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Bacon: College football's opening weekend and the controversy over our national anthem

Michigan is undefeated and ranked No. 2 in the country heading into next weekend's rivalry game in East Lansing against Michigan State.
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The 2016 college football season is here!

It's that time of year again as college football kicks off this week.

Michigan Radio sports commentator John U. Bacon joined Stateside to talk about the five Division I teams that will begin the 2016 season. 
The buzz over the University of Michigan is actually more about who will be the starting quarterback than the latest headline generated by Jim Harbaugh, their media-magnet head coach. According to Bacon, the decision has been made but only Harbaugh and the new starter, either sophomore Wilton Speight or junior transfer John O'Korn, knows the answer. The Wolverines are ranked No. 7 in the preseason AP Poll and will host Hawaii (who lost their season opener against Cal in a game played in Sydney, Australia) at the Big House on Saturday.

Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio made his starting quarterback decision weeks ago for the Spartans who, like their rivals in Ann Arbor, will also have an easy home opener. The Spartans will host Furman on Friday night at Spartan Stadium. MSU is ranked No. 12 in the AP preseason poll and should have no trouble with a team that had a losing record last year at the FCS level (the level below Division I). 

Listen to the full interview above to hear Bacon talk about the expectations for the Spartans and the Wolverines, as well as Central, Western and Eastern Michigan. He also touches on the controversy surrounding San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and his refusal to stand for the national anthem.
 

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John U. Bacon is Michigan Radio's sports commentator

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