SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Saturday’s spotlight at the 64,000-seat Alamodome will be squarely on Colorado’s high-flying duo of quarterback Shedeur Sanders and two-way star Travis Hunter, the Heisman Trophy winner.
The pressure will squarely be on a BYU defender making only his second career start, strong safety Raider Damuni.
And the redshirt freshman says he is more than ready for it.
“I feel like I am absolutely ready for it,” said Damuni, a former three-star recruit from Timpview High who served a two-year mission to San Francisco for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints before enrolling at BYU.
“We have had a long time to prepare for these guys, so being able to watch them, different things, pick out different tendencies, has been important. I feel ready to play.”
So does redshirt junior linebacker Jack Kelly, who is on the other side of the experience spectrum and will be making his 40th career start, 28 at Weber State and the last 12 for BYU.
“Everybody is just super excited to be in a bowl game, and they are going to work their hardest to send the seniors out right and win this game,” Kelly said. “It is our last one of the season, so we gotta end on a high note.”
Kickoff is at 5:30 p.m. MST Saturday as No. 17 BYU (10-2) enters the 33rd annual Alamo Bowl as a four-point underdog against No. 23 Colorado (9-3) despite having a better record and ranking, a sign of disrespect not lost on the Cougars.
“We want to make a statement,” Damuni said.
The Cougars arrived in San Antonio on Christmas Eve, while the Buffaloes have been here since Monday. Colorado is practicing at UTSA, while BYU is practicing at Trinity University, an NCAA Division III school.
After a closed practice Thursday, Damuni and Kelly both said the defense is looking forward to testing itself against one of the best passing offenses in the country.
“That’s what you dream of as a little kid, playing against all these great athletes — the Heisman Trophy winner and potentially the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft (Sanders),” Damuni said. “That is something every little kid dreams about. It is super exciting, and I am looking forward to the challenge.”
Damuni got his first start on Nov. 23, when BYU lost 28-23 to then-No. 21 Arizona State in Tempe. He made the start because starting strong safety Crew Wakley was injured and not able to play.
Since then, Wakley has entered the transfer portal, leaving BYU without one of its best playmakers in the bowl game.
“Once Crew left, I knew I would have a great opportunity to start, so every week I have been treating it like that,” said Damuni, who is the son of BYU director of football operations Jack Damuni.
“Before every game you get a little nervous. Everyone gets a little nervous. I think that’s a good thing. It shows you care, want to be there, and play well. We are just treating it like it is any other game. We know that it is a big game, and the nerves are going to be there. Once we get out there it is going to be fun and we are going to be able to play well.”
Later Thursday, BYU’s coordinators (Jay Hill and Aaron Roderick) and three players from each side of the ball appeared at a news conference in the Alamodome.
Hill, the defensive coordinator, said the Cougars have been able to get Raider Damuni and some other young safeties up to speed.
“Raider played almost as much as Crew this year, so he is going to be fine. You will see a little bit more Faletau (Satuala) and (Tommy) Prassas together, and then (veteran) Tanner Wall can play the strong safety spot, too,” Hill said.
“Really, those four guys got to the point where they were playing as much as anybody.”
Hill said stopping Colorado’s athleticism and speed at the wide receiver position is his biggest concern, but it isn’t like they don’t believe they can do it.
“I think done correctly, we can confuse them and we can get pressure on them,” Hill said. “They have yet to face a defense like ours with all the multiplicity of what we do, so hopefully we can execute.”
Shedeur Sanders acknowledged from the podium an hour or so later that BYU’s defense features a lot of stunts and fancy blitzes.
“They are going to do a lot of exotic things and a lot of different things that we probably haven’t seen on film,” he said, “but we gotta stick to the basics and do what we do best.
“They are a talented team, and they listen to their coaches and do everything 98% right. … Watching film on them, it is very hard to find a flaw when it comes to them because of the way they go about their business.”
Kelly, the Weber State transfer, said Colorado’s offense is “probably the best team we’ve played, as far as just overall offense.” He said it seems like CU coach Deion Sanders has a never-ending supply of receivers on his second team since he’s been in Boulder.
“Obviously they are a high-explosive offense. They got a great O-line, great quarterback, great receivers, great running back. Everything about them is explosive and they are doing great things,” Kelly said.
“We have to stop all three levels — the run, deep ball, QB run, so they present a lot of things.”
Kelly has a difficult decision to make because he’s played so well in his first season of FBS football and displayed the mixture of size, stretch and athleticism that NFL scouts love.
Will he turn pro after the bowl game, or return to BYU in 2025 for his final season of eligibility?
“Still deciding on that,” Kelly said Thursday. “Still in the process of making that decision.”
The 6-foot-2, 240-pound outside linebacker said he will talk to his parents and “pray about it” before making a decision.
“It will probably be pretty quickly after (the bowl game),” he said.
Cougars on the air
Valero Alamo Bowl
No. 17 BYU (10-2) vs. No. 23 Colorado (9-3)
Dec. 28, 5:30 p.m. MST
At the Alamodome
San Antonio, Texas
TV: ABC
Radio: KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM/1160 AM