When the Detroit Lions wrap up their regular season on Sunday night against the Minnesota Vikings, there will be a lot on the line.
For more on that, and a look at the Michigan Wolverines' strong finish in the closing weeks of their season, Michigan Public Morning Edition host Doug Tribou spoke with sports commentator John U. Bacon.
Football this weekend:
Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions - Sun., 8:20 p.m.
Doug Tribou: Shout-out to the NFL's scheduling process, which has set things up for maximum drama in the final week of the regular season. The Lions and the Minnesota Vikings are both 14-2. When they play Sunday night at Ford Field, the winner will claim the NFC North division title. But there's a much bigger prize at stake here, John.
John U. Bacon: Sure is, Doug. And this is pretty rare, actually, for the last game to matter this much. Both teams are in the playoffs. That's not a question. They're two of the best teams in the NFL. But get this, the winner gets a bye week and they will play every game at home until the Super Bowl. The loser — and I truly mean the loser, in this case — gets the wild-card round [and] has to play the first weekend on the road. So the division here is quite stark. The stakes here are quite large.
DT: What will the Lions need to do to knock off this very good Minnesota team on Sunday night?
JUB: Score 50 points, Doug. I think the Lions offense is phenomenal right now. Their defense is far less so. They've had 22 injured players and they're still competing, but they're doing it by scoring a lot of points.
The winner of the regular-season finale between the Lions and Vikings will win the NFC North division title and claim the top playoff spot in the NFC.
DT: In college football, the unranked Michigan Wolverines finished their season on a high note on Tuesday when they beat No. 11 Alabama 19-13 in the ReliaQuest Bowl. After some ups and downs, Michigan closed the season with three straight wins, including a victory over Ohio State. What did we learn about the program in those final few games?
JUB: You learned that they love playing for [head coach] Sherrone Moore, and Sherrone Moore can get them to believe almost anything, including you can beat a 21-point favorite Ohio State team at Ohio State.
This team is 8-5. That is not good by Michigan standards. But of those eight wins, what do you have? A win over then-No. 11 USC; Michigan State for the Paul Bunyan Trophy; Minnesota for the Brown Jug; Northwestern for the [George] Jewett Trophy; and Ohio State, biggest upset in [the rivalry's] history. And then another inexplicable win over Alabama.
No one got more bang for their buck than Michigan did this year.
DT: The big headline for next season for Michigan is new quarterbacks. Michigan landed the nation's top high school quarterback recruit in Bryce Underwood with a reportedly multimillion-dollar name, image, likeness deal. And the Wolverines have also signed Fresno State quarterback Mikey Keene. What other changes and adjustments do you expect in Ann Arbor for next season?
JUB: Well, they're getting a lot of players in from what's called the transfer portal. And no, that's not Star Trek. That is where players come from other schools to join the team. They're getting a lot of those guys. But the biggest change, they've already made. That is swapping out former offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell for the new guy, Chip Lindsey. That's considered a major upgrade. That is a big difference.
DT: The 12-team College Football Playoff has been whittled down to four. The Ohio State Buckeyes routed top-seeded Oregon 41-21 in an all-Big Ten Rose Bowl on New Year's Day. Up next, Ohio State will face Texas in the Cotton Bowl in one of the national semifinal games. Do the Buckeyes look like a title team to you? And do they have to win it all for head coach Ryan Day's job to be secure?
JUB: Yes and no are my two answers. One, they are a title team right now. They are by far the best team left of the four. Talking to Ohio State friends of mine, they said their early [season] loss to Oregon fixed the defense and their late loss to Michigan fixed the offense.
They blew out the No.1 team, [who were] undefeated. They were ahead 34-0. Doug, I have never seen a Rose Bowl that is done before dusk... because that's halftime! So the Buckeyes are the team to beat. No question about it. I think his job is very safe. And if you win a national title, yeah, go ahead and fire him. Sure. [Laughs]
DT: [Laughs] And the Cotton Bowl is on Jan. 10. The other semifinal game is the Orange Bowl on Jan. 9 and will feature Penn State and Notre Dame. The winners will go to the title game later this month.
John, thanks a lot. Have a good weekend.
JUB: Doug, thank you.
Editor's note: Some quotes in this article have been edited for length and clarity. You can hear the full interview near the top of this page.
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