A Colorado State strength coach appeared to run up behind his own player, grab his jersey and yell in his face while trailing Boise State 29-10

Colorado State strength and conditioning coach Shelton Bynum appeared to run up behind offensive lineman Toriyan Johnson, grab his jersey, and yell in his face during the Rams’ 64-38 loss to Boise State. The moment happened while Colorado State trailed 29-10 before halftime, as shown in a video posted on X by local sports anchor Jon Tritsch, per BroBible.

Other players and coaches stepped in to separate the two. Johnson continued to shout back at Bynum before the situation cooled down, and it is unclear what started the confrontation.

Head coach Jim Mora Jr. addressed the incident at the start of his postgame press conference, though he had not yet watched the video. “Let me address the video that’s out there. I’ve not seen it, of Toriyan and our strength coach, getting into it. It’s a passionate game played by passionate people that are all alpha dogs, but there’s no place for that. Once I see it, we’ll address it and we’ll go from there,” Mora said.

Nobody seems sure what set it off

Mora indicated the matter will be handled internally, and the program has not offered more detail about what happened. Johnson, a fifth-year offensive lineman, followed Mora to Colorado State from UConn.

The incident came during a difficult season for the Rams, who fell to 3-6 after the loss. Colorado State has lost by at least two scores to BYU, UTSA, Oregon State, Texas State, and Utah State, and allowed 22 points to Boise State in the first quarter alone. Sideline tempers at football games do not always stay between players, as a youth football brawl in Florida showed.

Backup quarterback Max Cutforth threw four touchdown passes and ran for another score as No. 20 Boise State won its eighth straight game, according to ESPN. The loss dropped Colorado State to 1-14 all-time against Boise State, with its lone win coming in Fort Collins in 2023. Both programs moved from the Mountain West to the Pac-12 this season.

Mora fired his original defensive coordinator during the Week 4 game against Oregon State. His replacement has reportedly been living at the team facility, and the defense gave up 64 points to the Broncos.

Mora arrived at Colorado State during the offseason after leaving UConn, paying a $1.5 million buyout to leave the Huskies. The move drew public criticism from Nick Saban, who mocked him for leaving UConn after back-to-back nine-win seasons.