As expected, Calvin Johnson is inactive for today's game with a lower back bruise. Also out for the Lions are starting guard Damien Woody (bruised ribs) and defensive end Kalimba Edwards, who'll miss his second straight game with a sprained ankle. Jeff Backus should make his 100th straight start at left tackle.

The Bears aren't any healthier. They'll be without their entire starting secondary — Charles Tillman, Nathan Vasher and Adam Archuleta are inactive, and Mike Brown is on IR — plus linebacker Lance Briggs. Defensive tackle Tommie Harris is expected to play.

The Lions cut cornerback Tony Beckham today to make room on the active roster for receiver Brandon Middleton, a good sign that rookie Calvin Johnson will not play tomorrow against the Bears.

A Lions player told me Friday to expect exactly that move. He said Johnson was unable to run in practice and probably would miss his first NFL game. Officially, Johnson still is listed as questionable, but 23 hours before kick I would be surprised if he suits up.

In reality, that shouldn't affect the Lions' gameplan much. The Bears will likely be without both starting cornerbacks Charles Tillman and Nathan Vasher because of injuries, and already safety Mike Brown is on IR and gone for the year. Expect Mike Martz to still try and spread the field with four receivers and try to attack Chicago's beat up secondary. Mike Furrey will slide back outside opposite Roy Williams, and veteran Troy Walters will join Shaun McDonald in the slot.

After giving his team a reprieve last week, Lions coach Rod Marinelli said he'll keep his team in pads again on Thursday. In hindsight, Marinelli said erred in keeping his team out of pads all last week, a decision he said may have contributed to the Lions' 56-21 loss to Philadelphia.

"It's a little bit early in the year to get out of them and it's not what I'm about either," he said. "I just felt after that Minnesota game, going into overtime, that was my thinking about it. And I look back now, we were a little bit high and maybe I sent the wrong message. I tried to make sure it was right but I might have sent the wrong message, too."

Got a couple emails yesterday from readers wondering whether Michigan and Michigan State deserve to be ranked in the top 25 after big wins Saturday. It's an easy question in my mind, and the answer is no.

I've said since the Appalachian State loss that I still consider Michigan one of the best teams in the Big Ten. But at 2-2 with home wins over a terrible Notre Dame team and an offensively-challenged Penn State squad, the Wolverines haven't done enough yet to warrant a place in the top 25. There's a clear divide between the top five teams (USC, LSU, Florida, Oklahoma and West Virginia) and everybody else. Michigan's in the second class, but its resume is still lacking. With easy pickings the next two weeks against Northwestern and Eastern Michigan, expect Michigan back in the polls by early October.

MSU is a different story. The Spartans are a good story at 4-0 and a better team than in the past, but they're still in the proving stages. Next week's game at overrated Wisconsin is their first test against a better team. Let's wait and see how they look in Madison (and home the next two weeks against Northwestern and Indiana, teams they should beat) before ascending them up the polls. For now, they're in the same boat as Kansas, UConn and Cincinnati — other suspect unbeatens.

Got a couple emails yesterday from readers wondering whether Michigan and Michigan State deserve to be ranked in the top 25 after big wins Saturday. It's an easy question in my mind, and the answer is no.

I've said since the Appalachian State loss that I still consider Michigan one of the best teams in the Big Ten. But at 2-2 with home wins over a terrible Notre Dame team and an offensively-challenged Penn State squad, the Wolverines haven't done enough yet to warrant a place in the top 25. There's a clear divide between the top five teams (USC, LSU, Florida, Oklahoma and West Virginia) and everybody else. Michigan's in the second class, but its resume is still lacking. With easy pickings the next two weeks against Northwestern and Eastern Michigan, expect Michigan back in the polls by early October.

MSU is a different story. The Spartans are a good story at 4-0 and a better team than in the past, but they're still in the proving stages. Next week's game at overrated Wisconsin is their first test against a better team. Let's wait and see how they look in Madison (and home the next two weeks against Northwestern and Indiana, teams they should beat) before ascending them up the polls. For now, they're in the same boat as Kansas, UConn and Cincinnati — other suspect unbeatens.

Jon Kitna is back for the Lions. After missing most of the second and all of the third quarters with an undisclosed injury, Kitna just warmed up on the sidelines with Dan Orlovsky and re-entered the game with 8:23 to play. He apparently lobbied the medical staff for clearance, and completed his first two passes upon returning.

J.T. O'Sullivan, who filled in for Kitna when he left early in the second quarter, threw two interceptions and fumbled once in his half of action.

The Big Ten is horrible. There, I said it. Three weeks into the college football season and it's plain to see the conference has lost its second-to-one status (behind the SEC) and now ranks a cool fifth on the competitive scale of BCS leagues. The SEC and Pac-10 are no-brainer one and twos, the Big East (where defense is forbidden) and Big 12 (where the North could fold and no one would miss it) are next in line, and the Big Ten narrowly edges out the ACC in pecking order, though Virginia Tech is better than any team in the Midwest.

Michigan's disappointing play has been well documented — Saturday's win over soon-to-be 0-8 Notre Dame does nothing to inspire confidence — and the rest of the conference is doing its best to follow suit. Northwestern losing to Duke? Iowa falling to an Iowa State team coming off its own loss to Northern Iowa. Minnesota getting trounced (for most of the day) by Florida Atlantic? Even the teams that win (Wisconsin over The Citadel, Penn State over Buffalo, Michigan State over Pitt) look haphazard in doing so.

A colleague of mine suggested yesterday the Big Ten should go to a 10-game conference schedule. I jokingly agreed. At least then the league could disguise its awfulness as balance by keeping the victories in-house. With conference play starting this week, Ohio State looks like the class of the league again and Wisconsin, Penn State and Purdue would all make fine Alamo Bowl representatives. Unfortunately, two of those teams are headed for New Year's Day games (if they can hold off Mike Hart and his minions) where they'll take one on the chin for the Big Ten.

Michigan still will make a bowl. With Illinois, Minnesota, Northwestern and Eastern Michigan still on the schedule, it has to. Indiana should be 4-0 after squeezing the Juice (the conference's most overrated quarterback) next week. And Iowa and Michigan State (another fraudulent 4-0 team if it beats Notre Dame, a travesty if it doesn't) should hit the magically mediocre six-win mark as well. That's eight bowl teams for seven spots, and the chances of getting two BCS bids this year look slim. (The Rose Bowl will take Cal or Oregon to replace championship-bound USC, and the Florida-LSU loser should be a lock for the final at-large spot).

So don't get too excited MSU fans about that potential Motor City Bowl trip, and if you're Indiana be downright scared. You'll likely end up in a game that can't fill its commitment where you'll play a team from the Sun Belt, Conference USA or MAC, further exposing the Big Ten as a big disappointment.

Has there ever been a less appealing Michigan-Notre Dame game than the one scheduled for next Saturday in Ann Arbor? Two 0-2 teams, two storied programs in a state of collapse, and likely two true freshmen starting quarterbacks in over their heads in parallel season that can't be salvaged.

Sure, both teams still can rebound, win a few games, even make a bowl. But when you've been exposed as a fraud (see: Charlie Weis, offensive genius; and Michigan, leaders and best) that's little consolation. Fact is, if the Wolverines lose next week they'll be staring at their first 0-3 start in 70 years. It's both ironic and amusing that the last time Michigan was this bad was 1937, the year the Hindenburg exploded.

And depending on Chad Henne's mysterious "lower leg" injury, things could get worse. With Penn State up in two weeks, games against Wisconsin and Ohio State to close, and a potential night game at suddenly scary Michigan State still waiting, Michigan could be looking at its first bowl-less season since 1974. Or worse, an invite to the Motor City Bowl.

As for MSU, the 2-0 start is nothing championships are made of, but at least there's a good vibe around town again. Brian Hoyer made some questionable throws at quarterback Saturday against Bowling Green and the running game spent a half spinning its wheels, but coach Mark Dantonio and coordinator Pat Narduzzi have infused some life into the defense and Devin Thomas is the type of gimme-the-ball receiver the program's lacked since Charles Rogers.

Thomas had an impressive 261 all-purpose yards Saturday, including a career-high 156 receiving, prompting reporters to ask why he wasn't used more last year, especially after what seemed like a breakout four-catch, 82-yard game at Indiana.

"I knew I could do it last year, but I guess the coaching — whatever it was, now it's my opportunity," he said. "Hey, that's why they're gone."

Our NFL preview section came out today and for those of you not lucky enough to see a copy I wanted to share my preseason picks. There's some genuine excitement around the Lions this season, not of the Super Bowl-contending variety, but most expect them to be an improved team (not hard coming of a 3-13 season). I agree, to a point.

I have the Lions finishing 6-10, with the possibility of 8-8 if all goes well. The offense has tremendous potential with Jon Kitna, Roy Williams, Mike Furrey, Calvin Johnson, and I believe the running game will be better than advertised with all that competition. Defensively I have my doubts like everyone else, and from that standpoint Sunday's season-opener will be a good barometer. The Raiders were beyond terrible on offense last year. If they put up 20-plus points Sunday, I'd be extremely worried.

Defensive coordinator Joe Barry said today Shaun Rogers is ready to play a full compliment of snaps, but the team has a plan (the details of which he wouldn't share) on how to use him early. Backup Shaun Cody is a more than capable No. 2, so don't expect the Lions to overextend their biggest difference-maker at this point in the season.

That said, my game-by-game predictions call for the Lions to lose Sunday. Frankly, I have visions of Josh McCown and Mike Williams putting it to their old team. Beyond that, Detroit should get its first win next week against Minnesota, Johnson will challenge for rookie of the year (but lose out to Buffalo's Marshawn Lynch), and Kitna will top the 4,000-yard passing mark for the second straight year. I've got the Bears winning the NFC North again (who doesn't?) and the Chargers winning the Super Bowl with LaDainian Tomlinson as MVP. My most off the board pick? Whoever wins the NFC West, San Francisco or Seattle, will represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.

I talked to a good friend of mine and big Michigan fan on the way home from the Michigan State-UAB game Saturday and the first question out of his mouth was, "So, is Lloyd gone or what?" I'm sure he's not the only one asking that question about the Michigan coach, either.

I would hate to be a Michigan regent this morning, dealing with a deluge of 'Fire Lloyd" emails and phone calls. Fact is, Lloyd Carr won a national championship a decade ago and has taken the Wolverines to the Rose Bowl three of the last four years. His offense may be too stodgy and his defense in the dark when it comes to stopping a running quarterback, but Carr still has some built-up leeway he's got to exhaust before Michigan would ever think of firing him.

Now, everyone knows Carr doesn't plan on coaching much longer. Many speculated this would be his final season, that'd he ride off into the sunset with his Mike Hart-Jake Long-Chad Henne nucleus after one last go-round at a national title. The title dreams were dashed on the first day of September, and frankly there's nothing left for U-M to look forward to this year. Yeah, Michigan still could win the Big Ten, still finish top 10 (though they'll have to climb from the unranked in this man's poll), but this team will always be known as the one that lost to Appalachian State.

There's no defending Saturday's result, no reason Michigan should ever schedule a game like that let alone lose to a I-AA team, but it must be said that Appalachian State is better than a handful of Division I teams (including, probably, UAB) and the outcome might have been different had Mike Hart been available all game.

Regardless, Carr's task now is to keep his team from crumbling. They've got three big home games coming up against two good teams (Oregon and Penn State) and Notre Dame. Another loss and that 7-5 season of two years ago might start looking pretty good. Meanwhile, Michigan fans can spend the next three months coach-watching the likes of Kirk Ferentz, Les Miles and, just for fun, Jim Harbaugh (who incidentally is just the type of coach Michigan needs). Carr still will call the shot on his retirement, but Saturday's loss cost him any shot of picking his own predecessor. For that, my buddy was thankful.

Thoughts, predictions and more lists as we get ready to kick off the college football season:

First, the NCAA should move to eliminate the rash of Division I-AA opponents on the schedules of its biggest-name programs by discounting those victories towards postseason qualification. Like in basketball, where the selection committee excludes wins over non-Division I teams, major programs would be less likely to schedule the worst kind of "buy" game for fear of BCS repercussions. An 11-1 team with a win over Appalachian State (Michigan?) would be considered 10-1 at the end of the year for bowl-slotting purposes. Likewise, A 6-6 team that beats Montana State (Texas A&M?) would be considered 5-6 and not bowl eligible. Along with Michigan and Texas A&M, four other top-25 teams open the season with I-AA opponents, including Ohio State-Youngstown State.

Second, I've got three more lists to complete the Big 10 before the season starts. Splitting time between the Lions and MSU the past few weeks hasn't always been conducive to blogging, so here goes the belated;

Linebackers - 1. James Laurinaitis, Ohio State, 2. Dan Connor, Penn State, 3. J Leman, Illinois, 4. Mike Klinkenborg, 5. Marcus Freeman, Ohio State

Defensive backs - 1. Justin King, Penn State, 2. Malcolm Jenkins, Ohio State, 3. Jack Ikegwuonu, Wisconsin, 4. Otis Wiley, Michigan State, 5. Anthony Scirrotto, Penn State

Teams - 1. Michigan, 2. Ohio State, 3. Wisconsin, 4. Penn State, 5. Iowa

That leaves me with a few fearless predictions to get on record before kick. As you can see (and if you read our college football section you already know) I like Michigan to win the conference this year with an 11-1 record and a loss at Wisconsin. I think Lloyd Carr and Co. finally get over the Tressel curse, and the Wolverines' strength of schedule will be enough to get them in the BCS title game against USC, where they'll be summarily pounded.

Ohio State will be the next best team in the Big Ten by the end of the season. The Buckeyes have eight games to iron out their kinks and get ready for a final four-game stretch that starts at Penn State and includes home tilts with Wisconsin and Illinois before closing at Michigan. They'll lose the two road games, but beat my No. 3 team, Wisconsin. The Badgers would get more respect if they played someone with a pulse out of conference, but that doesn't diminish their fine running back (P.J. Hill) and better defense.

As for Michigan State, I've got the Spartans going 6-6 in Mark Dantonio's first year. They should win their first three games before their brutal schedule begins to take its toll. Two winnable conference games early (against Northwestern and Indiana) are musts if there's a bowl in MSU's future, and I see an upset against Penn State in Week 12. Dantonio has preached the importance of overcoming adversity since he took over last November, and that will manifest itself in the form of a surprise victory somewhere on the schedule. As young as the defense is and with its most important skill players back, MSU be looking at an 8-4 2008.