Coach Deion Sanders is taking the Colorado Buffaloes to the Alamo Bowl Saturday in San Antonio, where the team will play a prime-time game against BYU.
The Buffs ranked 20th in the Associated Press Top 25 and 23rd in the College Football Playoff rankings. Although the Buffs and Cougars are now Big 12 rivals, they haven’t met in football since the Freedom Bowl in 1988.
Two years ago, Coach Prime took over a program that was coming off a 1-11 season. The Buffs were better in 2023, going 4-8 with several close losses, but took a giant leap this year to 9-3. It’s just the seventh time in CU history that the Buffs improved by five wins over the previous year.
This will be just the third bowl appearance for CU in the last 17 seasons, with all of them coming at the Alamo Bowl.
Along with securing a bowl game, Sanders has the distinction of coaching a Heisman Trophy winner.
Cornerback/receiver Travis Hunter was announced as the winner of the 90th Heisman Trophy earlier this month after finishing with 2,231 points to earn 552 first-place votes.
Hunter is the second player in Colorado Buffaloes history to win the Heisman, joining the late Rashaan Salaam, who won the most coveted award in college sports in 1994.
Hunter, who followed Sanders from Jackson State to Colorado, was the only player in the country to play full time on offense and defense.
Hunter finished top six in the country for catches (92), receiving yards (1,152) and touchdown receptions (14), which set a school record. He also ran for a touchdown.
Defensively, he was a lock-down cornerback, giving up just 22 catches and six first downs in 38 pass attempts against him. He is tied for fifth nationally with 15 passes defended (11 pass breakups, four interceptions), while also recording 31 tackles and a forced fumbled that secured an overtime win against Baylor on Sept. 21.
In recent years, several star players have opted out of bowl games to get a jump on their preparation for the NFL Draft.
But while Hunter, a junior, will declare for the NFL Draft and is projected as a top-five pick, he still is planning to play in the Alamo Bowl. Quarterback Shedeur Sanders, who is also projected as a top-five pick, will play, too.
Top 10 stories of 2024:
The Daily Camera is counting down the top 10 stories of the year as voted on by editors.
No. 10 – Man accused of selling drugs to teen, including one who died in construction fall
No. 9 – Homelessness day services launch, changes at All Roads, ACLU camping ban lawsuit
No. 8 – Boulder a finalist to host Sundance Film Festival
No. 7 – Wind storm triggers preemptive outage from Xcel, prompting outrage
No. 6 – Boulder hires Stephen Redfearn as police chief despite objections of local NAACP branch
No 5 – Naropa to sell its main Boulder campus
No 4 – Deion takes Buffs to a bowl, Travis Hunter wins Heisman
