Just over two years ago, no one in Boulder was thinking about a bowl game for their football team, no one was thinking about the Buffs in a positive light, and most importantly, no one had any idea of what was coming to town.
Now, the No. 23 Colorado Buffaloes (9-3, 7-2 Big 12) are back in the Alamo Bowl for the third time in nine years and face a tough opponent in the No. 17 BYU Cougars (10-2, 7-2 Big 12). Some people thought this matchup would happen in Arlington in the Big 12 Championship game, but due to tiebreakers, neither team made it.
For Colorado, Saturday will be the final time that some of the players who have transformed this program will take the field: Travis Hunter, Shedeur Sanders, Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig, Jimmy Horn Jr., and many more. Saturday could also be a day for some notable Buffs to make a return from injury, including Horn and Omarion Miller.
BYU is arguably the toughest opponent that the Buffs will have faced on the gridiron this year. Once undefeated at 9-0 and ranked No. 6 by the College Football Playoff committee, the Cougars dropped two of their final three games of the season to fall out of contention for a conference title.
This game will see two heavyweight units clash against each other, as BYU’s top-ranked defense (20.1 points allowed per game, 1st in Big 12) takes on Colorado’s third-ranked offense (34.5 points per game, trails Texas Tech and Baylor). BYU has been elite at defending the pass this season, giving up just 180.3 yards per game through the air. Tanner Wall is the backbone of the Cougars’ secondary, as he has the fourth-most tackles on the team (50) and is tied for the most interceptions (3).
BYU had similar results against common opponents to what CU did in the regular season. They struggled to generate any momentum against Kansas, comfortably beat Arizona and UCF, and won a close match against a solid Baylor team. However, they throttled Kansas State in a game in which their defense and special teams dominated, but also played very close contests against Utah and Oklahoma State.
Against Oklahoma State, three thrown interceptions plagued the Cougar offense despite gaining 473 total yards, while their defense was carved up by an Oklahoma State rushing attack that did nothing against Colorado. In the Utah game, BYU was assisted by a (highly controversial) defensive penalty to keep their hopes alive on the final drive after not generating any offense for the greater part of three quarters.
The key for Colorado is to fly around on defense and make BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff uncomfortable. Retzlaff threw three interceptions in the team’s two losses and had another two in their win over Utah. The challenge in doing so for Colorado’s defense will be finding someone to replace Nikhai Hill-Green, the all-conference linebacker who recently transferred to Alabama.
Green was the leader of the Buffaloes' defense in the regular season, tallying 82 tackles, two sacks and two interceptions. Linebackers coach Andre’ Hart recently said that he doesn’t know who will start on Saturday to fill the shoes of Hill-Green.
Offensively, the Buffs have to take advantage of mismatches on the outside. With their receiving core back to full strength, Shedeur Sanders will have all of his favorite targets back and ready to run, and he should have plenty of time in the pocket. The Cougars’ defense ranks 15th in the Big 12 in sacks per game with just 1.33, a large weakness in an otherwise excellent defense.
In games where Sanders is sacked less than three times, he’s averaging just under 315 passing yards per game. Keeping him clean will be the most important aspect of Saturday’s game.
It’s been a wild ride for the Colorado Buffaloes in the last two seasons. Coach Prime and the Louis luggage he brought with him have transformed the program, and Saturday marks the end of the first chapter in the Coach Prime era, and one of the most important chapters in the history of Colorado football. Before players like Sanders and Hunter go to the NFL to make their mark on that league, Colorado fans are going to make sure they do everything they can to soak up this experience of watching them in the black and gold one final time.
The Valero Alamo Bowl kicks off on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. MT from the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. The game will be broadcast on ABC.
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