Earlier that morning, Colorado Agricultural players and fans bought orange and green ribbons at a dry goods store in Longmont, choosing the school's colors.

After the forfeit was called and the Colorado Agricultural players began leaving the field, official McArthur reportedly exclaimed that he "did not give a damn for the rules" and instructed the Wyoming team to run in a touchdown.

[8] Harry Hughes accepted the position of athletic director and head football coach at Colorado Agricultural University in 1911 and turned a winless team in 1911 into conference champions with an undefeated record in 1915.

[15] This triple pass was an end around play based on the single wing formation and helped Hughes lead his teams to national fame.

Several of Davis's players went on to careers in the National Football League including Dale Dodrill, Thurman "Fum" McGraw, Jim David, Don Burroughs, Jack Christiansen, Alex Burl and Gary Glick.

Davis's 1955 team won the Skyline Conference championship but following the season he resigned from coaching football to concentrate on his duties as athletic director.

[80] Faced with a culture of losing, Lubick assembled a staff of assistants that included eventual Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer, and began aggressively recruiting and attempting to change CSU's image.

[57] Led by a defense that featured future NFL players Sean Moran and Brady Smith,[82][83] They rolled to a then school-best 7–0 start, including a shocking 21–16 upset over No.

[84] Late in the second half, Garrett Sand forced a fumble that Moran recovered and ran back 79 yards for a touchdown, a feat known among Ram fans as simply "The Play.

Led by quarterback Moses Moreno,[100] the WAC Offensive Player of the Year,[101] running back Kevin McDougal,[102] and future Pittsburgh Steelers linebackers Joey Porter and Clark Haggans,[103][104] the Rams were only seriously threatened once for the rest of the season, a 14–7 victory at Wyoming on October 18.

On September 4 the game, dubbed the Rocky Mountain Showdown, was played at a neutral site, Mile High Stadium in Denver for the second straight year, and the Rams were once again considered underdogs against the ranked Buffaloes.

However, behind 189 rushing yards and two touchdowns from McDougal, the Rams blew out the Buffaloes 41–14, marking the first time in 13 years that CSU had beaten their in-state rivals.

Victories over Wyoming and Air Force also completed the "Front Range" sweep, and the Rams finished 8–4 again,[112] this time tying for the Mountain West title.

[114] In 2000, Lubick's Rams, led primarily by Mountain West Conference Offensive Player of the Year Matt Newton,[115] defeated Colorado for the second straight season by a score of 28–24.

[118] With the graduation of several key seniors, and the preseason loss of starting running back Cecil Sapp to injury, Lubick faced a rebuilding year in 2001.

A transfer from Michigan State, Van Pelt's dual threat capability as a running and passing quarterback would make him a two-time conference player of the year.

After losing to CU in 2001, Van Pelt and the Rams, bolstered by the return of Sapp, went into their Rocky Mountain Showdown heavy underdogs against a Buffaloes team ranked sixth in the nation.

[122] As he neared the goal line, Van Pelt turned and spiked the football off of CU cornerback Roderick Sneed's helmet as he scored what would be the game-winning touchdown.

[132] Leading 21–10 after three quarters,[132] three interceptions allowed CU to tie the game, and Mason Crosby kicked a game-winning 47-yard field goal with five seconds left to give the Buffs a 31–28 win.

Behind school record setting wide receiver David Anderson,[133] and buoyed by the surprising emergence of thousand yard sophomore running back Kyle Bell,[134] CSU finished the regular season 6–5 and tied for second place in the Mountain West.

[139] The Rams defeated Weber State 30–6,[140] but lost another starter prior to their game against archrival Colorado on September 9, this time due to scandal.

[141] Several players, including preseason All-MWC cornerback Robert Herbert, were suspended indefinitely from the program after being charged with fraud in a campus check-cashing scandal.

On September 9, after three years of frustratingly close losses, the Rams defeated their in-state rival CU by a score of 14–10 at Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium.

Lubick won nearly 75% of home games in the stadium whose playing surface would bear his name, leading the team to six conference titles and a 108–74 record.

[166] In December 2007, Colorado State University announced that the National Football League's Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild would be returning to his alma mater to serve as head coach.

[203][204] The momentum didn't last long, though, as CSU suffered a 22–7 setback in their home opener one week later to defending FCS national champion North Dakota State, the start of a six-game losing skid.

[211] Those hopes were dashed, however, in their final regular season game at Air Force, when the Falcons hit a game-winning field goal as time expired, defeating the Rams.

In August 2020, the university temporarily suspended the football program and initiated investigations into accusations of racism and verbal abuse of players by the coaching staff.

Fans were welcomed back to Canvas Stadium on September 3, 2021, when the Rams hosted South Dakota State in front of an electric crowd of 32,327.

[263] On October 22, 2021, CSU lost to Utah State 26–24 in the final seconds of the game due to a substitution mishap that forced Rams' kicker Cayden Camper to rush a field goal rather than stopping the clock to let him set up the kick.