How to watch Saturday’s Alamo Bowl between BYU and Colorado – Deseret News

33rd Annual Valero Alamo Bowl

No. 23 Colorado (9-3) vs. No. 17 BYU (10-2)

• Start: Saturday, 5:30 p.m. MDT
• Venue: Alamodome (capacity: 64,000)
• TV: ABC
• Live stream: https://www.espn.com/watch
• Radio: KSL 1160 AM/102.7 FM/BYU Radio Sirius XM 143.
• Series: Colorado leads 8-3-1
• Weather: Indoor stadium

The trends

For BYU: The Cougars are playing their 41st bowl game in school history and their 21st other bowl game, having never played in the Alamo Bowl before.

The 41 bowl appearances are tied for 23rd among college football programs. In the Big 12, Texas Tech is the only program with more bowl appearances than BYU with 42.

The Cougars are one of the country’s Cinderella teams in 2024, as they were picked by media members to finish 13th in the Big 12 and win fewer than five games by Las Vegas oddsmakers.

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Instead, they won 10 games for the third time in five years under head coach Kalani Sitake and the 19th time in school history. BYU has 44 wins since 2020, which is the most of any Big 12 team and No. 12 nationally.

For Colorado: Colorado two-way player Travis Hunter won the 90th Heisman Trophy last weekend, becoming the second winner in CU history. He joins Rashaan Salam, who won it in 1994.

The Buffaloes are seeking their first bowl win since the 2004 Houston Bowl and are 0-4 in the Alamo Bowl, long associated with the Pac-12.

Although this is Colorado’s first season in the Big 12, it represents the Pac-12 in play and is the designated home team, thanks to a pre-existing agreement that existed when the Pac-12’s four corner schools left the Big 12.

Colorado has a 12-18 all-time record in bowl games, including a 20-17 loss to BYU in the 1988 Freedom Bowl in Anaheim, California. BYU’s quarterback in that game, Ty Detmer, won the Heisman Trophy in 1990.

What you should pay attention to

Under Sitake, a former assistant coach at the University of Utah and Oregon State, BYU is 4-2 in bowl games. The Cougars have a 17-22-1 record in all-time bowl games and won their last bowl game in the state of Texas by defeating Tulsa in the Armed Forces Bowl in Dallas.

The Cougars will look to slow Colorado’s elite offense with a defense that leads the country with 20 interceptions. BYU had at least one interception in every game and has made multiple picks in six straight games. Twelve players recorded interceptions, a total that also leads the nation.

BYU ranks third nationally in takeaways with 27.

However, the Cougars will be without starting safety Crew Wakley, who has entered the transfer portal. Redshirt freshman Raider Damuni will make the start in Wakley’s place.

Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders finished in the top 10 in Heisman voting and is arguably the best quarterback in the country and a likely first-round NFL draft pick in 2025. He has completed 74.4% of his passes for 3,936 yards and passed for 35 touchdowns, with just eight interceptions. His quarterback rating is 168.2.

Sanders, son of head coach Deion Sanders, broke the CU record for passing yards held by Koy Detmer (Ty’s brother) with 3,527.

Colorado has 18 players from Texas State and 14 from Colorado, Florida and Georgia States.

Defensively, Colorado is led by BJ Green with a team-best 7.5 sacks and Cam’Ron Simon-Craig with 88 tackles.

Key players

Jake Retzlaff, junior, quarterback, BYU: Colorado features Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter and highly regarded quarterback Shedeur Sanders, who may be the first QB taken in the NFL draft next April.

Meanwhile, BYU’s quarterback is far less heralded, but will be important to the outcome of the game, regardless of his lack of pre-bowl excitement.

Simply put, Retzlaff needs to play one of the best games of his career for BYU to have a chance. BYU needs to score to keep up with Sanders, Hunter and all the other offensive weapons on CU’s roster.

Retzlaff threw two or more touchdowns in seven games this year and led three fourth-quarter scoring drives in wins over SMU, Utah and Oklahoma State. He is No. 26 nationally in passing touchdowns with 22.

Quotable

“We are excited about the matchup. It’s nice to be able to see the entire film about Colorado. You have tons of talent. This applies in all three phases. I don’t think their defense gets enough credit for what it did this year because a lot of the credit goes to the offense, obviously the Heisman Trophy winner (Travis Hunter) and Shedeur (Sanders) and the rest of the Group. It’s a complete team. That’s why they’re rated and we’re excited about the game, the duel.” – BYU coach Kalani Sitake.

“BYU is a consistent team that can run the ball. You can throw the ball. They defend well. I see a lot of discipline. Many young men may not receive the accolades they deserve. But they work hard and do a great job. Trust me, no one takes them lightly.” — Colorado coach Deion Sanders.

Next

• BYU: Season over.
• Colorado: Season over.

BYU schedule

• August 31 – Defeated Southern Illinois 41-13
• September 6 – Defeated SMU 18-15
• September 14 – Defeated Wyoming 34-14
• September 21 – Defeated Kansas State 38-9
• September 28 – Defeats Baylor 34-28
• Oct. 5 – Bye
• Oct. 12 – Defeated Arizona 41-19
• October 18 – Defeated Oklahoma State 38-35
• October 26 – Defeated Central Florida 37-24
• November 2nd – Bye
• November 9 – Defeated Utah 22-21
• November 16 – Lost to Kansas, 17-13
• November 23 – Lost to Arizona State, 28-23
• November 30 – Defeated Houston 30-18
• December 28 – vs. Colorado in the Alamo Bowl