Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images
It was historically accurate, at least.
Maybe next year we can go somewhere else, because the Alamo Bowl has not been kind to the Colorado Buffaloes. The Buffs have played in three bowl games since 2007 and all three have been demoralizing blowouts at the Alamodome. This might have been the worst of all, as we were 3.5-point favorites with two top-5 picks suiting up.
Things went wrong right away. The BYU Cougars were the first, and only, to score in the first half. BYU had a short field as a result of CU’s turnover on turns and they effortlessly moved the ball on their 6-play, 52-yard drive. Jake Retzlaff made some easy passes, while LJ Martin busted loose for a big gain and then punched in the one-yard score.
Colorado had a quick three-and-out that led to a BYU 51-yard-field. Kalani Sitake must have sense some blood in the water and called for a surprise onside kick that the Cougars recovered. BYU got too greedy and one of their trick play pass attempts resulted in a DJ McKinney interception. But Colorado didn’t do anything with this opportunity. It looked promising when Shedeur Sanders connected with Travis Hunter for a 58-yard catch-and-run, but then Sanders took a disgusting 23-yard sack and Alejandro Mata pushed wide the ensuing 45-yard field goal.
Starting their fourth straight drive in excellent field position, BYU breezed through the Colorado defense. The Buffs couldn’t take away anything — the run, the pass, the crossing routes, the screens — but they could take away the football. BYU drove the ball deep inside CU territory before Retzlaff’s shovel pass was deflected into the arms of Anquin Barnes, the 315-lbs. defensive tackle.
Down 10-0, the Buffs had a chance to get back into the game and reset themselves. But that didn’t happen either. The Buffs tried running, couldn’t, and moved backwards with a nicely timed false start. BYU then blitzed the 3rd-and-7 pass play and chased Shedeur into a 16-yard loss. Colorado was forced to punt into the waiting arms of Parker Kingston, who returned the punt for a 64-yard touchdown.
BYU added a 54-yard field, just to flex their superiority in special teams. They also had superiority in passing yards (86 to 70), rushing yards (66 to -7) and penalty yards (40 to 50). You would be right to point out that BYU would have had a greater advantage if they didn’t start every possession at midfield. (Let’s not check those stats after the full game.)
Deion Sanders said the team would be different in the second half, but it was mostly the same. Colorado tried to establish the run through Micah Welch, then Shedeur tried to take the top off the defense only for his pass to hit Jimmy Horn in traffic, bounce high in the air and into the diving arms of BYU’s Evan Johnson. 9 plays and 55 yards later BYU had another touchdown, this time a 13-yard score by Sione I Moa.
Colorado finally got on the board. The Buffs weren’t doing much of anything until Shedeur rolled right and found Hunter on the sideline. Hunter changed directions and quickly got up field, made a few defenders miss and had a highlight-reel 43-yard score. But it was too little, too late, as BYU remained dominant in the second half. Any time the Buffs did anything positive — Hunter’s score, Cam’ron Silmon-Craig’s interception — it would be quickly undone by a CU mistake and/or a BYU scoring drive.
The final score was 36-14. Colorado lost both sides of the line of scrimmage, looked the less focused and disciplined team, and were gapped in special teams. The Buffs’ best players were held in check, while the Cougars played as a complete team and were flying all over the field.
This is a sad goodbye to Shedeur Sanders, Travis Hunter and an accomplished group of seniors, including Jimmy Horn, LaJohntay Wester and Cam’ron Silmon-Craig. The future is bright in Boulder and it wouldn’t have happened without them putting CU back on the college football map.
by Sam Metivier
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