Michigan 51, Colorado State 7
By LARRY LAGE
AP Sports Writer
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Cade McNamara had a lackluster performance that was made moot by a dominant defense as No. 8 Michigan routed Colorado State 51-7.
The Big Ten championship winning quarterback started the opener and is scheduled to sit at the beginning of the Hawaii game next week when J.J. McCarthy gets a shot to take the first snap.
McNamara started 1 of 5 and finished 9 of 18 for 136 yards, a total boosted by a short pass he threw that Roman Wilson turned into a 61-yard touchdown early in the first quarter. McCarthy made the most of his limited opportunity to play, running for a 20-yard score and going 4 of 4 for 30 yards through the air.
With McNamara under center, the Wolverines stalled at the Rams 13, 8 and 16 and settled for field goals in the first half that ended with them ahead 23-0.
Michigan's defense, which had seven sacks and an interception, contributed to the flurry of scores with a 45-yard touchdown off a fumble recovery early in the third.
The Rams avoided getting shutout midway through the fourth quarter when Clay Millen lofted a 34-yard pass that Tory Horton caught in the end zone to make it 44-7.
Millen, a redshirt freshman, was 16 of 20 for 137 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
THE TAKEAWAY
Colorado State: New coach Jay Norvell has a lot of work to do with the Rams after leaving Nevada. Norvell's No. 1 task may be to improve how his team protects Millen, who was often pressured when he wasn't sacked.
Michigan: Jim Harbaugh chose a unique way to manage his quarterbacks, giving both a chance to start over the first two weeks. McCarthy seems set up to keep the job if he flourishes against Hawaii.
| Scoring Summary |
| First Quarter |
ColoSt | Mich |
| Mich |
TD |
9:49 |
Roman Wilson 61 yard TD pass from Cade McNamara (Jake Moody Extra Point) |
0 |
7 |
| Mich |
FG |
8:06 |
Jake Moody 31 yard field goal |
0 |
10 |
| Second Quarter |
ColoSt | Mich |
| Mich |
FG |
14:48 |
Jake Moody 26 yard field goal |
0 |
13 |
| Mich |
TD |
5:25 |
Blake Corum 7 yard TD run (Jake Moody Extra Point) |
0 |
20 |
| Mich |
FG |
0:11 |
Jake Moody 34 yard field goal |
0 |
23 |
| Third Quarter |
ColoSt | Mich |
| Mich |
TD |
12:12 |
DJ Turner 45 yard fumble return for TD (Jake Moody Extra Point) |
0 |
30 |
| Mich |
TD |
6:08 |
J.J. McCarthy 20 yard TD run (Jake Moody Extra Point) |
0 |
37 |
| Fourth Quarter |
ColoSt | Mich |
| Mich |
TD |
14:12 |
Donovan Edwards 1 yard TD run (Jake Moody Extra Point) |
0 |
44 |
| ColoSt |
TD |
8:59 |
Tory Horton 34 yard TD pass from Clay Millen (Cayden Camper Extra Point) |
7 |
44 |
| Mich |
TD |
1:43 |
Alex Orji 4 yard TD run (Jake Moody Extra Point) |
7 |
51 |
| Team Stats |
| |
Colorado State |
Michigan |
| First downs |
14 |
24 |
| Rushing |
6 |
13 |
| Passing |
8 |
11 |
| Penalty |
0 |
0 |
| 3rd Down Efficiency |
2-11, 18% |
3-10, 30% |
| 4th down efficiency |
1-4, 25% |
2-2, 100% |
| Rushes-Yards |
39-82 |
40-234 |
| Passing Yards |
137 |
206 |
| Return Yards |
0 |
71 |
| Completions-Attempts-Int |
16-20-1 |
18-28-0 |
| Sacks-Yards Lost |
7-50 |
1-8 |
| Punts |
5 |
2 |
| Fumbles Lost |
1-1 |
0-0 |
| Penalties - Yards |
0-0 |
1-10 |
| Colorado State Passing |
| Player |
Cmp |
Att |
Yds |
TDs |
Int |
| C. Millen |
16 |
20 |
137 |
1 |
1 |
| Colorado State Interceptions |
| Player |
Int |
Yards |
| Michigan Interceptions |
| Player |
Int |
Yards |
| R. Moore |
1 |
37 |
| Colorado State Punting |
| Player |
Punts |
Yards |
Avg |
| P. Turner |
5 |
179 |
35.8 |
| Michigan Punting |
| Player |
Punts |
Yards |
Avg |
| B. Robbins |
2 |
94 |
47.0 |
| Colorado State Punt Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| M. Stovall |
2 |
0 |
0 |
| Michigan Punt Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| A. Henning |
1 |
10 |
10.0 |
| Colorado State Kick Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| Michigan Kick Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| J. Taylor |
1 |
24 |
24.0 |
| Colorado State Missed FG |
| Player |
Length |
| Michigan Missed FG |
| Player |
Length |
