Although rivalry weekends are often chaotic, the Colorado State vs. Boise State game created the type of drama that can drive a whole fan base crazy. A moment of pure college football brilliance was turned into immediate outrage by one blown call. The video went viral enough to get the attention of NFL HOF Warren Sapp, who expressed his frustration with the referee’s decision.

Warren Sapp was stunned by what he saw. He shared a clip of Javion Kinnard’s long breakaway run, posted it to his IG story, and added just four angry words: “Fire the Ref! For that?” And honestly, the response reveals everything about how ridiculous this situation was. The referee was about to make a call that would completely change the tone of the game when Kinnard was exploding down the sideline for what should have been a 91-yard highlight, the Rams desperately needed.

To understand why Sapp and half of college football lost, you need to deep dive into the run. Kinnard never turns back. He never slows down. As he gets closer to the goal line, he just takes a few high steps, which is something that players do almost every Saturday. In the NCAA book, yes, anything perceived as showing up an opponent can be tagged as “unsportsmanlike,” but this was too microscopic. Still, the referee thought it was disrespectful enough to drop a 91-yard touchdown from the game.

What’s worse? When this happened, the Rams were 34–7. That run gave momentum and a spark, but the referee took it away on a call that players and analysts all think was too harsh. Even analyst Jordan Schultz posted the clip, saying, “Check out this insane ‘taunting’ call… Awful.”

Colorado State did finally score during that drive. Indeed, Boise State has kept their aspirations of winning the MWC title by winning 49–21. But even after the last whistle, referees were accused of game-fixing by CSU fans. One major call forced the whole sport to pause and debate what “taunting” even meant and turned a rivalry game into a full-fledged refereeing disaster. Yet somehow, that wasn’t the only big controversy of the night.

Colorado State’s spitting scandal

What’s worse than a 2-9 season? Losing your calm on national TV. And Colorado State QB Darius Curry learned this the hard way. He should have had the opportunity to settle in and make mistakes during his first professional start. But a normal second-half play became a viral controversy when a slow-motion replay showed him spitting at Jayden Virgin-Morgan of Boise State. Curry apologized, but even he knew it crossed a line.

“After having a chance to review the film following the game, I want to apologize to the Boise State football players, Coach Danielson, and everyone at Boise State University,” CSU interim coach Tyson Summers said.

And what made things worse? Moments later, OL Liam Wortmann, an 11-game starter and a veteran, was found guilty of the same gesture. His spit clip was captured on CSU’s internal film. That forced AD John Weber and Summers to step in quickly, suspending both players and apologizing to Boise State. “These actions are unacceptable”, Webber said. “We are all regretful for what occurred last night, and on behalf of everyone at Colorado State, I want to apologize to the Boise State Football Student-Athletes, Director of Athletics Jeramiah Dickey, Coach Danielson and the entire Boise State Football program.”

The gesture was welcomed by Boise AD Jeremiah Dickey, who said “Grateful for my friend, @ColoradoStateAD, and Interim Head Coach Tyson Summers… Immediately after the game, I received an apology and was told it would be handled appropriately. I commend them and @MountainWest for how they handled this situation. No one is perfect…always an opportunity.”

Curry and Wortmann are both suspended for the finale against Air Force. CSU has made it clear that crossing a line is non-negotiable.