ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Michigan football has a healthy lead, 20-0, over Colorado State at halftime in the program's first game of the 2022 season.
Like any college football season, the Wolverines waltzed in with question marks and a few sure things.
It's hard to make much of a non-conference first half, but in our first opportunity in nearly a year to see it in action, here are three reactions to the first half of Michigan vs. Colorado State.
The pass rush is alive and well
After losing Aidan Hutchinson & David Ojabo to the NFL, replacing the dynamic duo was the biggest question for Michigan's defense.
So far, so good.
The Wolverines' defense had four sacks in the first half, with four defenders credited a sack: defensive end Eyabi Anoma, defensive backs RJ Moten and Mike Sainristil, and linebacker Michael Barrett.
The defense also racked up seven tackles for loss from six players. Senior defensive end Mike Morris was the only player with two. DJ Turner, Anoma, Moten, Sainrsitil, and Barrett also tallied one.
Colorado State's o-line has four transfer starters playing together for the first time, plus a returner logging his first start, so don't get too carried away with the results.
Cade McNamara's stock decreased
We heard a lot about Michigan's returning starting quarterback's improvements from last year.
He had a shaky start to 2022 with a 7-for-15 start and 128 yards, 61 of which came on a screen pass to Roman Wilson for McNamara's lone touchdown.
In four red zone trips, the Wolverines have three field goals and one rushing touchdown from Blake Corum. McNamara didn't throw the ball accurately, and in all three of his third down passing attempts, he was pushed out of the pocket by defensive pressure.
In a quarterback competition that's allegedly being decided by in-game play, sophomore J.J. McCarthy has leverage if McNamara's day is done after halftime.
Multiple offensive line injuries
Before the game, U-M announced starting left tackle Ryan Hayes wouldn't be available against Colorado State.
His replacement, Karsen Barnhart, went down during the first half.
Because of that, left guard Trevor Keegan, one of the most experienced linemen in the Big Ten, was forced to fill in at left tackle. Redshirt freshman Giovanni El-Hadi is filling in for Keegan at left guard.
Michigan's o-line is its strongest unit when healthy, which is the No. 1 priority in a boring non-conference slate that shouldn't be a challenge with or without a couple of starting linemen.
The staff likely has no problem starting others to keep the starters healthy for conference play.
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