By halftime during Michigan’s game against Penn State Saturday, Wolverines head coach Kyle Whittingham had seen enough.

He pulled his starting quarterback, Bryce Underwood, and put in freshman Tommy Carr. The Wolverines won. Carr is widely expected to start this weekend.

What will that mean in the long term for Underwood and his multi-million-dollar name, image, and likeness deal?

For more on that and a look at other sports news, Michigan Public sports commentator John U. Bacon joined host Doug Tribou on Morning Edition.

Doug Tribou: The Michigan offense did nothing in the first half against Penn State. The Nittany Lions did slightly more than nothing and went into halftime with a 3-0 lead. Tommy Carr entered in the second half and gave the Wolverines enough of a spark to win 21-18.

Whittingham hasn’t announced the starting quarterback for Saturday’s tough matchup against the defending national champions, Indiana. But if Carr does start — as many observers expect he will — do you like that switch?

JUB: Well, there's only so much data to go on here. One half for Tommy Carr. However, Doug, even despite my limited math skills, I'm certain that 21 is more than zero. And that's how many points each quarterback had.

DT: [Laughs] Carry the one ...

JUB: Bear with me here, Doug. I'll pull this one off yet. [Laughs] And so, I mean, hats off to Tommy Carr, obviously, as far as that goes. The catch is they're playing a very good Indiana team. They are the returning national champs, let's not forget, and only had one — narrow — loss to Ohio State [this season] who's also a phenomenal team.

The bad news for Michigan fans is you have very little idea what Tommy Carr can and cannot do. The good news for Michigan fans is Indiana also has very little idea what Tommy Carr can or can't do. He's the wild card, so I'm almost certain he's going to be starting this weekend.

DT: And by not announcing it, Kyle Whittingham does force Indiana to sort of game plan for both.

JUB: And trust me when I tell you that does matter. I've been in these film rooms, by the way. That means the poor Indiana staff has got to watch 20 or 30 hours of each quarterback, which means you're going to waste half a week watching a quarterback who's not going to play. So they're playing a game on the Indiana coaches.

DT: Quarterback Bryce Underwood has an NIL — that’s name, image, likeness — deal that pays him about $3 million a year. There were questions last season about whether to start Underwood as a true freshman. He did start.

Now there are questions about what happens in the long term if he’s no longer the starter. Pressure to start high-profile players is nothing new, but how is NIL money affecting those dynamics?

JUB: Well, we can only guess insofar as we're not part of those conversations. However, when Larry Ellison, the founder of Oracle, drops $12 million for a new quarterback, one assumes that there's some pressure to play the guy. And one also assumes when you bench him, perhaps for this weekend, somebody in that building is probably going to call Larry Ellison and explain why. That's a new era.

So how is it going to affect things going forward? Who knows? But it's not as simple as it used to be.

DT: And then you have the transfer portal. So the question of how long Underwood himself would be willing to sit back is at play in a different way. And then I don't know the logistics of his NIL deal. We don't know what the the legal paperwork involved there is because those deals are not fully public.

JUB: I guarantee you there's a contract in this situation. You don't drop $12 million for the heck of it. And the question is: all right, does Bryce Underwood eat it, basically, and become Tommy Carr's backup for a year or two making $3 million a year? Or does he transfer and risk losing that money? So this, again, affects things. The ripples of this are tremendous.

DT: And another interesting wrinkle in all of this is that ...

JUB: Why not, Doug?

DT: [Laughs] Tommy Carr is the grandson of former University of Michigan head football coach Lloyd Carr. So, sort of a legacy recruit in the mix of all of this.

JUB: Very true. And his brother — let's make it even more complicated — C.J. Carr, also from Saline, [Michigan], is now the starting quarterback at Notre Dame. So a lot going on here.

DT: Lots of Carrs [Laughs].

Two weeks ago, Michigan State lost in overtime to Illinois. Last week, the Spartans lost by three points to Northwestern. The Wildcats are ranked 24th in the nation. You noted that MSU coach Pat Fitzgerald has his team trending in the right direction in tough Big Ten games. The problem is the competition keeps getting tougher.

On Saturday, the Spartans will be in Pasadena, California to face UCLA — currently ranked 9th in the country. What does MSU need to do to break its five-game losing streak?

JUB: They need to recruit better players between here and Saturday, which is illegal [Laughs]. That's my diagnosis. Pat Fitzgerald's doing the best with what he has, as we've noted before. They're getting better and better and better. And here's the worst part. They can get better and better every week and still not get a win because that's where they started and that's where they're going to be headed.

So play better football, get a break somewhere along the way. They're going to win some games somewhere. But really what you're trying to do is get ready for next season.

DT: In the NFL, the Lions are coming off a bye week and headed into a division rivalry game against the Green Bay Packers at Ford Field in Detroit. It’s far too early for “must-win” declarations, but this game should tell us something about where the Lions stand in the NFC North, one of the NFL’s toughest divisions.

JUB: It's brutal. And 3-2 gets you last place. That's how brutal that is. Look, I mean, it does sound silly talking about must-win games, but it kind of is. And they're playing well. But man, as I've said before, their defensive secondary, the four guys in the back who guard receivers, are simply not very good. And I bet the Green Bay Packers know this.

DT: [Laughs] In the NBA, the Pistons got the honor of playing in the very first game of the regular season and got a win over the Boston Celtics. The victory felt very similar to a number of games last season. Detroit fell way behind then went on a 23-0 run to come back and eventually win. How high should the hopes be in Detroit this season?

JUB: You know, I feel like Lucy holding the football for Charlie Brown when I say, "High hopes! Honest!" Tigers fans, Red Wings fans, may not be happy with that diagnosis, that prediction. But it should be very high. They're expected to win their division. They are expected to have another long run in the NBA playoffs. And they've bolstered their lineup in a way that other teams have not. So I hate to say it, Pistons fans, but I think you should have very high hopes.

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.

The University of Michigan holds Michigan Public's broadcast license.

In college football, the Michigan Wolverines and Michigan State Spartans are both still looking for their first win of the season against Big Ten opponents.

And in baseball, the 2026 World Series is guaranteed to end a title drought, no matter who wins.

For more on those stories and other sports news, Michigan Public sports commentator John U. Bacon spoke with Morning Edition host Doug Tribou.

DT: Michigan State is coming off a tough one-point overtime loss to Illinois last weekend in football. The Spartans are on a four-game losing streak. Up next, they'll host the Northwestern Wildcats, who are currently ranked 25th in the country. What can MSU head coach Pat Fitzgerald do to get his team going against his former employer?

JUB: Well, actually, not a lot more than what he's doing, which is trying to coach them up — what he has — into a winnable team. And that's not going to be easy. Look, right now Michigan State is 0-3 in the Big Ten, Penn State is 0-3 in the Big Ten, and Michigan is 0-2 in the Big Ten — all with brand-new coaches highly heralded. And you ain't got a win among them.

They're all doing the best with what they have. Fitzgerald came very close, as you said, last week to his first Big Ten win for Michigan State. They're going in the right direction.

DT: The Wolverines will host Penn State on Saturday. Both teams are unranked. Michigan has lost its first two Big Ten conference games, as you mentioned, and that's the first time that's happened since 2014.

John, there have been some calls to bench sophomore quarterback Bryce Underwood, who has been uneven this season, had some issues with turnovers, as well. What's your view of that debate?

JUB: One, he's still a true sophomore. Last year, he did not even have a quarterback coach under Sherrone Moore, which is crazy. So now people are calling for him to be benched [and] for Kyle Whittingham, the head coach, to be fired. All this is ridiculous. You have to be more patient.

However, I would circle the problem as Jason Beck, the offensive coordinator, who's done, frankly, a pretty miserable job calling plays, setting things up for Bryce Underwood and his teammates to be successful. So, that is a real debate.

DT: Michigan had last weekend off, so they had extra time to prepare for this one. Where would you expect to see coach Kyle Whittingham make changes in the game plan?

JUB: Bryce Underwood has got to pass the ball downfield to more than just two receivers to give the running game a chance. And I bet you see the playbook being shortened even more to make sure you've got plays that Bryce Underwood can execute under pressure.

DT: Let's turn to the Red Wings. Signing high-scoring forward Alex DeBrincat was a priority. The Red Wings did that, signing him to a seven-year, $91-million contract on Wednesday. He would have been an unrestricted free agent after the season. And the Wings' front office has indicated it's not interested in trading young star Simon Edvinsson, who's currently sitting out in a contract dispute, so that could be a sign that the situation is on a road to resolution.

But Dylan Larkin, the former captain, is still a Red Wing months after his trade request. And last weekend, he heard more cheers on the road than he's been getting in Detroit. What happened in Montreal? And do you remember anything else like that?

JUB: Pretty incredible on the grand scale. Look, Montreal would love to have Dylan Larkin. That's why they're cheering for him. So you want to get traded? Yeah. Montreal's a good place to come. The problem with Dylan Larkin's request is that he is a first-line center on the Red Wings, but the teams he's asking for are all winning teams. He would not be a first-line center, and Detroit would not get very much value for trading him.

So he's getting booed at home and cheered on the road. Sounds like my life, Doug, but that's not important now.

DT: [Laughs] Well, John, let's shed a tear for Los Angeles Dodgers fans. They will have to live without a World Series championship three-peat. The Milwaukee Brewers eliminated L.A. Thursday night. That guarantees that one championship-starved fan base will finally get some relief.

That's because the Brewers are in the series for the first time since 1982, and they will face either the Tampa Bay Rays or the Cleveland Guardians. The Rays and Brewers have never won, but I'm guessing Cleveland fans might not be feeling much sympathy...

JUB: All right. You want to go back to the Wayback Machine? Their last World Series title, the Cleveland Guardians, formerly Indians, was 1948. Who was a star pitcher on that team? Satchel Paige was.

DT: [Laughs] It's been a minute, as they say.

JUB: It's been several!

DT: I love to see a series when you know both teams are going to have fan bases that are just like beyond happy because of a big drought like this.

JUB: True. And then, if they lose it, beyond crushed. So, heads up.

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.

The University of Michigan holds Michigan Public's broadcast license.

What do Michigan and Michigan State football, the Detroit Red Wings, and the Detroit Lions have in common this fall?

Their seasons are not off to great starts.

For more on those stories and other sports news, Michigan Public sports commentator John U. Bacon joined host Doug Tribou on Morning Edition on Friday.

Doug Tribou: Let's start with the Red Wings. The team's best player, who was stripped of his captaincy in the off season, Dylan Larkin, was booed in his first game this week. He still wants to be traded. That's a demand he made months ago.

Now, 23-year-old defenseman Simon Edvinsson has returned to his home country, Sweden, to train while he sits out over a contract dispute. And the team is still operating with an interim general manager. Other than that, John, everything seems fine...

John U. Bacon: [Laughs] Yeah, perfect. The rink is not on fire. You left that out. On the plus side, you also left out that in the first two games, the fans' favorite chant is to Chris Ilitch, the owner of the team. "Sell the team. Sell the team." I can't recall any Red Wings season, maybe any NHL season, starting off so miserably as this one. So what else you got, Doug?

DT: [Laughs] Well, new Michigan State Athletic Director Dan Bartholomae published an open letter to Spartan Nation this week. In it, he vowed to provide transparency about the ventures set up to fund the athletic department. He also promised to provide the Spartans football program with the funding it needs to compete with the nation's elite programs.

The Green and White have lost three straight in football and been blown out in all of those losses. What got your attention in Bartholomae's letter?

JUB: Well, really the simple fact that he had to write it, which tells us a few things. One, that we are in an era where an AD has got to pledge fundraising expertise in this manner. All these things add up to this letter, of course. We're going to raise money, it's going to be up front, etc. But that's the new world we're in.

DT: And in the letter, he did pledge some transparency, but sort of said it would be coming later. So there wasn't a lot of clarity within it about either of these ventures.

JUB: [Laughs] The letter on transparency lacked transparency. There's your problem.

DT: John, things are looking good for the Wolverines this weekend... They're off.

JUB: [Laughs] Yeah. Best news in Ann Arbor in a while.

DT: Michigan probably needs some time to regroup. They have lost two straight. And in each of those games, the Wolverines have failed to score 20 points. What are you seeing from this team so far this season, John?

JUB: Well, you're seeing a truly great defense, one of the best in the country, and a truly miserable offense, one of the very worst in the country. And the shocking fact about that is you have probably the most expensive quarterback in college football in Bryce Underwood, who's making $3 million a year. And one of the very expensive offensive coordinators, Jason Beck, who's also making $3 million a year. That's about half a million dollars a point, Doug. That's not very good.

DT: The Lions are 2-2 on the season. Up next, they'll play the Arizona Cardinals. Detroit has had a lot of trouble stopping teams from scoring, but the Cardinals haven't scored much. It's a little tough to say which team that combination favors more this weekend...

JUB: Yes, the very weak offense or the very weak defense. This is going to be a true battle. Stay tuned on this one.

The Lions have got a great offense with Jared Goff at quarterback. They've got a good defensive line. They've got a miserable defensive secondary. And that's why they're losing games. Man, Doug, you don't have a whole lot of good news today... The weather's been lovely, that's the good news.

DT: [Laughs] That's right. Justin Verlander officially retired from baseball at the end of the Tigers' regular season. That retirement lasted approximately six minutes before he started a new job. He's now on television on the Fox MLB pregame. You know the old adage, John, if you can't make the playoffs, analyze them.

JUB: [Laughs] Yeah, I think that's from Aesop, I believe? I'll tell you what though, Justin Verlander is very good on Fox, and perhaps because he had 3 or 4 months to get ready while he was injured. But man, hats off. That is the first happy news we've had in today's show. JV, go get 'em.

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.

The University of Michigan holds Michigan Public's broadcast license.

The NCAA has weighed in on Michigan's controversial win over Western Michigan on September 5. The announcement didn't provide any relief for Broncos fans.

Meanwhile, the Wolverines are heavy favorites this weekend and the Spartans will face their toughest opponent so far this season.

Michigan Public sports commentator John U. Bacon joined Morning Edition host Doug Tribou to discuss that and why Detroit Red Wings fans might be feeling a bit down at the moment.

Doug Tribou: Just to further clarify the earlier clarifications, the NCAA announced Wednesday that the Michigan football team should not have been given an extra second that allowed it to beat Western Michigan on a Hail Mary pass two weeks ago.

The NCAA's Football Bowl Subdivision Oversight Committee said that proper replay protocols were not followed, but also reiterated that there's no mechanism for overturning the result of a game. I’m sure Broncos fans really appreciated that reminder…

John U. Bacon: Yes, I'm sure they did, Doug. First of all, this is a game that will not end, by the way. We'll be talking about it again next week. But yes, the ruling is: you guys got completely screwed, and also, officially we cannot do anything about it. So, enjoy.

DT: [Laughs] Last weekend, Michigan beat 11th-ranked Oklahoma. What changes did you notice from Michigan in Week 2?

JUB: Well, simply enough, the defense was outstanding in this game, and the Oklahoma Sooners are a very good team. But the offense did not kill itself. They were not outstanding, but they did not make any self-inflicted wounds, basically, to help the Sooners' cause. But it was the defense that won that game.

DT: Up next, the Wolverines will host the University of Texas at El Paso at the Big House. Michigan is a heavy, heavy favorite in this one. What should Michigan be working on in their last game before they get into Big Ten conference play?

JUB: You are correct. They are favored by five touchdowns, Doug. So I would call that heavy, heavy favorites. Maybe a third heavy would be appropriate here. Oklahoma beat UTEP the previous week 51-0. And of course Michigan just beat Oklahoma. So this looks pretty good for Michigan.

They need to work on their offense. This is a great chance for them to get [Wolverines quarterback] Bryce Underwood loose with some different systems, some different play calling, and get him ready for the tougher games ahead.

DT: Michigan State is 2-0 after wins over Toledo and Eastern Michigan. The Spartans are unranked. And they’ll face a tough challenge on Saturday night when they travel to South Bend, Ind. to face Notre Dame. The Irish are ranked third in the nation. What can the Spartans do — on the road in a tough environment — to handle a tough opponent?

JUB: There are things they can do — and you are right, they are deep underdogs. They are 30-point underdogs to Notre Dame and that's probably about right. But keep in mind Pat Fitzgerald is now the head coach of Michigan State. As a Northwestern player, he beat Notre Dame at Notre Dame, and as a Northwestern coach, he beat Notre Dame at Notre Dame. Underdogs both times. So you can't play scared in this game, and the Spartans will not under Pat Fitzgerald.

The biggest key by far is: they have to play great defense to give their offense a chance. They will not win this game 40-35. Their only chance is to win it 17-14. So defense will be the key.

DT: In July, Detroit Red Wings General Manager Steve Yzerman stepped down from his position. He’s now serving as a senior advisor to team CEO Chris Ilitch. In the two months since, the team was conducting a search for Yzerman’s replacement. Then this week, just before the start of training camp, the team announced an interim general manager, Shawn Horcoff, who has been serving as the team's player development director.

Horcoff had already been handling GM duties since Yzerman stepped down, so the announcement that the de facto interim GM is now the official interim GM came as something of a surprise. NHL GM jobs are pretty highly sought after. That's pretty rarefied air in the hockey-executive world. What’s going on here?

JUB: Boy, that is a great question. Doug, we don't have enough time to figure out all this stuff. But what is not going on here is a championship franchise acting like a championship franchise. Just last week, Dylan Larkin, their longtime captain [and a] Michigan guy, they took off his "C" for captain. So, that's never been done — I don't think — in Detroit history. That's pretty crazy.

Then they just announced he's going to miss training camp due to an upper-body injury. Doug, that is so vague that I'm pretty sure it applies to you, me and all our listeners. So that could be anything. It's probably a dodge [during Larkin's ongoing trade request].

Then they fire the legendary Yzerman, and you have no one else ready to replace him two months later? So the best I can call this is the disarray of incompetence, which, by the way, is also a fragrance I'm working on.

DT: [Laughs] All right, we'll end it on that high note. John, thanks a lot.

JUB: Doug, have a nice weekend. Because why not?

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.

The University of Michigan holds Michigan Public's broadcast license.

The University of Michigan is facing a federal lawsuit for alleged hazing within the Michigan men’s hockey program.

In football, the NCAA has announced a clarification of the rules for timekeeping after the controversial end to a game between Michigan and Western Michigan University.

For more on those stories and other sports news, Michigan Public sports commentator John U. Bacon joined host Doug Tribou on Morning Edition.

Doug Tribou: In a new federal lawsuit, 16 former members of the University of Michigan men's hockey team say they were subjected to sexualized hazing that bordered on torture. The lawsuit was first reported by The Detroit Free Press. The alleged abuse happened between 1984 and 2001.

In a statement, the university said it "denies that it is any way responsible or liable for the claims alleged" and notes that it enacted an anti-hazing policy in 1982. What stands out to you about this suit and the response?

John U. Bacon: Well, a few things. One, sad to say, hazing has been — or was — endemic to the sport of hockey for decades at the NHL level, at the college level, even the high school level. So some of this does not surprise me. Some of it does.

Michigan, of course, as you said, has pushed back entirely. I am surprised to hear in the claim from the litigants that they tried to reach out to Michigan, and Michigan would not respond — in other words, try to settle or something. That surprises me.

And I do want to be clear here: Although hazing was very common in hockey circles for many decades, it doesn't make it right. It doesn't make it legal. So, what happens next remains to be seen.

DT: And a note here that since the lawsuit became public, former Michigan hockey head coach Red Berenson has denied that he or any of his coaching staff were involved in the hazing. He acknowledged that staff members were aware that players had hazing rituals for other players.

Turning to other sports news, Week 1 college football games often get a lot of attention, but the Michigan-Western Michigan game on Saturday is already a leading contender to become the most hashed-and-rehashed game of 2026.

As many of our listeners are already well aware, the referees said there was one second left after a play that appeared to end the game with the Broncos ahead. Then, in that one second, Michigan scored and won the game. The NCAA has since clarified that the in-stadium clock is the official clock — which the refs did not use in their decision — but Michigan’s victory will stand. What do you make of all this?

JUB: Well, it barely matters what I make of all this, Doug, because we'll be talking about this again next week, I guarantee you. I've often joked about not turning a one-day story into a two-day story. This will be a two-week story, I'm sure.

A few things have come out. One, the NCAA has since clarified that the in-stadium clock is the official clock, as you said. Okay, great. They should have told the referees that before the game on Saturday, because apparently there are two clocks they're working off of. One is the stadium clock that we can all see, the one you see on TV. And then there's the super-secret double-probation clock that apparently the referees actually use. And that one had a second left on it. So that one is going to be cleared up, I think, in the future.

But what it also clarifies here, Doug, is that right now nobody's in charge of college athletics. Who's making the rules? The Big Ten, the NCAA, the various conferences, etc.? It's a big mess, of course, and although Michigan will be credited with the win, it has to go down as the least satisfying Michigan victory of all time.

DT: John, I keep thinking about how millions upon millions of fans in stadiums and at home, and even coaches and players have assumed in-stadium clocks were the official clocks. That's why everybody's looking up at the scoreboard during the game...

JUB: [Laughs] Suckers!

DT: [Laughs] Well, John, before the game against Western Michigan, the Wolverines were ranked 16th in the nation. In the latest Associated Press poll, Michigan is unranked. And on Saturday they’ll host Oklahoma at noon at the Big House. The Sooners are ranked 11th in the country. How do you like Michigan’s chances?

JUB: How about not good, Doug? [Laughs] Because even though they are credited with the victory, that was a pretty horrible performance for a first game against a very good MAC team, it must be said. But it's still a MAC team. And offense, defense, not much was working very well. [Michigan quarterback] Bryce Underwood did not look any better than he did last year. So right now the point spread is 5.5, favoring Oklahoma. That strikes me as very low.

DT: Michigan State is coming off a 30-20 win over Toledo. Now the Spartans will host Eastern Michigan Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in East Lansing. What does Michigan State need to work on in its second straight game against a Mid-American Conference opponent?

JUB: Well, they're truly rebuilding under Pat Fitzgerald, their new coach. They looked better against Toledo last weekend. They'll have to look better again against Eastern Michigan, a very well-coached team by Chris Creighton. I've been amazed that he's not been picked up by bigger colleges than EMU. He's done a very good job there where it's historically very hard to win. But it's basically all the fundamentals: don't let a MAC team hang around longer than you have to; watch the football, of course; and try to finish your drives. Very fundamental stuff.

DT: The Lions will open their 2026 regular season on Sunday afternoon when they host the Saints at Ford Field. Kickoff is at 1:00 p.m. The Saints are coming off a rough six-win season. The Lions had a winning season in 2025, but missed the playoffs. What will you be watching for in Week 1?

JUB: Well, is it last year's team or is it the year before? The year before they had a real run at a Super Bowl. Last year, of course, they basically fell apart, in part due to injuries, it must be said. But this is really, I think, a telling season for both Jared Goff, the quarterback for the Lions, and Dan Campbell, the head coach. If they make a playoff run, they'll keep rebuilding for the future. If they don't, they might have to tear it all apart. Kind of like the oh, I don't know, Tigers, Red Wings and pretty much every other team here in this state.

DT: [Laughs] The Pistons are in better shape! The Pistons shouldn't get lumped in there.

JUB: [Laughs] When does that season start, Doug? I forget.

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.

The University of Michigan holds Michigan Public's broadcast license.