Michigan is hours away from kicking off its 2022 season-opener against Colorado State. The Wolverines will host the Rams at Michigan Stadium with kickoff set to take place at noon on ESPN.
Below, the Maize & Blue Review staff give their predictions on what they think will happen on Saturday.
Josh Henschke
This is a game that Michigan could very much sleepwalk through and come out on top. Ultimately, you would like to see the Wolverines come out of this unscathed in the injury department and have some solid talking points as things shift into the next week. I think U-M will take advantage of an overly-aggressive Colorado State defense with multiple deep shots and long runs. U-M breezes through this one.
Michigan 42 - Colorado State 17
Brandon Justice
Colorado State’s offensive line has zero returners, four transfer starters, and zero games of experience together. Michigan’s only question mark is creating pressure. The Wolverines will make the Rams look a lot worse than they really are due to the mismatch.
Michigan 49 Colorado State 17
Dennis Fithian
Michigan doesn’t have anything to prove on offense, but they’ll want to make their captain look good while he’s under center. With all the focus on the quarterbacks, real close observers will be more interested in the rotations for new UM DC Jesse Minter. Everyone comes away happy.
Michigan 41 - Colorado State 13
Trevor McCue
Michigan gets back to basics in week 1. All eyes will be on Cade but I think Michigan gets most of the work done in the first half and goes to the bench in the second. They’ll score enough, and Colorado State will sneak in a couple.
Michigan 45 - Colorado State 14
Zach Libby
The score really doesn’t matter outside of winning comfortably. The biggest storyline to watch is how Cade performs knowing that his career at Michigan might be on the line. Channels will be flipped at halftime once the backups are put in.
Michigan 41 - Colorado State 10
Brock Heilig
Aside from the overall excitement of Michigan Football being back, there will be a few storylines to keep an eye on Saturday. How will JJ McCarthy be utilized? How will the defense look under Jesse Minter? Does Michigan rely heavily on the run as it did throughout last year’s non-conference slate? Overall, Michigan’s superior talent will prove to be too much for Colorado State to handle, but keep an eye on the more intriguing storylines in this one.
Michigan 52 - Colorado State 13
Davis Moseley
Michigan closes around a 30pt favorite over Colorado State for Saturday’s game. Cade McNamara gets the start at QB and all eyes will be on him as he battles with JJ McCarthy. I expect the running backs to carry the load against CSU but think McNamara will attempt to showcase what he can do. The defense will be challenged by an air raid offense but should respond well. Overall, the Wolverines should overpower the Rams and win handedly.
Michigan 48 - Colorado State 17
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