Dominant Alamo Bowl win over Colorado should push Cougars into national rankings ahead of 2025 season

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Given the opportunity to make a case that BYU should have received more respect in terms of the College Football Playoff rankings this football season after the No. 17 Cougars pummeled No. 23 Colorado 36-14 Saturday night in the Alamo Bowl, coach Kalani Sitake politely declined.

That’s not the BYU way, nor does it fit the “love and learn” culture Sitake has painstakingly built in Provo the past nine seasons. Complaining and dwelling on negativity isn’t part of his mindset.

“I don’t think that’s anything you can campaign for,” he said.

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Besides, it is all water under the bridge now, too late to do anything about it. Sitake said the CFP system “is better” than it has been, and he appreciates the progress and the fact that teams such as BYU are now seated at the big kids’ table.

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Moving forward, what is important to the Cougars, who have now won 11 or more games in 13 seasons — tied with Nebraska, TCU and Boise State for 8th-most in NCAA history — is what the blowout of the favored Buffaloes (9-4) and the season as a whole when they finally became more relevant on the national stage can do for them in 2025.

With an experienced quarterback in Jake Retzlaff returning, combined with the big finish on national television when no other significant games were going on, BYU almost certainly will be in the top 15 when the preseason rankings are released next summer.

And they will more easily be forgiven for a midseason stumble, which wasn’t the case when Kansas ruined their 9-0 start with that fluky 17-13 upset win in Provo on Nov. 16. The Cougars tumbled from No. 7 to No. 14 in the AP Top 25 after the loss, then five more spots when they lost 28-23 to a ranked Arizona State team in Tempe.

In hindsight, that was unusually punitive.

Suffice to say the punishment for a loss from the media voters, and the CFP selection committee, won’t be as drastic next season if the Cougars find themselves in a similar situation.

Saturday’s crushing of Colorado — which could have been even more impressive if BYU hadn’t committed three turnovers and dropped a sure touchdown pass — will do wonders for BYU the next eight months, in terms of national perception.

“We felt like we needed to make a statement,” said center Connor Pay, who joined right tackle Weylin Lapuaho, left tackle Caleb Etienne and guards Sonny Makasini, Bruce Mitchell and Austin Leausa in controlling the line of scrimmage offensively the entire night. Pay is out of eligibility, while Etienne told the Deseret News that he hasn’t decided yet whether he will take advantage of the ruling in the Diego Pavia case and return to BYU.

“We were the more physical team,” said first-year offensive line coach TJ Woods, one of the unsung heroes of the turnaround from last year’s 5-7 season.

While defensive coordinator Jay Hill and special teams coach Kelly Poppinga were rightfully credited for their guys’ work in burying the Buffaloes, don’t forget the way the Cougars controlled the clock with a punishing ground attack.

BYU rushed for 180 yards (4.3 per rush) and a Colorado defense that was among the national leaders in sacks got to Retzlaff only twice. BYU was 8 of 11 on third down at one point and finished 8 of 14.

Offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick’s play calls were brilliant. Sophomore running back LJ Martin ran 17 times for 93 yards and two touchdowns, and caught two passes for 33 yards.

“It is awesome just being able to see our hard work just being seen,” said Martin, the offensive player of the game. “It is also a credit to the 10 other guys that were on the field with me at different times. Without their blocking up front this doesn’t happen, without the defense stopping (Colorado), giving us the ball back, this doesn’t happen.

“It is a credit to everyone else, everyone who got us ready and just helped us throughout the game,” Martin concluded.

Martin, who is from El Paso, Texas, said the last time he was in his home state, he got injured during BYU’s 18-15 win over SMU in Dallas, a win that should have served notice that this BYU team was legit, but was mostly ignored.

That victory on Sept. 6 against a team that wouldn’t lose again until the ACC championship game served notice that BYU’s defense had the potential to be elite, although few recognized it then, including yours truly.

Saturday’s effort from Hill’s guys was similarly dominant, as Colorado was held to 210 yards, a season-low. The previous low was 260 in a loss to Nebraska.

The Buffs picked up 15 first downs against Nebraska and in their 37-21 loss to Kansas. They had just nine against BYU.

“Everywhere,” said CU quarterback Shedeur Sanders, when asked where CU struggled offensively. “Yeah, there was nothing that we did great tonight.”

Added coach Deion Sanders: “Ditto.”

On the other side, the win “was just really fun and was just everything I imagined it would be,” Martin said.

The softspoken playmaker will be one of the key elements next year, along with returning receivers Chase Roberts, Keelan Marion and Parker Kingston. Roberts sustained a shoulder injury that limited him to one catch for 11 yards, an injury that could be worth watching in the months to come.

“No one expected us to win or dominate like we did, so to go out there and really just compete, that’s all we were trying to do, and that’s something I feel like we can carry into next year, just compete,” Martin said.

And get the preseason respect that they deserve.