Rams Drop Opener to Ranked Michigan

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Methodical throughout, with an occasional splash of flash.

The Jay Norvell era at Colorado State began with a big task in the Big House, facing a top-10 Michigan team coming off an appearance in the College Football playoffs. Obviously not the easiest place to make a first impression.

But every new coach and season needs a starting point, with the 51-7 loss in front of 109,575 at Michigan Stadium the floor from which Colorado State starts 2022. From here on out, it's about how high they can push the ceiling.

"It's a little bit of too much, too soon for us, to be able to face a team of this quality this early," Norvell said. "They're a good football team. I thought we did some good things. The game was pretty much penalty free on our side of the ball, and I was proud of that."

The Air Raid offense was grounded by a defense with top-of-the-line potential. Piloted by a redshirt freshman – Clay Millen – making his first career star, he was being protected by a redshirt sophomore at left tackle – Brian Crespo-Jaquez – making his first start. So was tight end Tanner Arkin.

Millen was steady facing a dose of constant pressure, a pass rush which only became more aggressive as the seconds ticked off the clock and the Wolverines added points to the scoreboard. The rush directly led to a Michigan touchdown, as Millen fumbled under pressure on a fourth-down play on the first drive of the second half, the ball collected by D.J. Turner and returned 45 yards for a score.

"The speed wasn't extremely a lot faster, and I knew they were going to be a good football team," Millen said. "It wasn't like the game in my head was going really fast. They were just a really good team that executed well."

Millen turned over the ball twice, the first an interception in the opening quarter, as finished 16-of-20 passing for 137 yards while being sacked seven times. He did show a bit of elusiveness in scrambling for a couple key gains, his 12-yarder the longest rush of the game for CSU.

The youngster never relented, paying off with a fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Tory Horton, a 34-yard connection down the home sideline as the Rams avoided being shut out for the first time since 2013.

"Your first one is always fun, so that was good to go out there and throw my first one here, which is a cool experience," Millen said. "But obviously at the end of the day we didn't execute the way we wanted to, so as a quarterback, it's your job to move the offense, so I'll be watching film and trying to learn and get ready for Middle Tennessee next week.

"I'll be (watching film) a lot."

Defensively, coordinator Freddie Banks has installed a new scheme which showed some grit in situations, particularly the red zone. The 23-0 deficit at halftime could have been a far wider bridge if not for a trio of stops inside the 20, forcing three made field goals by Jake Moody, one of them coming after sudden change when Millen threw his pick which was returned by 37 yards by Rod Moore to the CSU 13.

Michigan's passing game didn't do much but did supply the one quick strike in the game, a 61-yard hookup between Cade McNamara and Roman Wilson off a slip screen on the home sideline. What the Wolverines did do well, as they did a year ago, was run the ball behind a powerful offensive front.

They rushed for 234 yards on the afternoon, with Blake Corum rushing for 76 and a score to lead the way. Backup quarterback J.J. McCarthy entering in the second half an adding another layer to the attack as he scored on a 20-yard run and finished with 50 overall, one of three Michigan rushers to hit 50 in the game.

"Late in the game, their offensive line started leaning on us and we got overpowered a couple of times in our line," Norvell said. "But overall, I'm not discouraged about our guys at all. This is a good football team. They're pretty different than everybody else on our schedule. I'm proud of our players. I think we're doing a lot of good things and a lot of things right, and if we continue to do those things, we're going to see improvement as we go through the year."

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Clay Millen

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Tanner Arkin

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Tory Horton

Clay Millen

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Tanner Arkin

Brian Crespo-Jaquez

Tory Horton

Clay Millen

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