Star-Powered Alamo Bowl Adds Meaning To Game
Dec 27, 2024, 2:29 PM
SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The NCAA transfer portal and NFL draft preparation have completely changed how programs put together bowl game rosters. If you’re not in the College Football Playoff, bowl games have often become glamourized exhibitions with little to gain and much to lose. Maybe that gives the Alamo Bowl a different feel as BYU and Colorado prepare to put their best foot forward on Saturday night.
Despite Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter and quarterback Shedeur Sanders’ lofty NFL draft status in 2025, both stars will be in uniform, albeit with hefty insurance protection, in the Alamodome. BYU expects to have all healthy players in uniform as well.
No. 17 BYU ends the 2024 campaign in the Valero Alamo Bowl against the No. 23 Colorado Buffaloes. Kickoff in the Alamodome is at 5:30 p.m. MT on ABC.
RELATED: How To Watch, Stream, Listen To BYU Football Vs. Colorado Buffaloes
The 2024 #ValeroAlamoBowl is set!
#17 @BYUfootball vs #23 @CUBuffsFootball
📅: Saturday, December 28
⏰: 6:30PM CT
📺: ABC
📍: Alamodome | San Antonio, TX pic.twitter.com/apL12ifGHN— Valero Alamo Bowl (@valeroalamobowl) December 8, 2024
“Everybody is playing,” Sitake said early on Friday. “It’s going to be an exciting time and we’re really looking forward to the matchup. We’re excited to play with these seniors that we have and the guys that are leaving the program. Just want to make it memorable.”
Both coaches see this game as a chance to compete and get better. Sanders talked about the underdog mentality of both teams in creating the competitive Alamo Bowl environment.
“Maybe because neither of us was supposed to be here,” Sanders said, echoing an earlier comment from Sitake.
RELATED: Sitake, Prime Praise Each Others Programs Ahead Of Alamo Bowl Showdown
Coach Prime on Kalani: “…He’s won the dress up match today, and I’m not happy about that.”
Kalani Sitake: “I’ve got one outfit man. This is about it.” pic.twitter.com/V8wNqWIxVO
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) December 27, 2024
“We know what we have, and we’re happy about it,” stated Sanders. “We’re not gonna take this for granted. This is a blessing. When you’re on the outside of this stuff, and you’re looking in, you wanna get there…Then you get to a bowl, and you’re gonna sit there ignorant. Like you don’t wanna play in something you’ve thrived to do? Do you know how many people wished they could be in our situation? So we’re going to take full advantage of it.”
Sanders agreed with Sitake again when he said that all of Colorado’s players would be playing.
“All of his kids are playing, all our kids are playing,” Sanders said emphatically. “We’re gonna play our toughest, our hardest, this is a GAME. This is not just a routine. This is a game that both of us want to win. We’re taking it serious because we were predicted not to be here.”
Sitake wants to give fans a show in Alamo Bowl’
BYU has one of the best traveling fan bases in the country and is expected to be full-throated by the time a 5:30 p.m. MT kickoff rolls around. Sitake knows from experience how much difference a Cougar crowd can make in bowl games.
“The pageantry of it all is a lot of fun,” Sitake started. “I think we sit there and think its only the players, the team, and coaches benefit from it, the fans do too.”
Will WR Darius Lassiter take advantage of the new waiver given to former JUCO athletes and return to BYU in 2025?
He shared his thoughts.https://t.co/cd58Z46zH8
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) December 27, 2024
“We’re forgetting the fans are a part of this too. We plan on seeing all our fans in the stadium tomorrow. They’re enjoying all of it, and I speak for Deion in saying this, but we love seeing our fans happy. That’s a big part of why we’re at where we’re at.
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For more information on BYU football, follow our BYU insider Mitch Harper. Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on Twitter/X and Threads: @Mitch_Harper.
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Brian Preece is a sports.ksl.com insider covering Locals in MLB and Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brian’s Bees and Beehive baseball coverage here.
