No. 17 BYU 36, No. 20 CU 14

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December 28th – Alamo Bowl          No. 17 BYU 26, No. 20 Colorado 14

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Colorado continued its 20-year drought without a bowl victory, and its continued misery in San Antonio, with a 36-14 loss to No. 17 BYU in the Alamo Bowl. The Colorado defense held the Cougars to 331 total yards, but the Buff offense was held to 210 yards of total offense – including two total yards rushing – as CU quarterback Shedeur Sanders was harassed all night.

The Cougars used a combination of offense (quarterback Jake Retzlaff completed 12-of-21 passes for 151 yards), defense (BYU sacked Sanders four times, with two interceptions) and special teams (including a 64-yard punt return for a touchdown by Parker Kingston), to dominate the Buffs. It was 10-0 after the first quarter, then 20-0 at halftime, with the Buffs gaining two consolation passing touchdowns (a 43-yarder to Travis Hunter; a two-yarder to tight end Sav’ell Smalls), to keep the final score from being even more lopsided.

CU quarterback Shedeur Sanders threw for 208 yards and two touchdowns, but was also intercepted twice and sacked four times. The Buffs ran just 42 offensive plays, tying their season low.

CU’s Heisman Trophy winner, Travis Hunter, had four catches for 106 yards and a touchdown while Micah Welch led the Buffs with 25 yards rushing.

“BYU, well, coached,” Coach Prime said. “They did a phenomenal job of running the football, special teams kicked our butts. We couldn’t do nothing offensively, not much at all defensively. I think we had some stops, but we didn’t have enough and we came up short. But not to take nothing away from them. They played a heck of a football game.”

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Game Story … Since outscoring Wisconsin 14-7 in the first quarter of the 2002 Alamo Bowl, the Buffs had been outscored 54-3 in the first quarter in the five bowl games CU had played since … so the Buffs’ poor play to open the 2024 Alamo Bowl shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise.

The Buff defense did force a three-and-out from the BYU offense to open the game, but the defensive stand was more thanks to two overthrown passes by BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff than the effort of the defense. Taking over at the 24-yard line, the CU offense did generate a first down – by way of a defensive holding penalty – but couldn’t get another ten yards. Two runs by running back Micah Welch generated eight yards, but, on fourth-and-one at the BYU 48-yard line, a pass from quarterback Shedeur Sanders fell incomplete, giving the Cougars the ball … and the momentum.

It took the Cougar offense only six plays to cover the 52 yards required to score. A 28-yard pass from Jake Retzlaff to LJ Martin gave BYU a red zone opportunity, with Martin finishing off the drive with a one-yard touchdown midway through the first quarter.

CU’s second drive was a three-and-out, with two false start penalties and a sack of Sanders resulting in the loss of 13 yards.

Set up at the Buff 41-yard line after a 14-yard punt return by Parker Kingston, the Cougars picked up one first down, but then had to settle for a Will Ferrin 51-yard field goal. Late in the first quarter, it was now 10-0, BYU.

Adding insult to injury, the Cougars then successfully pulled off an onside kick, setting up shop for the third consecutive drive near midfield. With momentum fully in hand, BYU got too cute, with backup quarterback Gerry Bohanon throwing an interception on a trick play. CU cornerback DJ McKinney earned the pick, catching the ball at the CU five, returning it 25 yards to the CU 30-yard line.

A few plays later, on third-and-12, Shedeur Sanders connected with Travis Hunter for a 58-yard pitch-and-catch, setting the Buffs up at the BYU 14-yard line. After a substitution penalty against the Cougars, the Buff offense had a first-and-five at the BYU nine-yard line … and failed to score.

After gaining two yards in two plays, Shedeur Sanders was sacked for a 23-yard loss, all the way back to the BYU 30-yard line. CU kicker Alejandro Mata, who had made ten straight field goals, missed a 48-yard field goal attempt, leaving CU scoreless.

It took only five plays for the BYU offense to march 49 yards, but, on first down at the CU 21-yard line, Cougar quarterback was intercepted on a tipped pass by Buff defensive lineman Anquin Barnes, giving the Buffs new life.

The Buff offense responded to the gift … by going backwards yet again. Three plays, including a 16-yard sack of Sanders, left CU with a fourth-and-23 at its own 16-yard line.

The punt from CU’s Mark Vassett covered 48 yards … which was then returned 64 yards by Parker Kingston for a touchdown. With just over five minutes remaining before halftime, the rout was on – BYU 17, Colorado 0.

A Shedeur Sanders run of 11 yards on CU’s next play generated the Buffs’ third first down of the half, but the offense netted only three more yards in the next three plays, punting the ball away yet again.

On BYU’s next drive, the Buffs had an interception by Shilo Sanders negated by an offsides penalty, and an third-and-eight stop negated by a defensive holding penalty … with BYU kicker Will Ferrin hitting a 54-yard field goal on the final play of the half.

Halftime score: No. 17 BYU 20, No. 20 Colorado 0

The halftime stats – total offense 152-61; first downs 11-3; penalties 5-40 yards; 7-50 yards for CU – were bad, but the blowout score would have been even worse if the CU defense hadn’t generated two interceptions.

CU’s first possession of the second half opened with two Micah Edwards runs totaling 15 yards, followed by quarterback Shedeur Sanders throwing an interception.

Nine plays and 55 yards later, it was 27-0, BYU. The Buff defense forced a third-and-three … and then gave up a ten-yard completion. The Buff defense then forced a third-and-six … and then gave up a 14-yard completion. The Buff defense then forced a third-and-13 … and then gave up a 13-yard touchdown run to BYU back Sione I Moa.

A facemask penalty on CU’s first play from scrimmage gave the Buffs a first down. Three plays later, Sanders hit Travis Hunter for a 43-yard touchdown. With 6:14 remaining in the third quarter, CU was finally on the board, but was still down, 27-7.

BYU’s next drive didn’t result in points, but did have its desired effect. The Cougars held the ball for ten plays, running over six minutes off of the second half clock. The drive ended with BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff being intercepted by Buff safety Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig in the CU end zone, with the Buffs taking over at their 17-yard line on the first play of the fourth quarter.

The Buff offense responded to BYU’s third turnover of the game by … going three-and-out, with another long punt return by Parker Kingston setting the Cougars up at the CU 42-yard line.

It took only four plays for the Cougars to score. Running back LJ Martin scored on a nine-yard run to make it 33-7, with it staying 33-7 when BYU went for a two-point conversion … with the ball being intercepted.

Two plays later, the Cougars had the ball back, with Shedeur Sanders being intercepted by BYU linebacker Isaiah Glaske at the CU 31-yard line.

The Buff defense eventually held, but BYU was again back on the board, this time by way of a 31-yard field goal by Will Ferrin. BYU 36, Colorado 7, with 5:28 to play.

With reserves in the lineup on both sides of the ball, the CU offense next set off on its best drive of the game. Completions of 19 and 25 yards to LaJohntay Wester, combined with a 38-yard completion to running back Dallan Hayden, set the Buffs up at the BYU two-yard line. There, Sanders finished off the ten-play, 82-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown pass to tight end Sav’ell Smalls.

The Buffs tried an onside kick, but the attempt was unsuccessful. The Cougars were then able to run out the final two minutes of the game.

Final score: No. 17 BYU 36, No. 20 Colorado 14

Being held to a season-low 210 total yards, and by a conference opponent, was a tough pill for the Buffs to swallow. Coach Prime, though, was already looking forward to 2025.

“We’ve established expectations,” Coach Prime said. “So now you expect us to perform a certain way. You expect us to win. You expect us to be exciting. You expect us to be a lot more disciplined than we displayed today. You just have expectations of us now. That’s what we’ve established.”

On to 2025 …

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Game Notes …

— The announced attendance was 64,261, a sellout and the second-largest crowd without a Texas-based team in Alamo Bowl history.  CU played in front of a sold out crowd in 10 of 13 games in 2024, with 21 of 25 games in the Coach Prime era being sellouts;

— The 2023 and 2024 seasons represented the most sellouts in a season and almost double the previous record of six entering the Coach Prime Era; 

— With the loss, CU fell to: 

• 9-4 on the season
• 12-19 in bowl games
• 13-12 under Coach Prime
• 8-4-1 against BYU all-time
• 0-2 against BYU in bowl games and neutral site venues
• 732-548-36 all-time
• 2-5 in dome stadiums,
• 0-4 in the Alamo Bowl and at the Alamodome

— Shedeur Sanders (16-of-23, 208 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INT)

• Sanders finished this season 353-of-477 (74.0%) for 4,134 yards with 37 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, and 41 total touchdowns including four rushing.
• He finished his CU career 651-of-907 (71.2%) for 7,364 yards with 64 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
• He finished his collegiate career 1,267-of-1,807 (70.1%) for 14,353 yards with 134 touchdowns and 27 interceptions.
• He became CU’s all-time leader in touchdown passes with 64, despite only playing two seasons at CU.
• On CU’s career chart, he finishes in fifth place for most passing yards, passing attempts and completions, as CU’s all-time leader for completion percentage, passing touchdowns, interception percentage, touchdown/interception ratio and QB rating.  Additionally, he leaves CU with career passing records for 250-yard games, games with two-plus, three-plus, four-plus and five-plus touchdowns, games completing 70 and 80 percent of his passes, and many more.
• On CU’s season charts, Sanders leaves CU with the most and third most passing yards, most and third-most completions, second and fourth most pass attempts, most and third most touchdowns, top two marks for completion percentage and QB rating, most 250-yard, 300-yard, 400-yard and 500-yard games, games with one, two, three and four touchdown passes, and games completing 50, 60, 70 and 80 percent of his passes.

— Travis Hunter (4 receptions for 106 yards, 1 touchdown, 4 tackles, 103 snaps) 

• Hunter finished the season with 96 catches for 1,258 yards and 15 receiving touchdowns, 16 overall touchdowns including on rushing TD.
• He finished the season on defense with 36 tackles, 1 TFL, 4 interceptions and 11 PBUs.
• He finished his CU career with 153 catches for 1,989 yards and 20 touchdown receptions and 21 overall touchdowns.
• He finished his collegiate career with 171 receptions for 2,167 yards and 24 touchdowns and 26 overall touchdowns, with one pick six (at Jackson State) and one rushing touchdown.
• He played in 103 of a possible 107 snaps on offense and defense against BYU, brining his total to 1,487 on the season, not including plays negated by penalty.  Overall he played in 1,557 snaps on the season.  In his two seasons at CU, despite missing what amounted to almost five games due to injury, he played in 2,625 snaps.
• His 96 receptions are second most in a season in CU history and his 1,258 yards ranks third.  He holds the record with 15 touchdown receptions, most 100-yard games and multi-touchdown games.
• His 16 total touchdowns ranks tied for eighth most.

Other Notables … 

• LaJohntay Wester caught four passes for 51 yards to finish his season with 74 receptions for 931 yards and 10 touchdowns, giving CU it’s first receiver duo ever with 10-plus touchdowns apiece.  He finishes his career with 326 receptions for 3,634 yards.
• Sav’ell Smalls caught his first career touchdown, the final pass of Shedeur Sanders’ career.
• Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig finished with six tackles, 1.5 for a loss and an interception, and finishes his career with 251 tackles, nine interceptions, 10 quarterback hurries, 10 pass breakups, two forced fubmles, five fumble recoveries including two touchdowns on fumble returns.
• Shilo Sanders finished with eight tackles and a pass breakup, finishing his career with 227 tackles, 13 pass breakups, six interceptions, seven forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries, with three defensive touchdowns.  He technically picked off two passes in the game, one on a play called back due to penalty and the other on a BYU two-point conversion in the fourth quarter.
• Chidozie Nwankwo finished with seven tackles, a sack, 1.5 tackles for loss, a forced fumble and quarterback hurry, finishing the season with 32 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 4.5 tackles for loss, one quarterback hurry and a forced fumble.
• D.J. McKinney had his third interception of the season and third of his career.
• Anquin Barnes Jr. had his first career interception.
• Will Sheppard has one catch for four yards, but did get his 200th career reception and finishes his collegiate career with 200 catches for 2,688 yards and 27 touchdowns.

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Tags: Alejandro Mata, Anquin Barnes, Anquin Barnes Jr., Cam'Ron Silmon-Craig, Chidozie Nwankwo, D.J. McKinney, Dallan Hayden, DJ McKinney, Lajohntay Wester, Micah Welch, Sav'ell Smalls, Shedeur Sanders, Shilo Sanders, Travis Hunter, Will Sheppard
This post, about the Alamo Bowl - BYU game, from the 2024 Season, is filed under Article.
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