Big 12 opponents BYU and Colorado will play in the Alamo Bowl – Deseret News

As expected, BYU didn’t hear his name called during Sunday morning’s College Football Playoff selection show.

Instead, BYU will face fellow Big 12 team Colorado in the Alamo Bowl, the bowl officially announced Sunday.

When is the Alamo Bowl played?

The Alamo Bowl takes place on December 28th at 5:30 pm MST at the Alamodone in San Antonio.

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The game will be televised on ABC.

How were BYU and Colorado selected for the Alamo Bowl?

The Cougars (10-2) and Buffaloes (9-3) are tied in the final Big 12 standings with Arizona State, which is participating in the College Football Playoff, and Iowa State.

All finished 7-2 in league play, but the Sun Devils and Cyclones played in the Big 12 Championship against BYU and Colorado due to the Big 12 tiebreaking system.

Although they now play in the same league, BYU and Colorado will meet in bowl season due to conference realignment. With the Pac-12 down from 12 teams last year to two this season, the league worked with the Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC to maintain their bowl agreements for the 2024 and 2025 seasons, and Colorado will be the Pac -12 to fill a spot in the bowl matchup at the Alamodome.

The Cougars will occupy the Big 12 spot.

How do BYU and Colorado fit together?

The game features two teams that were ranked in the top 25 in the final College Football Playoff rankings – BYU is No. 17 while Colorado was ranked No. 23.

The Cougars started the year 9-0, with wins over SMU, Kansas State and Utah among the highlights, before losing two straight – at home to Kansas and at Arizona State – and ended the regular season with a win at home Houston completed.

The Buffaloes defeated Oklahoma State in the regular season finale, but like BYU, Colorado’s Big 12 hopes were dashed by a loss to Kansas on November 23.

The Buffaloes had previously won seven of their previous eight games.

The most interesting storylines surrounding this matchup revolve around the star power in Colorado, from Deion Sanders as head coach to the projected high NFL draft picks in quarterback Shedeur Sanders and two-way star Travis Hunter.

For the Cougars, the big question will be whether their offense can get back on track under quarterback Jake Retzlaff, as issues on that side of the ball proved costly in their two losses.

What is BYU’s bowl history?

The Cougars are returning to the postseason after missing out last year.

BYU is 4-2 in bowl games under head coach Kalani Sitake and 17-22-1 in bowl appearances overall, including a 20-17 victory over Colorado in the 1988 Freedom Bowl.

This is BYU’s first appearance in the Alamo Bowl.

What is Colorado’s bowl history?

The Buffaloes have an all-time bowl record of 12-17.

This is Colorado’s third bowl appearance in the last 17 years. The other two also came to the Alamo Bowl, as the Buffaloes lost in lopsided games in San Antonio in 2016 and 2020.

Colorado is 0-3 all-time in the Alamo Bowl, having also lost an overtime contest to Wisconsin in 2002.