CU Buffs are Alamo Bowl bound

DAVE GIBSON

BOULDER – The CU Buffaloes finished their regular season this year with an impressive 9-3 record and 7-2 in league play – tied with BYU, Arizona State, and Iowa State for first place in the Big 12 Conference. By virtue of tiebreakers, Arizona State and Iowa State moved on to the Big 12 Championship game with Arizona State advancing to the 12-team College Football Playoff that will determine this year’s number one team.

As a consolation prize, the Buffs will be facing the BYU Cougars to settle a “best of the rest” Big 12 score at the Valero Alamo Bowl in San Antonio on Saturday, December 28. The two Rocky Mountain teams haven’t met since they played in the 1988 Freedom Bowl.

Since becoming the head football coach at CU in 2023, Deion “Primetime” Sanders has taken his squad from “We Here” to “We There.” Sanders' son Shedeur at quarterback has been the keystone of CU’s dramatic improvement over last year’s 4-8 mark. Compiling a school record 3,926 yards passing with 35 touchdown passes and 8 interceptions, he also had four rushing touchdowns. His 74.9 completion percentage was the best in the nation.

Sanders added the prestigious Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award on December 6 to his trophy case and is considered a top-3 prospect in the upcoming NFL draft.

On December 9, ultimate ironman Travis Hunter won the Lott IMPACT Trophy for his defensive prowess and integrity. More accolades followed in the coming days. Then, deemed the best college football player in the country, he was awarded the Heisman Trophy on December 14, joining an exclusive club of gridiron legends that includes Barry Sanders, Marcus Allen, Earl Campbell, and Tony Dorsett.

During its 89 years in existence, the only other CU player to win the venerable trophy was running back Rashaan Salaam thirty years ago. Playing 709 offensive snaps at wide receiver, 713 defensive snaps at cornerback, and 21 on special teams, Hunter hauled in 92 catches for 1,152 yards and a CU record 14 touchdown receptions in 2024.

For good measure, he also registered a rushing touchdown, four interceptions, and a forced fumble. Hunter, like his quarterback friend and teammate Sanders, is projected to be a top-3 pick in the 2025 NFL draft.

In recent years with hundreds of millions of dollars being offered to elite athletes, some of them have opted to sit out bowl games fearing risk of injury. Committed to their team and its ideals, superstars Sanders and Hunter both plan on playing in the Alamo Bowl. Mirroring their perspective, in a recent press conference Coach Prime adamantly conveyed, “We don’t tap out. We don’t sit out. This is a blessing to play in this wonderful game. Our kids are ‘gonna’ play.”

The CU Buffaloes enter the contest against BYU as 2.5-point favorites.