BYU’s Kalani Sitake, Colorado’s Deion Sanders Embracing All-Big 12 Alamo Bowl
Dec 8, 2024, 7:17 PM | Updated: Dec 9, 2024, 7:34 pm
PROVO, Utah – BYU football will spend Christmas in San Antonio for the 2024 Alamo Bowl.
Fellow Big 12 Conference foe Colorado will await BYU on the opposing sideline inside the temperature-controlled Alamodome.
Bowl Bound! 🎉#BYU football will take on Colorado in the @valeroalamobowl. #BYUFootball #GoCougs #Big12 https://t.co/OaAo1m63Oe pic.twitter.com/sTrsbkSEhG
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) December 8, 2024
The matchup was speculated for weeks after BYU lost back-to-back games in the regular season. So it comes as no surprise to see the two Big 12 opponents squaring off against one another.
Why are two Big 12 teams meeting in the Alamo Bowl?
The conference matchup in the Bowl Season is due to Colorado still being viewed as a Pac-12 team. Programs that played in the Pac-12 during the 2023 season are still tied to the Pac-12’s bowl agreements outside of the College Football Playoff until 2026.
The Alamo Bowl was near the top of the pecking order for Big 12 and Pac-12 bowl selection, creating a matchup between two teams from the same league.
Both fan bases wanted other destinations to avoid the in-conference matchup. Some BYU fans were hoping for the Pop-Tarts Bowl against an ACC program. Colorado fans were hoping for a Holiday Bowl bid to face Miami. Even Coach Prime said a potential bowl matchup between star QBs Shedeur Sanders and Miami’s Cam Ward “would’ve been legendary.”
Still, the all-Big 12 showdown in San Antonio should be good.
BYU/Colorado in the Alamo Bowl has a chance to be entertaining
It pairs two Top 25 teams against one another in a primetime network television window on ABC on the Saturday night after Christmas.
A win in the Alamo Bowl could give Colorado a 10-win season for the first time since 2016. BYU has the chance to put an exclamation point on a strong season and have another game proving they were one of the Big 12’s best.
The matchup’s head coaches, Kalani Sitake and Deion Sanders (Coach Prime), are embracing the opportunity in front of their teams.
Kalani Sitake on facing Colorado
“We’re really excited to be invited to the Valero Alamo Bowl; looking forward to the matchup,” said BYU coach Kalani Sitake.
In classic Sitake form, he also expressed his excitement about the food that awaits at BYU’s bowl destination. Sitake’s BYU program is preparing for its first bowl game since 2022 and the first against a power conference opponent in the Kalani Sitake era (since 2016).
BYU is 4-2 under under Sitake in bowl games.
“For me, the destination is always about food, too. And I know San Antonio can hold its own when it comes to food. So I’m looking forward to gaining some weight that week.
“But more than anything, I’m really excited about the matchup that we have against Colorado and Coach Prime. I’ve known Deion and been able to interact with him and I’m a big fan of his. It’s been fun to be able to watch him and lead his team this year. We’ve had some crossover games this year. So we’ve been able to watch their film and see how they perform.”
Coach Prime gives praise to Sitake
Coach Prime’s Colorado Buffaloes boasts the nation’s No. 4 passing offense, averaging 327.2 yards per game through the air, with Shedeur Sanders leading the offense.
The Buffs like BYU, came up short of reaching the Big 12 Championship Game that featured Arizona State defeating Iowa State. Still, after a 4-8 year one under Coach Prime, and two years removed from being the worst team in Power Conference football, Colorado is ready for the challenge in front of them at the Alamo Bowl against BYU.
“I’m elated. You guys did a wonderful job of this bowl, consistently,” said Coach Prime. “You gotta understand, coming from Colorado to be chosen for a bowl, and that was the goal to get Miss Peggy to a bowl, and we are so happy. You have no idea how appreciative we are.”
Miss Peggy is Colorado’s superfan who reached 100 years old last month.
Coach Prime spoke highly of facing BYU and Kalani Sitake, who officially received a contract extension on Saturday night.
“Playing against a wonderful, storied university as BYU is unbelievable,” said Coach Prime. “You talk about leadership; you talk about the extension of this man I’m looking at on the screen who’s boasting about how much he’s going to eat and all of that, but don’t get it twisted, he’s a darn good football coach, and he’s a leader of men, and he’s a God-fearing man. So to see him and watch, and to glean from him, and to get the opportunity to meet him at the Big 12 meetings and now to be able to compete against him is unbelievable.”
Building momentum for the 2025 season
Sitake sees this game as another showcase to move the program forward.
“This is a great opportunity for us to progress as a program, get where we want to be, and make sure that we end the season right. And by ending the season right, it’s not on the result based on the game.
“It’s about us playing clean, getting to the next level, and making sure that we can get these young me that are going on to the next level and trying to progress their careers in the NFL and other professions. Also, for these young underclassmen to step up and be able to take this team into the next level of 2025, so this will be a very important part of our program.”
No. 17 BYU vs. No. 23 Colorado
2024 Alamo Bowl
Date: Saturday, December 28th, 2024
Kickoff: 5:30 p.m. (MST)
TV: ABC
Radio: KSL NewsRadio (102.7 FM, 1160 AM — Extended pregame begins at Noon)
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
