PROVO, Utah – BYU football is taking on Coach Prime and the Colorado Buffaloes in the Alamo Bowl.
Despite being a matchup between two Big 12 foes, the game could garner a big audience if Colorado’s stars play in the game.
Pro-Bound Colorado players are going to play in the Alamo Bowl
The 9-3 Colorado Buffaloes feature the Big 12’s Offensive Player of the Year, Shedeur Sanders, at QB, and potential Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter at DB and WR.
Both players are viewed as highly rated NFL draft picks. In an era of college football in which many highly sought-after NFL prospects opt out of college bowl games, many wonder if Hunter and Sanders will play in the Alamo Bowl.
Hours after the Alamo Bowl matchup between BYU and Colorado became official on Sunday, executives from the Alamo Bowl and Valero held an introductory conference via Zoom with statements from BYU coach Kalani Sitake and Colorado’s Coach Prime.
Coach Prime didn’t mention anyone by name but noted that his “pro-bound” players on the Colorado roster are “not tapping out” of the bowl matchup against BYU.
“We have a plethora of seniors that are pro bound, and guess what? Every last one of them are going to play. We don’t tap out. We don’t sit out,” Sanders said. “It’s a blessing to play this wonderful game. Our kids are going to play.
We got a kid that’s probably going to pick up –not probably, what am I talking about– a matter of fact, he’s going to pick up the Heisman Trophy this week, and he’s going to play. We’ve got another quarterback who picked up an award last weekend, and he’s going to play.
“We have receivers that I know are going pro, and guess what? They’re going to play. So we cannot wait to put on our best suit and our best uniform, because we’re the home team and we’re going to come there to have a good time.”
BYU gears up for Coach Prime and Colorado in San Antonio
Colorado’s official Alamo Bowl Game announcement on Sunday on X featured an edit of Coach Prime with Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter and a caption, “Let’s bring it home.
In Coach Prime’s second season as Colorado’s head coach, he’s guided the Buffs to a five-win turnaround. The same goes for BYU, who finished the regular season with a 10-2 overall record.
There has been no official word from BYU on players that could be opting out of the game for the Cougars.
Kickoff for BYU versus Colorado in the Alamo Bowl is on December 28th in San Antonio.
It’s the first meeting between the two programs since 1988, when they met in the Freedom Bowl.
