay healthy, and they're not staying healthy. They've got more injuries in this last week. So stay healthy, Lions, and you might be back to where you were last year.
DT: The Lions-Ravens game was one of the most-watched Monday Night Football games ever. Worth noting here that it wasn’t very long ago when the Lions were having trouble getting into primetime national games at all…
JUB: Doug, it was not that long ago that the Lions were so bad they never sold out at home, and therefore there were blackouts at home. So you couldn't watch the Lions game on regional TV in Detroit. That's how bad they were. So this is progress, to say the least. And it seems like the entire country seems to enjoy the Lions. So they've become a bit of a cause célèbre amongst NFL fans.
Editor's notes: Quotes in this article have been lightly edited for length and clarity. You can hear the full interview near the top of this page.
The University of Michigan holds Michigan Public's broadcast license.
