No. 17 BYU, No. 23 Colorado prepare for Big 12-flavored Alamo Bowl

Conference foes No. 17 BYU and No. 23 Colorado will square off on Saturday night in the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio.The Cougars (10-2) and Buffaloes (9-3) once had their sights set on a Big 12 Conference championship game appearance and a berth in the College Football Playoff.But late-season losses dashed those dreams, and in the era of mega conferences, the rare intra-conference bowl game will pit teams that didn’t play in the regular season.Another rarity is the lack of players opting out to prevent injury. Colorado has taken out disability insurance to safeguard Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter and quarterback Shedeur Sanders.In its latest NFL mock draft, CBS Sports had Hunter going No. 2 to the New England Patriots and Sanders going No. 3 to the Las Vegas Raiders, who would need to trade up to acquire that pick.Sanders completed 74.2 percent of his passes for 3,926 yards, 35 touchdowns and only eight interceptions. Hunter rarely took a snap off, doubling as a wide receiver on offense and a cornerback on defense.Hunter has declared for April’s NFL draft and had 92 catches for 1,152 yards, 14 receiving touchdowns and a rushing score. He had four interceptions, 11 passes defended and 31 tackles at cornerback.”Colorado has a ton of talent in all three phases,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake said. “I think a lot of credit goes to the offense for the Heisman Trophy winner (Hunter), Shedeur and the rest of the crew. But we are excited, they are a complete team and we’re excited about the matchup.”The rest of the crew Sitake referenced includes second-leading receiver LaJohntay Wester, who caught 70 passes for 880 yards and 10 touchdowns, and Will Sheppard, who had 617 yards and six TDs.Colorado was 4-8 last year in coach Deion Sanders’ first season at the helm.

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