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Friday Fast Facts
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Big Picture …
— The 2024 Alamo Bowl represents Colorado’s 31st postseason bowl appearance. This puts the Buffs at 38th on the all-time list (Alabama leads with 78; Georgia is second with 63). Prior to the eight-year drought from 2008-15, CU had been ranked 24th in all-time bowl appearances through 2007;
— CU 31 bowls currently ranks seventh in the Big 12 in all-time bowl appearances. With this season’s bowls added in, Texas Tech and West Virginia are tied for first at 42; BYU is at 41; TCU is at 37, while Arizona State and Oklahoma State are at 34);
— Colorado is 12-18 all-time in bowl games. After winning six straight bowl games between 1993 and 1999 (tied for the eighth-longest streak all-time), the Buffs have lost six of their last seven, with the only victory coming in a 33-28 win over UTEP in the 2004 Houston Bowl;
— The Buffs are 0-3 in previous Alamo Bowl games. In 2002, the Buffs went into overtime against Wisconsin, falling 31-28. Then, the Pac-12 South Division winners in 2016 went to San Antonio as the No. 10 team in the nation, but were smoked by No. 12 Oklahoma State, 38-8. CU’s last Alamo Bowl, and most recent bowl appearance overall, was the 2020 Alamo Bowl, an embarrassing 55-23 loss to No. 20 Texas; . BYU, meanwhile, will be making its first Alamo Bowl appearance;
— Hoping for a faster start … Since outscoring Wisconsin 14-7 in the first quarter of the 2002 Alamo Bowl, the Buffs have been outscored 54-3 in the first quarter in the five bowl games CU has played since;
— The Alamo Bowl will be telecast nationally by ABC. Dave Pasch (who handled the play-by-play in CU’s last Alamo Bowl appearance in 2020) again on play-by-play, with Dusty Dvoracek on color, and Taylor McGregor on the sidelines. KOA radio will also carry the game. Mark Johnson will handle the play-by-play, with former CU head coach Gary Barnett handling the commentary.
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Buffs v. Cougars … on the field
— Colorado leads the series by an 8-3-1 count against BYU. These two ironically last lined up from one another all the way back in 1988, when they played in the Freedom Bowl in Anaheim, California. Ten of the 12 games in the series were played prior to 1948;
— Before they both joined the Big 12, CU and BYU were formerly in two other conferences together. The Buffs and Cougars were members of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference from 1922-37, and then the Mountain States Conference from 1938-47;
— Colorado was a dominant force against the Cougars early in the series history, winning the first six games, including four in Boulder, before the 1941 matchup in Provo in which the Cougars were able to snap their losing streak with a 13-13 tie. Since then, BYU has won three of the last five games;
— Those were the days … During the Buffaloes six-game winning streak from 1923-1940 over the Cougars, Colorado outscored BYU 148-14 in that span, including three games in which the BYU offense was shut out;
— Once when ranked … Both teams enter the Alamo Bowl ranked, with BYU ranked 17th in the latest AP poll; CU ranked 20th. Only once before in the series has one of the teams been ranked … a 41-20 domination by No. 11 BYU in 1981; (a game in which quarterback Jim McMahon was injured … and replaced by Steve Young);
— Series records likely to fall … In the 12 games played previously between the two teams, there wasn’t a great deal of offense. The most passing yards a Buff has ever had against the Cougars came in the 1981 game, when CU quarterback Randy Essington threw for 271 yards and two touchdowns. The most receiving yards for a Buff against BYU came all the way back in 1946, when John Zisch had six reception for 108 yards. If the current CU roster has anything to say about it, these records should be bested in this year’s Alamo Bowl;
— Pretty darn close … After 12 games, Colorado has generated 4,771 yards of total offense. After 12 games, BYU has generated … 4,769 yards of total offense. The two teams have taken significantly different paths to those totals, however, with CU generating 82.3% of its offense through the air, while BYU has a 60/40 split between the passing game and the rushing game.
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Stats which could decide the Alamo Bowl …
— Watch for flags … BYU is one of the least penalized teams in the nation (only 40.1 yards/game, 17th nationally), while CU has been on Santa’s naughty list, with almost 70 yards in penalties per game (119th nationally);
— Win with turnovers … With a 10-2 squaring off against a 9-3 team, it’s not surprising that both CU and BYU live off of turnovers. CU is 9th in the nation in turnover margin (+.92), while BYU is 18th (+.75);
— Sacks v. pressures … Sanders will face a BYU team that has only 16 sacks this season, tied for 123rd in the country. But the Cougars also have the 34th-best pressure percentage (38.5%), so Sanders should expect to be under duress. How well the CU offensive line protects Shedeur could be a deciding factor (as is usually the case).
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Player Notes …
More Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders numbers …
— This year is the first time since 2002 that Colorado has had two players earn either 1st or 2nd-team All-American honors from the AP, with Travis Hunter a first-team All-American cornerback and all-purpose back, along with being named a second-team wide receiver. Shedeur Sanders, meanwhile, was voted second-team All-American quarterback. In 2002, had P Mark Mariscal (1st team) and RB Chris Brown (2nd) honored.
— Random Heisman fact: Shedeur Sanders’ 8th-place finish in voting matches where his father landed. Deion Sanders was 8th in Heisman voting in 1988 at Florida State;
— Travis Hunter is just the third player in Colorado history to earn 1st-team All-American honors from the Associated Press in two different seasons: punter Barry Helton, in 1985 & 1986; together with offensive guard Joe Garten, 1989 & 1990;
— Colorado’s Travis Hunter wound up winning six major college football awards. He’s just the 4th player to win at least that many: 7 – Manti Te’o, Notre Dame, 2012; 7 – Joe Burrow, LSU, 2019; 6 – Marcus Mariota, Oregon, 2014; and 6 – Travis Hunter, Colorado, 2024;
— In 1994, CU had the Heisman Trophy winner (Rashaan Salaam) and the AP 2nd-team All-American QB (Kordell Stewart). In 2024, Colorado had the Heisman Trophy winner (Travis Hunter) and the AP 2nd-team All-American QB (Shedeur Sanders);
— Shedeur Sanders is the first Colorado quarterback to earn 1st or 2nd-team All-American honors since Kordell Stewart was also 2nd-team by the Associated Press in 1994.
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CU v. BYU … historical …
— Neither team has had a great deal of success in bowl games. BYU is 70th in bowl game winning percentage nationally (.438, 17-22-1), while Colorado is 80th in the country (.400, 12-18);
— Colorado, with 732 all-time victories (30th nationally) is well ahead of BYU in all time victories (627; 62nd), but the Cougars have a better all-time winning percentage (BYU: .582, 37th … CU: .570, 45th);
— Both teams have a national championship (BYU in 1984; CU in 1990), but CU broke the tie in another category with its second Heisman Trophy winner this fall (Ty Detmer won for BYU in 1984);
— The Buffs have a significant lead in both consensus All-Americans (32 to 14) and all-time NFL Draft picks (276 to 153), but the Cougars are getting closer in all-time listings in the Associated Press poll (CU leads, 315 weeks to 278).
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