College football season is nearly here. Both Michigan and Michigan State have new coaches this season, and there's a change coming to the Big House.
For more on all of that and other sports news, Michigan Public sports commentator John U. Bacon joined host Doug Tribou on Morning Edition.
Doug Tribou: A week from Friday night, the Michigan State Spartans will open their 2026 football season when they host the Toledo Rockets in East Lansing. It will be the Spartans' first game under new head coach Pat Fitzgerald.
Fitzgerald coached Northwestern for many years, but he's been out of the game since 2023 when Northwestern fired him. What are you expecting from his team this season?
John U. Bacon: Well, I got to know Pat pretty well [for my] previous book, Fourth and Long, where I spent the season around the Big Ten. He's a first-rate coach and his specialty is getting more out of less, which actually was the specialty of [former MSU coach] Mark Dantonio, who of course beat Michigan eight out of ten tries during one stretch.
So, here's what I expect, Doug. Blocking and tackling will return to East Lansing.
DT: [Laughs] Michigan also has a new coach this season. Kyle Whittingham will make his debut on Sept. 5, when the Wolverines host the Western Michigan Broncos at the Big House. What will you be watching for in the early weeks of Whittingham's first season in Ann Arbor?
JUB: Well, some of the same stuff. Blocking and tackling, as I said before about Michigan State, will be back in fashion in Ann Arbor as well. But the centerpiece is going to be Bryce Underwood, the $12-million quarterback that Larry Ellison of Oracle has paid for. And last year, they did not pay for a $200,000 quarterback coach to coach that guy, which is kind of crazy.
Whittingham, that's one of the first things that he did. So expect improvement from Bryce Underwood during Whittingham's first season.
DT: Well, paying for a major college football program cost more than ever, as you alluded to there. Kyle Whittingham recently told the Detroit Free Press that Michigan's budget for NIL — that's the name, image, likeness money paid to student athletes — was in the range of $35 to 40 million.
With that in mind, Michigan is doing something new at the Big House. A few companies are paying for the right to have their logos on the wall around the field, on the massive video scoreboards, and in some other locations. U of M had long been a holdout on allowing advertising in the stadium. What's your view of adding ads there, John?
JUB: Well, on the one hand, probably inevitable. But also, I guess a bit regrettable. They are one of two schools — Notre Dame being the other — that did not have advertising in their stadiums. And now Michigan is like everyone else as far as that goes.
Michigan has lost something here. It used to be basically an urban national park where for four blissful hours you were not bombarded with the thousands of ads we get all day long online, on TV and driving around and so on. So it was refreshing in that regard.
But as I said, probably inevitable. Look at that payroll. Pretty crazy. Doug, don't forget greed is undefeated. So kudos, greed. It's been quite a century and I don't see any formidable opponents, do you?
DT: [Laughs] Turning to baseball, the Tigers will open a three-game series with the Los Angeles Dodgers Friday night at Comerica Park. And for the first time, the Tigers will face a pitcher named Tarik Skubal. Hope they've done their homework.
JUB: [Laughs] Yeah, well, look into the vault for the video and see what you got on this guy. An unknown left-hander, of course.
I think they'll know him quite well. And that's the problem. They know how good he is. And there's no mistaking that. Detroit was on a great tear for a while. They had a wild-card birth within their reach. And now they are many games behind, having gone 1-9 over a 10-game stretch, and I don't think Tarik Skubal is going to help, facing him on the mound.
DT: If you had to face any of your pitchers as an opponent — your former pitcher in this case — I don't think the Tigers would be choosing Tarik Skubal as the first one...
JUB: Well, great point. And Doug, by the way, there are many to choose from these days. Casey Mize — also a great pitcher — is now with San Diego. So a lot of former great Tiger pitchers — Max Scherzer, etc., etc. The list is very long, but I think Tarik Skubal is the one you'd least like to face.
Editor's note: Some quotes in this article have been lightly edited for length and clarity. You can play the full audio of the interview near the top of this page.
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