Deion Sanders repeatedly stated that the goal of this season was to get Ms. Peggy to a bowl game, and now the Buffs’ postseason is here. Colorado will take on conference foe BYU in the Alamo Bowl on Saturday in what is essentially a de facto Big 12 third-place game.
The Buffs and the Cougars didn’t face off this season, but Colorado will be looking to set the tone in this new conference matchup before BYU comes to Boulder for a regular season matchup next season at Folsom Field.
The Alamo Bowl hasn’t been kind to the Buffs in recent years. Colorado has played its last two bowl games in San Antonio, losing 38-8 to Oklahoma State in 2016 and falling 55-23 to Texas in 2020. CU will be hoping for a better result this season in Deion Sanders’ first bowl game with the program.
On the other side, BYU limped to the end of the season after starting the year 9-0. The Cougars lost two games in a row in November against Kansas and Arizona State before closing the regular season with a win over Houston.
Let’s take a look at the Colorado-BYU matchup on both sides of the ball.
BYU at a glance
Head Coach: Kalani Sitake (71-43 in nine seasons at BYU)
2024 record: 10-2 (6-2 Big 12)
Total offense: 397.4 yards per game (59th in FBS)
Total defense: 317.0 yards allowed per game (18th)
Scoring offense: 30.8 points per game (44th)
Scoring defense: 20.1 points allowed per game (T-18th)
When Colorado has the ball
BYU has had a stout defense all season long, ranking in the top 20 in college football in both total defense and scoring defense. However, this is a decent matchup for Colorado and the Buffs should be able to find some pockets of success over the course of this game.
Colorado doesn’t have any opt-outs or notable transfer portal departures on the offensive side, and it seems like wide receiver Jimmy Horn Jr. should be back from injury. That would give the Buffs their full complement of wide receivers for the first time since their win over Texas Tech and should really help Shedeur Sanders open it up and find some explosive plays.
For BYU, starting safety Crew Wakley is the only notable opt out on his side of the ball. Linebacker Harrison Taggart, the team’s leading tackler, missed the regular season finale against Houston with an injury but looks like he will be ready to go on Saturday.
