A new phase for CSU football gets underway at a very, very old — and very, very large — locale when the Rams kick off the Jay Norvell Era at the Big House against No. 8. Michigan on national television Saturday. As the train leaves the station, here’s what CSU needs to get done this fall to shock the world and get back to the postseason for the first time since 2017:

1. Pull out some close games

The Rams were 8-3 in games decided by eight points or less under Jim McElwain from 2012-14. Since 2015, they’re 8-16, and some of those near-misses — hello, Utah State in ’21 — were as original as they were excruciating. A sign of hope: Norvell’s Nevada Wolf Pack went 14-7 in one-score games from 2018-’21.

2. Hold serve at home (please)

A complete 180 in terms of system, staff, philosophies and personnel could take time to gel. Fortunately for Norvell, especially on the PR front, all six games at Canvas Stadium this fall are winnable. And the locals will be itching for revenge against the Aggies (Oct. 15) and Wyoming (Nov. 12) after the way those road games went belly-up last fall.

3. Don’t shame fan base on special teams

Want to win close games (and home games)? Take care of the little things. And don’t give the other guys cheap field position, new life or free points just because you didn’t hire a special teams coach (Lookin’ at you, Daz. Again.) From 2019-21, CSU’s special teams units were ranked, on average, 87th in the country by FootballOutsiders.com’s metrics. Over that same span, Norvell’s Pack averaged 51st nationally, and were among the top 40 (No. 34) last fall.

4. Show up in November

Another good way to get fans and donors cheesed off all winter long? Collapse down the stretch, year after year. Few programs have done that lately better — or worse — than CSU, which sports a (brace yourselves) record of 2-14 since 2018 in regular-season games played between Oct. 27 and Dec. 12. Nevada, over that same window of time, went 14-6 in those late-season matchups under Norvell.

5. Don’t be scared to throw it in red zone

All together now: Run, run, throw, kick. Pueblo’s Cayden Camper looked solid as CSU’s placekicker last fall, but Rams fans saw far too much of him at times — nearly half (15) of his 32 attempts in ’21 came from 29 yards away or closer. No shock: Over the last two seasons, Daz’s Rams ranked eighth among MW schools in throws attempted from the opponent’s red zone per game (3.8), ahead of only UNLV (3.6), Wyoming (2.6), New Mexico (2.4) and Air Force (1.6). Norvell’s Pack? 5.6 red-zone tries per tilt — with 35 passing touchdowns and only one pick.