Detroit Sports on Tap: Massive Month of September Ahead
By Matt Snyder
With NFL and college football games beginning in earnest and MLB postseason chases coming down to the wire, September promises to be action-packed for Detroit sports fans.
The summer can be slow for Detroit sports fans who don’t particularly care for baseball, but things heat up quickly in September. Only two of the month’s 30 days will not contain a major sporting event in the state of Michigan (and both of those days will have significant national NFL games).
Here’s your Detroit sports calendar for the month of September, 2016.
Thursday, September 1
The Detroit Lions finish their preseason slate with a home game against the Buffalo Bills.
The Central Michigan Chippewas kick their football season off with a home game against Presbyterian (7 p.m., ESPN3).
Friday, September 2
The Michigan State Spartans host Furman to open their season (7 p.m., BTN). They’re pursuing a second-consecutive Big Ten title and back-to-back trips to the College Football Playoff.
The Eastern Michigan Eagles invite Mississippi Valley State to Rynearson Stadium to begin their 2016 campaign. (6 p.m., ESPN3).
The Detroit Tigers begin a three-game road series with the Kansas City Royals who are hot on their heels in the division and wild card standings.
Saturday, September 3
The Michigan Wolverines kick off their second season under supercoach Jim Harbaugh. They’ll host Hawaii at the Big House (Noon, ESPN).
The Western Michigan Broncos hit the road to open their season at Northwestern (Noon, ESPNU).
Monday, September 5
The Tigers travel to play the Chicago White Sox for three games to close out the season series with the southsiders.
Tuesday, September 6
The United States Men’s National Team hosts Trinidad & Tobago for their final 2018 World Cup qualifying group stage match. They’ll need a positive result to advance to the next round of qualifying.
Thursday, September 8
The NFL regular season kicks off with a Super Bowl rematch between the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers on Thursday Night Football.
Friday, September 9
The Tigers host the Baltimore Orioles for the beginning of a three-game series that looks to have major wild card implications.
Saturday, September 10
Michigan State is off, but Michigan will host UCF for the second of five consecutive home games to begin the year.
Sunday, September 11
The Lions travel to do battle against the Indianapolis Colts to open their NFL regular season schedule.
Monday, September 12
The Tigers begin a four-game home series against the division rival Minnesota Twins.
Friday, September 16
The Tigers travel to play the Cleveland Indians for their first of two September series against the AL Central Division leaders.
Saturday, September 17
Michigan hosts Colorado at the Big House for their final non-conference game of the year.
Michigan State travels to South Bend for a primetime rivalry matchup with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Sunday, September 18
The Lions host the Tennessee Titans for their first home game of the regular season.
Tuesday, September 20
The Tigers begin their final series against the Minnesota Twins on the road at Target Field. The Tigers enter September with a 10-2 season advantage over the Twins.
Friday, September 23
The Tigers and Royals begin their last series of the season. This begins a seven-game homestand for the Tigers — their final homestand of the regular season.
Saturday, September 24
Big Ten conference play begins for Michigan and Michigan State. They’ll host Penn State and Wisconsin respectively.
Sunday, September 25
The Lions play against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. They’re trying to make it two-straight in Wisconsin after breaking the 0-23 streak last season.
Monday, September 26
The Tigers host the Indians to being the final season series between the two division rivals. The Tigers will need to make up ground in these head-to-head games if they have hopes of ultimately winning the division.
Tuesday, September 27
The Detroit Red Wings begin their preseason schedule hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins. This begins the team’s final season at Joe Louis Areana.
Friday, September 30
The Tigers travel to Atlanta to close out the regular season with a three-game set against the Braves. These will be the final games played at Atlanta’s Turner Field.
Next: Michigan Football Game-by-Game Predictions
If all goes well we could be looking at Tigers playoffs and the beginning of the Detroit Pistons and Red Wings regular seasons to go with the continuation of football season for an insane October.