It’s time to get this out of the way: Completely objectively, bias aside, paper-to-paper, this game won’t even be close. There’s a reason Las Vegas and the betting apps have the spread hovering around 30, and the University of Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh isn’t one to pull up just because his team is leading by a fair margin.

But it doesn’t stop at Harbaugh.

There’s a quarterback competition in full motion in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and there are two very capable passers trying to prove why they deserve to be “the guy.” In the first game of the season, Colorado State University will have to try to stymie a Big Ten championship-winning quarterback, as graduate student Cade McNamara reminded everyone at Big Ten Football Media Days back in July, and the senior is as confident as ever heading into the Wolverines’ first game.

There will be no punches pulled by McNamara, who has reportedly only improved since last season, as he tries to win the job. If sophomore J.J. McCarthy ends up coming in, which Harbaugh said is very possible, he too will be trying to do everything he can to score and prove himself the best quarterback on the Wolverines’ roster.

“That’s not a team — even after a new recruiting class, a new year and a new coach — that can trot into Ann Arbor and eke out a win against Michigan.”

I’ll cave and admit the Michigan defense is unproven and will likely face a regression from last season following the departure of NFL-caliber players in Aidan Hutchinson, David Ojabo and Dax Hill. But they’ll still be better than what the Mountain West Conference has to offer: defenses CSU did not fare so well against last season.

Sure, it’s a new coach and theoretically a new start for the Rams, but that won’t be enough to bounce back against a College Football Playoff-appearing, Big Ten-winning Wolverine squad — not from the depths CSU is attempting to pull themselves from. 

I’ll use the words of my adversary, Braidon Nourse, because I think he put it best: “CSU football was a disaster last year. The Rams had an awful 3-9 overall record last season capped by a 52-10 beatdown at the hands of the University of Nevada, Reno.”

That’s not a team — even after a new recruiting class, a new year and a new coach — that can trot into Ann Arbor and eke out a win against Michigan.

The Wolverines are the best football team CSU will play this year, so there’s a good opportunity to learn some lessons, improve and maybe even run the table. But if you’re a Ram fan, don’t get your hopes up to head back home with a win — just try to find some positives.

Reach Nicholas Stoll, managing sports editor of The Michigan Daily, at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @nkstoll.