Despite residing in bordering states divided by the Rocky Mountains, the BYU Cougars and Colorado Buffaloes will face off for the first time since 1988 in this year’s Valero Alamo Bowl. It will be the 13th overall matchup between the two storied programs and the ninth time in 11 years during the CFP era that the Valero Alamo Bowl features a top-25 matchup.
The last time these two teams met, the Cougars came from behind in the Freedom Bowl after head coach LaVell Edwards inserted freshman quarterback Ty Detmer to beat a Buffaloes squad led by quarterback Sal Aunese. Detmer would go on to win the Heisman Trophy with BYU in 1990 before a 14-year NFL career. Coincidentally, Colorado won their first and only national championship in 1990 as well.
This year’s edition promises to feature just as much star-power and family ties, starting with another Detmer connection. Ty’s brother, Koy Detmer, set the single-season passing yards record for Colorado (3,527) in 1996 and held it until current Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders broke it this year with 3,926 passing yards. Ty and Koy are sons of Sonny Detmer, the legendary San Antonio-area (Somerset High School) football coach. The entire Detmer family has deep football roots in South Texas, and their connections to BYU and Colorado continue to be long-lasting.
On the way to breaking Koy’s record, Sanders earned Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year honors. Sanders leads the nation in completion percentage (74.2%) and is the only quarterback in the top five of passing yards (3,926), touchdowns (35), completions per game (28.1) and quarterback rating (168.79).
Sanders is the son of Colorado head coach Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders, who is enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Before Coach Prime took over, the Buffaloes were 1-11. Two years later, Coach Prime oversaw a resurgence with a 9-3 record, resulting in the program’s first bowl appearance since 2020.
The Buffaloes also boast Travis Hunter, one of the most dynamic two-way players in the last quarter century of college football. He ranks in the top five of Power 4 and FBS players in receptions (92), yards (1,152), touchdowns (14), passes defended (15) and interceptions (4). He is a finalist for the Heisman, Walter Camp, Maxwell, Bednarik, Lott, Biletnikoff and Hornung Awards.
For the Cougars, consistent success under head coach Kalani Sitake continued with a 10-2 season. Sitake boasts the ninth-best winning percentage among FBS coaches with a 44-18 (.710) record since 2020, and he’s directed the Cougars to bowls in seven of his nine seasons.
BYU won their first nine games in a row this season and enter 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.
At the helm for BYU is quarterback Jake Retzlaff, who threw for 2,796 yards and 20 touchdowns during the regular season. He also rushed for 388 yards with six additional scores. Retzlaff has gained notoriety across college football and popularity throughout social media for his status as the first Jewish quarterback in BYU’s history.
The Cougars consistently found different ways to win with production across the roster and phases of the game as 17 different players scored touchdowns. BYU is also the only team in the nation to score four TDs on special teams (three kickoff return TDs, one punt return TD), while the BYU defense featured 12 different players recording an FBS-best 20 interceptions on the season.
Mixing the bowl’s pedigree of electrifying games with this year’s participants’ exciting rosters and histories makes it clear that fans should expect yet another unforgettable night when the Cougars take on the Buffaloes inside the Alamodome.