Keys to the game: Michigan football vs. Colorado State

We’re finally here — the Michigan 2022 opener. The summer often seems to drag when your team has high expectations … for many Michigan fans, the days have been crawling toward the Sept. 3 contest with Colorado State.

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For the Wolverines, it’s the start of a championship defense (though Big Ten play doesn’t start until Sept. 24 with Maryland) for the first time since 2004. Very few, however, are giving them a chance to repeat. Ohio State, in fact, was the unanimous choice to win the conference in a media vote. Not one person gave Jim Harbaugh’s eighth team the nod despite a lot of returning talent.

Similarly, few are giving any of the three Michigan non-conference opponents a chance to beat the Wolverines in Ann Arbor. Harbaugh wasn’t asked a single question about the Rams at his Monday presser, in fact. It was mostly about the quarterback competition between Cade McNamara and J.J. McCarthy.

Grad student center Olu Oluwatimi, however, shed some light on how the offense is preparing for a team with a new coaching staff, including defensive coordinator Freddie Banks. Banks was at Montana State last year before joining the Rams.

“We’re studying a lot of Montana State film, where their D.C. came from,” the Michigan center noted. “We’re also watching Colorado State film for personnel to see the returning starters they’re going to have.”

They’re ready to hit somebody else, he added, excited for the season to begin.

Here are our three keys to a Michigan win over CSU Saturday:

Michigan defensive communication against the Colorado State ‘Air Raid’ attack

Head coach Jay Norvell comes from Nevada, where he loved to air it out. Starter Carson Strong threw for 4,175 yards and 36 touchdowns a year ago, in fact, completing 70.1 percent of his passes.

In short — the ball is going to be in the air a lot Saturday at Michigan Stadium when CSU has the ball.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Clay Millen will be the quarterback, and he’ll be starting his first collegiate game. He started only 15 games in high school, in fact, so it’s fair to say he’ll be getting a baptism under fire this weekend.

Michigan has some returning starters in the secondary, of course, including potentially outstanding corner DJ Turner. But this is going to be a test for converted nickel back Mike Sainristil, who will likely play a lot in his first game action at defensive back. Freshman Will Johnson will likely play a lot, too.

The ball will be coming out quickly and often, sometimes before Michigan pass rushers even have a chance to take a few steps. Communication is key to defending an offense like this — making sure there are no blown coverages that lead to big plays for scores, etc.

A few of those, and this one could be closer than expected.

Control the line of scrimmage on defense

This is the case for just about every game, of course. But against a team that loves to throw, pressure is going to be key. Michigan obviously lost a pair of elite pass rushers in David Ojabo and Aidan Hutchinson, and that’s not easy to replace.

If Millen has time to throw, it could be a tougher than expected day for the Michigan defense. He’s apparently not a dink and dunk kind of guy.

“I love this kid,” CSU quarterbacks coach and associate head coach Matt Mumme told 5280.com. “He’s smart, has great presence, and has a really good arm. He’ll be throwing the ball down the field a long, long way.”

But only if he has time.

We trust the Michigan run defense, but this was never going to be a game in which the Colorado State backs were featured. If it turns out that way and they have some success in the running game, then there are going to be some issues. Senior defensive tackle Mazi Smith and Co. should be up to the task there.

The goal Saturday will be getting some early pressure and putting Millen in some uncomfortable second- and third-and-long situations.

Michigan offense — keep the foot on the gas pedal

No, that doesn’t mean break out an air raid offense of its own. Michigan should be able to run the ball and hit on some big plays with its potentially elite offensive line, and frankly, it would be disappointing if they didn’t have a 100-yard rusher between junior Blake Corum and sophomore Donovan Edwards.

But there are a lot of playmakers at receiver and tight end, too, and a balanced offense is the toughest to defend. It says here the Wolverines will throw a bit more than last year, given the outstanding playmakers and the absence of a back like Hassan Haskins who could move the chains by breaking tackles.

Both quarterbacks are going to play, and they’ll bring different looks. Contrary to what some Michigan fans want to believe, each of them is capable of making big plays. And we expect several in this game. McNamara is one of the most improved players on the team, per head coach Jim Harbaugh, and McCarthy can do it with both his arm and his feet.

So … score and score some more. They might need to against the better teams on the schedule, so the Michigan offense might as well hit the ground running (and passing) in the opener. No need to hold back.

The Breakdown: Michigan Wolverines football vs. Colorado State

This Colorado State team is going to be dangerous in a few years under Norvell. He had some success at Nevada, and he brought a lot of his guys with him to CSU. And teams like this can be tricky to deal with in openers. The ball is going to go all over the yard Saturday.

“The [air raid] absolutely is a mindset…” Norvell said on the Jim Rome Show in midsummer, per 5280. “So many offensive coaches talk themselves out of throwing the ball deep … really, a lot of times the guys who let the defense off the hook are the play callers.

“But we don’t do that here. We want to take our shots, and we have a saying — You can’t score if you don’t try. We want to throw the ball to the end zone as many times as we can.”

Discipline will be key, as will ball protection. Turnovers can be an equalizer in games like these, and allowing a team to hang around — any team — can be dangerous.

That said, this Colorado State team is severely overmatched from a talent standpoint, and this Michigan team is hungry. Expect the Wolverines to score early and often and pull away.