Kalani Sitake is pretty good about playing the “disrespect” card to motivate his BYU football team — and he has had plenty of it to use.
The rub that started in the summer with ESPN’s four-win projection and the Big 12′s preseason poll that ranked the Cougars 13th among the 16 teams still exists in December — despite BYU’s 10 wins and a piece of first place in the conference.
The Cougars are No. 17 in the final College Football Playoff rankings. That puts BYU (10-2) behind six teams that played weaker schedules, including five who finished with a weaker strength of record and three who won fewer games. Even SMU (11-2) finished No. 11 and earned a playoff spot despite losing to BYU 18-15 on their own field.
This is not an argument that the Cougars deserved to make the playoffs (late-season losses to Kansas and Arizona State took care of that) but the narrative is clear: When it comes to national respect, BYU remains on the fringe — even as a member of a Power Four conference.
The remedy is winning a bowl game against a good team at an ideal time and on a major network — and that opportunity is coming against No. 23 Colorado in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 28 in San Antonio, Texas (5:30 p.m. MST, ABC).
Not only is the game against the Buffaloes potentially the biggest TV draw outside of the playoffs, but it is also the most significant bowl opportunity for BYU in 27 years, back when they beat Kansas State in the 1997 Cotton Bowl.
Colorado, with its media magnet head coach (Deion Sanders), Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year (Shedeur Sanders) and likely Heisman Trophy winner (Travis Hunter), give the Cougars one last chance to leave a lasting impression strong enough to still be relevant when next season comes around.
The Buffaloes are also a member of the Big 12 and they are scheduled to host BYU next year in Boulder. The last time the teams met was in the 1988 Freedom Bowl, when freshman quarterback Ty Detmer led the Cougars to a 20-17 victory.
Emboldened by his contract extension, Sitake will march his troops into the Alamo City as another underdog and he has three weeks to get his team and his pregame speech ready.
BYU may not get its just due from the national media in 2024, but if a win in December allows the Cougars to show up in the preseason AP Top 25 in August, it will give them a better chance for respect in 2025.
‘Remember the Alamo’
The irony of BYU playing in the Alamo Bowl is as thick as Texas brisket. A team that couldn’t give up its independence fast enough will take the field not far from the memorial that symbolizes the state’s fight for freedom.
One represents real life while the other is just a game, but battles are battles.
A group of revolutionaries, including the legendary Davy Crockett, fought off Santa Ana’s massive Mexican army for 12 days before succumbing and surrendering the Alamo. A month later, Sam Houston’s troops defeated Santa Ana. Houston’s forces shouted “Remember the Alamo” as they made their attack.
The decisive victory was a game changer that ended the war and allowed for Texas to claim its independence from Mexico.
BYU fought for 12 years to stay relevant in college football while meandering about as an independent. On the heels of an 11-1 season in 2020 and just as 2021 was kicking off, the Big 12 extended the Cougars an invitation to join the power conference.
The momentous move, which delivered a painful 5-7 debut season in 2023, turned quickly into a 10-2 first-place performance in 2024 — and allowed for BYU to claim the fruits of dependence: a major bowl game.
Instead of shouting “Remember the Alamo” as the Cougars attack Colorado, BYU should scream “Remember the Independence Bowl” and all the other lower-level, pre-Christmas postseason locations that were attached to their own independence.
This is a taste of the big time. It’s not the College Football Playoff, but it’s the Alamo Bowl against a P4 opponent, on prime-time television and with a big payday — and a roof. Playing and viewing conditions inside the Alamodome will be perfect.
Missionary moment
As a young missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints assigned to San Antonio, the Alamo was a first-night experience.
After dinner at the mission home, our group of anxious and homesick teenagers piled into a van and drove to the historical site. It wasn’t as big as I thought it would be and I’m pretty sure someone in our group asked to see the basement.
Two years later, as we gathered to return home, another visit was made. This time, we saw the Alamo for what it represented to the Texans we had grown to love. There is tremendous fight in their DNA, especially in San Antonio.
Four miles from the Alamo is the Alamodome, where BYU and Colorado will go toe-to-toe in just over three weeks. Both teams owe it to their fans and to Texans everywhere to stage the kind of battle that will be “remembered” for years to come.
Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.com.