The Colorado State Rams and Michigan Wolverines open their seasons Saturday at Michigan Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for noon ET (ABC). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook‘s lines around the Colorado State vs. Michigan odds, and make our expert college football picks and predictions.
The Rams kick off the Jay Norvell era Saturday at The Big House. Norvell comes over from Mountain West rival Nevada, and he brings QB Clay Millen and WR Tory Horton with him. The Rams offense should be much more explosive than the 2021 version which averaged just 23.7 PPG.
The Wolverines won the Big Ten Championship Game last season for the first time, as well as making its first-ever trip to the College Football Playoff. Michigan lost a lot of talent to the NFL ranks, but expectations are still very high for head coach Jim Harbaugh’s squad.
This is just the second all-time meeting between these teams. Michigan won the first meeting 24-14 in the 1994 Holiday Bowl in San Diego.
Michigan is ranked No. 6 in the AFCA Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.
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Colorado State at Michigan odds
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 7:05 a.m. ET.
- Money line (ML): Colorado State +1400 (bet $100 to win $1,400) | Michigan -4000 (bet $4,000 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Colorado State +30.5 (-105) | Michigan -30.5 (-115)
- Over/Under (O/U): 61.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
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Colorado State at Michigan picks and predictions
Prediction
Michigan 41, Colorado State 20
Money line
Don’t bother with Michigan (-4000) on the money line, as this is a lot of risk for not very much reward. In fact, you must risk $100 for every $2.50 won, and that’s just silly as a long-term betting strategy.
AVOID.
Against the spread
COLORADO STATE +30.5 (-105) is going to be a better bet under Norvell this season, but there won’t be an upset here. Still, the Rams have an adequate offensive attack, and if the defense can be better than the 2021 version, Colorado State could hang around within 4 touchdowns.
Michigan lost so much on both sides of the football that it might take a little while to jell and get its sea legs before pulling away in the 2nd half of the season.
Over/Under
UNDER 61.5 (-110) is the lean in this opener.
Norvell takes over the reins as the head coach in Fort Collins, and he brings some new personnel and new schemes. The Rams might take a while to generate some consistency.
The Under is 4-1 in Colorado State’s last 5 tries against the Big Ten, while the Under is 4-1 in Michigan’s last 5 in The Big House, and 4-1 in its last 5 non-conference tilts, too.
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