It was not a great sendoff for Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders and Heisman-winning WR/CB Travis Hunter on Saturday night.
No. 17 BYU got out to a 27-0 lead and never let up in a commanding 36-14 rout of the Buffaloes in the Valero Alamo Bowl.
Just how dominant was the Cougars’ win? According to ESPN, BYU had more rush yards on its first run of the game (six) than Colorado had the entire game (two).
Everything was going BYU’s way, including this 64-yard punt return TD from Parker Kingston that extended the Cougars’ lead to 17-0 with 5:32 left in the first half.
While QB Jake Retzlaff was held to only 151 pass yards and accounted for two interceptions, it was the Cougars’ run game and defense that took over the game.
As a team, BYU rushed for 180 yards. In addition to the abysmal two yards rushing from Colorado, BYU held the Buffaloes to nine first downs and forced two interceptions from Sanders, who had no time to throw the ball all night long.
Sanders and the Colorado offense were unable to get in a rhythm, with only 210 total yards. In his first game since claiming college football’s most prestigious honor, Hunter had four catches for 106 yards and a TD, a far cry from the nine or more receptions he recorded six times throughout an impressive 2024 season.
Aside from the Alamo Bowl loss, Colorado had a terrific bounce-back season after going 4-8 in 2023. Even with the loss, the Buffaloes finished the 2024 campaign with a 9-4 record.
Saturday night marked the final game for Sanders and Hunter at Colorado. Both are projected to be top three draft picks in April when the NFL Draft rolls around.
BYU wanted to play spoiler and accomplished that to the fullest. Keep in mind that the Cougars (11-2) were in the driver’s seat to reach the Big 12 title game until back-to-back losses to Kansas, 17-13, and then-No. 21 Arizona State, 28-23, put an end to that.
Despite all the focus and attention on the Colorado finales for Sanders and Hunter, BYU took center stage and completely dominated the Alamo Bowl.
