College football celebrates new beginnings with the start of Big Ten conference play this weekend, and Tigers baseball celebrates the end of a legendary career when Justin Verlander pitches his last start.
Michigan Public sports commentator John U. Bacon joined Morning Edition producer Caoilinn Goss to talk about it all.
Football this weekend:
Iowa at Michigan - Saturday, 3:30 p.m.
Nebraska at Michigan State - Saturday, 5 p.m.
New York Jets at Detroit Lions - Sunday, 1 p.m.
Caoilinn Goss: Michigan is coming off a decisive victory against the unranked University of Texas at El Paso. But the 18th-ranked Wolverines will face the 17th-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday. Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m. at the Big House. What should Michigan be focused on as they get into Big Ten conference play?
JUB: Good question, Caoilinn. The simple answer is Bryce Underwood, the star quarterback from Michigan, has to hold on to the football. It turns out that letting go of it is very bad, of course, and he has fumbled in each of the first three games. They got away with it in the first three games. They had a very good outing versus UTEP last week. But Iowa's got a great defense, not a very good offense but a great defense. And if Bryce hangs on to the ball then I believe Michigan will probably win.
CG: Michigan State will be missing a starting linebacker and five other players when they kick off Big Ten play against Nebraska on Saturday. Kickoff is at 5:00 pm in East Lansing. Aside from avoiding injuries, what do the Spartans need to do to bounce back from a bad loss to Notre Dame last week?
JUB: Well, I might push back a little bit on the "bad loss". They lost 27-10 to Notre Dame. But Notre Dame is No. 3 in the country, and State was supposed to lose by 30 points and they lost by 17. So that's better. Keep in mind, Caoilinn, Michigan State has won exactly one Big Ten game in the last four years. They've not gone to a bowl game or even come close. So what Pat Fitzgerald, the new coach, is doing is rather heroic. So it's going to be blocking and tackling. They've got an actual chance to win this game against Nebraska, I think. But all they're trying to do right now is make progress to set up for the years ahead.
CG: And as you say, 30 is certainly more than 17.
JUB: [Laughs] That's all I'm saying.
CG: The Detroit Lions lost to the Buffalo Bills 41-31 last week. Since then, Detroit has made some updates to its roste. How will the changes help them as they host the Jets this Sunday at 1:00 pm at Ford Field?
JUB: How about not much? Sorry about that, Caoilinn. The roster they've added to are basically practice players they're promoting. So these are guys getting a chance because the defense was so remarkably bad versus the Bills last week. Now they've got Josh Allen with the Buffalo Bills who may be the best player in the league right now. So there's that. But the defense right now for Detroit has just been decimated. So they're hanging on for dear life. They have to get more players if they're going to pull this off.
CG: Turning to baseball, John. Justin Verlander will play his final career start on Saturday. The pitching legend has been plagued by injuries since his return to Detroit. How will Verlander be best remembered?
JUB: As either the best or second best pitcher in Detroit Tigers history. And that history goes back 123 years. That's very impressive. But what I love about this is he has not pitched in months. He can very easily just ride out the season, but he wants to come back for one last outing. That's a pretty bold move because he could get slammed. Maybe it's a bad taste on the way out the door, but I like the courage of this and I'm sure the fans are going to respond. And who knows, maybe the guy comes through. So I think it's a very cool move. And it's great that Verlander came back to Detroit. He will be a Hall of Famer, and when he is, he'll probably be wearing a Detroit Tigers cap on his plaque.
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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