One of Coach Prime’s biggest goals since he got to Boulder has been to get Ms. Peggy Coppom to a bowl game. Not just any bowl game, but a nice bowl game. That goal was officially achieved Sunday as it was announced that Colorado would be the Pac-12/former Pac-12 representative in the Alamo Bowl.
What makes the Alamo Bowl unique is that it is the only bowl game out of 35 (not including the Celebration Bowl and the College Football Playoff) that features a conference matchup. How does this happen?
Despite the conference’s demise an offseason ago, the Pac-12 and its bowl partnerships are still in effect for this season and next season. This means that the current two Pac-12 teams (Washington State and Oregon State) and the former Pac-12 teams (such as Colorado) will play in Pac-12 affiliate bowls through next season. The Alamo Bowl’s partnerships are Big 12 and Pac-12 teams, so they selected No. 17 BYU (10-2, 7-2 Big 12) and No. 23 Colorado (9-3, 7-2 Big 12).
With Arizona State winning the Big 12 championship, thus sending them to the College Football Playoff, Colorado was then the next best “Pac-12” team, lining them up to be selected by the Alamo Bowl.
This is more than just a regular bowl game for Colorado. To start, the Buffs have a chance to rewrite the ship on previous Alamo Bowl performances for the program, as the black and gold lost all three of their appearances by a combined 65 points (vs. Texas in 2020, vs. Oklahoma State in 2016, vs. Wisconsin in 2002).
This is also an opportunity for Colorado to win their first bowl game in 20 years when they defeated UTEP in the 2004 Houston Bowl. Joel Klatt led the way for the Buffs in that game with 333 yards and two touchdowns through the air.
The game also provides an avenue for the Buffaloes to win ten games for the first time since 2016 and for just the third time in the 21st century.
The final opportunity for the Buffs in San Antonio is a chance to defeat a team they tied for first place in conference play in the regular season. Like Colorado, BYU had a 7-2 record in conference play but wasn’t a participant in the conference championship game due to tiebreakers. BYU’s Week 14 win kept the Buffs out of that game, so this game could also be some revenge for the Buffs to pay back to the Cougars.
This game is also a standalone, primetime game on national television (ABC), so as with every other Colorado football game, the nation will be watching. The lights will be bright for Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders’ Colorado finale when kickoff time comes at 5:30 p.m. MT on Saturday, Dec. 28.
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