The Valero Alamo Bowl has an impressive history of exciting games between Top 25 teams that go down to the wire, and the pregame buzz for this year’s matchup is unprecedented.
Picked as the #1 game to watch outside of the CFP and ranked as the hottest ticket, #17 BYU vs. #23 Colorado is poised to be a game you’ll never forget.
To put this epic showdown in perspective here are some interesting Valero Alamo Bowl facts. Robert Griffin III was the first active Heisman winner to play in the Valero Alamo Bowl. In 2011, his Baylor Bears beat Washington 67-56 with a standing room only crowd of 65,256 fans. The 123 combined points was a NCAA record for non-overtime postseason game.
Four other Valero Alamo Bowl alums have won the Heisman: Charles Woodson (1997 winner, 1995 VAB appearance for Michigan), Eric Crouch (2001 winner, 2000 VAB for Nebraska), Marcus Mariota (2014 winner, 2013 VAB for Oregon), and Caleb Williams (2023 winner, 2022 VAB for Oklahoma).
Ty Detmer, BYU’s lone Heisman winner (1990), is a graduate from San Antonio Southwest High School. His brother Koy Detmer held Colorado’s single season passing record with 3,527 yards (1996) up until Shedeur Sanders broke it during this 2024 season at 3,926 yards.
Having won their first nine games in a row this season, BYU is entering the Valero Alamo Bowl as the highest ranked Big 12 team outside the College Football Playoff (CFP). The Cougars defeated CFP bound SMU during the regular season.
Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders has rewritten the Colorado record book, breaking over 90 school records to date and in just two seasons, placed himself in the top five of most career passing marks. This season he leads the nation in completion percentage and is the only quarterback in the top five of passing yards, touchdowns, completions per game and quarterback rating.
Following the 1999 Valero Alamo Bowl, Penn State’s Courtney Browns and LaVar Arrington became the last pair of teammates to be selected first and second overall in the NFL draft (2000). Several media outlets have Colorado’s Shedeur Sander and Travis Hunter predicted to go #1 and #2 in this April’s NFL Draft.
BYU and Colorado have matched up 12 times since 1923. The Buffaloes have an 8-3 record against the cougars, but the last time these two teams met up was at the Freedom Bowl (1988). San Antonio native Ty Detmer entered the game in the second half and completed 11-19 passes for 129 yards. Leading BYU to the 20-17 victory over Colorado. Two years later Detmer won the Heisman and Colorado won a National Championship.
This will be BYU’s first time ever playing in the Valero Alamo Bowl, but third time playing in a bowl game in Texas. They are 2–0 in Texas bowl games, having beaten Tulsa in the Armed Forces Bowl (2011) and Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl (1996).
During the CFP era, the average attendance and viewership for the Valero Alamo Bowl is 60,120 (93% of capacity) and 5.4 million viewers. This will not be an average game. Buckle up!