FORT COLLINS — Jay Norvell wants it to be perfectly clear — this is not a throwaway season for Colorado State.

Despite all of the struggles in recent years, despite the record this season and despite the amount of players that have left the program in the last two months, the Rams still have a lot to play for as the second half of the season is now underway. That’s exactly how CSU looked at Saturday.

It wasn’t pretty, and Norvell says often that it doesn’t have to be. But the Rams got it done when it mattered most and picked up their second win of the season, a 17-13 victory over Hawaii.

“That was a hard game,” Norvell said. “It was like a four-hour root canal with no novocaine.”

It was a familiar formula for this CSU football team. A good rushing attack, led by running back Avery Morrow, and a bend-don’t-break defense propelled the Rams once again. No other time has that been more evident than the final 8:44 of Saturday’s contest.

The Rams offense leaned on Morrow and he punched it into the end zone for his second touchdown of the game with 1:38 to go.

𝐓𝐎𝐔𝐂𝐇𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐍‼️@Avery25_THEKING FROM 10 YARDS TO GIVE US THE LEAD!#Stalwart x #RamGrit 🐏 pic.twitter.com/aK9JZi73az

— Colorado State Football ⛰️ (@CSUFootball) October 22, 2022

Less than a minute later, Ayden Hector picked off Hawaii quarterback Brayden Schager and the game was over.

Hector called GAME!#Stalwart x #RamGrit 🐏 pic.twitter.com/4KuBtliEdD

— Colorado State Football ⛰️ (@CSUFootball) October 22, 2022

“When you’re learning how to win, you have to play really good football in the fourth quarter,” Norvell said.

The CSU defense certainly did that, not just in the fourth quarter, but in the entire second half as they continue to flip the script during Mountain West play.

After giving up 219 yards and 13 points in the first half, the Rams pitched a shutout in the final 30 minutes and allowed just 38 total yards.

“At halftime, we were talking amongst ourselves, especially as a secondary, and we really told ourselves, ‘They don’t get any more from here,’” Hector, who had the game-sealing interception, said.

On the other side of the ball, it was much of the same from Morrow, who finished the day with 147 rushing yards and two touchdowns, becoming the first CSU player to have three-straight games with over 100 yards rushing since 2017.

“This is what he’s always wanted,” Norvell said. “He’s getting an opportunity to show what he can really do. The run game has really given us some stability offensively and it’s something we can hang our hat on.”

But as Norvell said, it was painful at times for the Rams, especially on offense.

They got quarterback Clay Millen back for the first time in nearly a month and his presence certainly helped the offense. But the red zone struggles continued and made some players feel like this shouldn’t have been a game they needed to win at the end. They were able to find the end zone twice inside the red zone, but on two other occasions turned the ball over inside the 10-yard line.

“I’m getting annoyed not being able to score [from] that close,” Morrow said. “This game shouldn’t have been close at all.”

The win, no matter how it came, was still sweet for the players in the CSU locker room.

And it’s especially sweet for the players like linebacker Dequan Jackson — one of the few players that’s stuck it out through multiple head coaches and a lot of losses.

Norvell has brought up time and time again just how bad these second halves of the season have been at CSU over the last half-decade. If the Rams want to show that things are turning around in Fort Collins, winning games late in the year in October and November is crucial. They hope Saturday was just the beginning.

“I love this team and I love the guys. I want to finish what I started and I made a commitment to the team,” Jackson said. “They voted me captain and I don’t take that lightly. Through all the years and all the changes, I still love this program. I think about it everyday, if I can be the one my senior year to impact the other guys and we turn this thing around and we go win, that would mean a lot to me.”