Overview:
After three losses in the Alamo Bowl, the Colorado Buffaloes are hoping to win big in San Antonio on December 28.
This holiday season, Colorado Buffaloes fans are not just asking for Alamo Bowl tickets and transportation to the game. Instead, Buffs Nation wants one gift from their favorite team more than anything else: redemption.
On December 28, Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders and his 20th-ranked Buffaloes squad travel to San Antonio, where they will face off against the BYU Cougars in the Valero Alamo Bowl. Tens of thousands of Colorado fans are expected to travel to the River City to witness the end of CU’s historic 2024 season firsthand.
“It’s been a while since we’ve gone bowling,” said Colorado Buffaloes superfan and alumni Ian Sammak. “I’m so stoked for the bowl game. I couldn’t be happier.”
Colorado fans, like Sammak, have been eagerly awaiting a bowl berth for their beloved Buffaloes for a long time. Over the last two decades, the Buffs have not fared well in bowl games. CU has not played a bowl game in four years and only played four bowl games since 2004, all of which they have lost decisively.
The Alamo Bowl, in particular, has caused significant distress among Colorado fans. The Buffs are 0-3 in San Antonio’s premier postseason matchup, having lost to Wisconsin 28-31 in overtime in 2022, Oklahoma State 8-38 in 2016 and Texas 23-55 in 2020.
When the Alamo Bowl begins, tens of thousands of Buffs fans hope to witness a therapeutic beatdown of BYU in unison, healing the still-open wounds of its previous losses in San Antonio.
“As [Colorado fans], this win is something we need,” Sammak said. “We need redemption from the past Alamo Bowls. That way, we can officially put 2016 and 2020 behind us.”
For Jack Barsch, who has been covering Colorado football for over a decade with Ralphie Report, this season alone has been cathartic in and of itself. Just two years ago, the Buffs went 1-11 and were the worst team in college football. In only 24 months, Deion Sanders has managed to completely turn the program around and brought a second Heisman Trophy to Boulder after the late Rashaan Salaam won in 1994.
“[This season] was one of those times where I just felt really happy to have graduated from CU,” Barsch said. “It was really easy not to be proud in 2022 of the football team … This is why I love college sports—because I want to see CU represented well.”
After a decade of disappointment from the Buffaloes in Central Texas, fans like Barsch and Sammak are hopeful that this season’s therapy session extends to the Alamo Bowl on December 28. The 2024 Buffaloes aren’t your typical group. They have all the makings of a group that can break CU’s Alamo Bowl curse. They also want to bring a championship home to Miss Peggy, the team’s 100 year old Superfan.
After a disappointing 4-8 season in 2023, the Buffs rebounded strongly this season, finishing 9-3 and tied for first place in the Big 12 conference. Led by superstar quarterback Shedeur Sanders and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter, the Buffaloes appear to have undergone a renaissance, returning to their national championship-contending days in the early 1990s.
The Buffaloes know how much this matters to the fans too, so they’re breaking out all the stops. All of Colorado’s key players, like Sanders and Hunter, will play in the Alamo Bowl, despite the risk of getting injured before the NFL draft. Hunter and Sanders’ risk hasn’t gone unnoticed by the fans either.
“As a Buffs fan, you love to see Travis and Shedeur playing,” said Colorado football analyst Jacob Thompson. “It’s great for the culture of the program. There’s a definite risk, but you can tell how much this game means to them.”
A win over BYU in the Alamo Bowl would cement the Colorado Buffaloes’ status as a football powerhouse, which is not lost on the fanbase.
“I want us to beat the shit out of BYU,” Sammak said. “ It would bring so much pride to the program and the fanbase so much happiness. Nobody deserves that more than [Colorado fans].”
Even if the Buffs fail to win in San Antonio, Buffs Nation remains optimistic about Colorado football’s future prospects. CU’s 9-3 record will be remembered as one of the most significant turnarounds in college football history, and no one can take that away from fans and alumni everywhere.
To Sammak, this is only the beginning for Colorado and Coach Prime. An Alamo Bowl victory would be the cherry on top of an incredible season, but the 2024 team established a foundation for the future. If Colorado can keep building, the sky’s the limit for the future of what Coach Prime and the Buffs can achieve in Boulder.
“I think people hate Deion Sanders because they’re afraid of what Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes can do,” Sammak said. “If we can build off this season, there’s no limit to what this program can be and what the future holds.”
