San Antonio • The differences were stark in the moments right before the confetti fell.
On one side, sat the possible No. 1 NFL draft pick Shedeur Sanders, his head in a towel, shaking as if he had just seen a ghost.
And 15 yards to his left, BYU defensive analyst Gary Andersen, walked around smiling as if he couldn’t believe what he had just seen.
BYU threw 17 different coverages at Sanders in the first half of Saturday night’s Alamo Bowl, Andersen revealed in the moments after the game. Only four times did defensive coordinator Jay Hill call the same look. The Cougars overloaded Sanders with schemes, leaving the quarterback guessing where pressure was coming from by the end of a 36-14 drubbing that made the top prospect look helpless. Sanders threw two interceptions and was sacked four times.
And the Cougars' Alamo Bowl victory, their 11th win of the season, surely left more than just Sanders asking questions. Like ... Should BYU have been given more serious consideration for a spot in the College Football Playoff? And how high might the expectations for the Cougars be next season?
“It can lead into next year’s rankings and things like that. There’s a lot riding on this game, and we’re approaching it as such,” Hill acknowledged earlier in the week.
The Cougars did what they had to on Saturday to force their way into the conversation.
During bowl week celebrations, all most people wanted to talk about was Colorado’s superstars. At a banquet for high-level donors on Friday, the moderator shouted out Sanders and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter by first name. But when he looked at BYU’s side, he struggled to name a single player.
It felt like the microcosm of the season for BYU, a team that was so often a national afterthought even as it started 9-0. Never were the Cougars in contention for an at-large bid to the College Football Playoff like some of their Big 12 counterparts.
The Cougars insisted that was fine by them.
“Being the underdog, or in some ways underappreciated, we’re comfortable being there. We’re used to it,” center Connor Pay said on Thursday.
But Pay knew the national narrative.
“He walked up out of [the production meeting] and said to us, ‘Talk about BYU just a little bit, would you?’ Well, we’re talking about him, and we’re talking about BYU now,” announcer Dave Pasch said during the fourth quarter of the national broadcast. “I’m sure the fans in Provo would love us to talk about BYU the whole night.”
Internally, the Cougars believed if they could beat Colorado it would change the perception of the program. They thought if they took down college football’s two biggest stars, the Cougars would get the benefit of the doubt in the playoff rankings next year. Maybe they would even consider that an 11-2 team should have finished higher than No. 17 this year.
(Jaren Wilkey | BYU) BYU safety Raider Damuni wraps up Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders during the 2024 Alamo Bowl in San Antonio.
“We talked about it,” quarterback Jake Retzlaff said. “A big performance on a national stage like this one, this game is watched by everybody. We know that. Whatever the attention is, hopefully brings good stuff.”
It all played out exactly how BYU wanted Saturday.
From the jump, Hill blitzed Sanders relentlessly. He bought Raider Damuni from the secondary. He brought Jack Kelly, Isaiah Glasker, and Harrison Taggart from the linebacker spots. Logan Lutui and Tyler Batty kept hitting Sanders all night.
Hill timed up his pressures on third down, where Sanders took sacks for 16 yards and 10 yards. Hill did it near the goal line, where Lutui hit Sanders for a loss of 23 that brought them out of field goal range.
Before Colorado sniffed its first score, it was already 27-0 in favor of BYU. Retzlaff even threw two interceptions, and the game was still never in doubt.
Colorado had its fewest yards all season.
“Yeah, there was nothing that we did great tonight,” Sanders said afterward.
Batty and Glasker said it was the most extensive blitz package Hill installed before a game since he arrived in Provo two years ago.
“I think so,” Batty said. “This is one of the game plans where we definitely were top-loaded, especially with a lot of pressure. Trying to get him to move. And I think our secondary also did a great job disguising what we’re doing. And so we did have a lot, we did have a lot installed.”
As for whether this performance will change people’s minds about BYU’s 2024 playoff hopes, Sitake deflected.
“I don’t think that’s anything that you can campaign for,” Sitake said.
But this will undoubtedly affect how people think of BYU next year.
Long after the balloons had fallen from the rafters and Colorado’s superstar had finished sulking, people should remember how BYU won the 2024 Alamo Bowl. It was dominant and even more emphatic considering the stars the Cougars faced.
“They have some great talent on that team,” head coach Kalani Sitake said. “I think we have some great talent too.”
BYU running back LJ Martin (27) runs past Colorado linebacker Brendan Gant (38) during the first half of the Alamo Bowl NCAA college football game, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
College football observers know what a nationally televised win in a bowl game can do for a team the next season. Look no further than Kansas State, which won the Pop-Tarts Bowl last year. The Wildcats started the season inside the top 25. Even after a 29-point loss to BYU early in the season, K-State got the benefit of the doubt and remained in the rankings. It had every chance to stay in the at-large discussion until the end of the year.
That is likely what’s in store for the Cougars next year. With a quarterback returning and most of the core playmakers coming back, BYU will start the year ranked and have some wiggle room before getting eliminated from the national discussion.
As the night ended, senior Tyler Batty said he hoped he’d left the program better than he found it.
“I just want to be remembered as one of those guys that helped push BYU to be great,” he said.
A win like this, on this stage, should pay dividends long after he is gone.
