BOULDER, Colorado — Colorado lost Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter, NFL-bound quarterback Shedeur Sanders and several standout receivers from the team that the BYU Cougars hammered 36-14 in the Alamo Bowl nine months ago.
But BYU coach Kalani Sitake and his assistant coaches have spent the week telling their players that coach Deion Sanders’ third CU team is not only different, but better. The No. 25 Cougars will find out for themselves at 8:15 p.m. MDT on Saturday at Folsom Field, as Sitake’s crew begins Big 12 play across the Rocky Mountains with a rematch, of sorts.
“Every year is different and every week is different. We’re a different team than back in the Alamo Bowl, and they’re a different team as well,” Sitake said. “You see on film that they have tons of talent. We’re at their place now, so it’s going to be a difficult environment to play in. I am looking forward to the matchup and looking forward to seeing my friend Coach Prime again.”
Coach Prime’s team is 2-2, with convincing wins over Delaware and Wyoming and disappointing losses to Georgia Tech and Houston. It will be CU’s fourth home game.
“We’re at their place now, so it’s going to be a difficult environment to play in. I am looking forward to the matchup and looking forward to seeing my friend Coach Prime again.”
— BYU coach Kalani Sitake on game at Colorado Saturday
While the teams from neighboring states faced off last December in San Antonio, Saturday’s encounter marks BYU’s first visit to Boulder since 1981, when Jim McMahon and Steve Young combined to throw five touchdown passes in a 41-20 romp for the visitors.
“It is an interesting matchup,” said BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick. “There are some good players on that field that we played last year that are still out there. It is going to be a tough game.”
Both teams enter the 14th game in the series — CU leads 8-4-1 — at less than full strength, particularly on offense. Run-heavy BYU will be without RB2 Sione Moa, while the Buffs will be without their top two running backs, Simeon Price and DeKalon Taylor.
Colorado has seemingly settled on Liberty transfer Kaidon Salter as its quarterback, after Sanders gave Ryan Staub a couple starts earlier this season. Salter looked good in the 37-20 win over Wyoming, and is one of those dual-threat quarterbacks who has been able to give BYU problems in the past.
Of course, this is a different BYU defense under Jay Hill, as the Buffaloes learned last December when Jack Kelly, Isaiah Glasker, Tanner Wall, Logan Lutui and company made life miserable for Shedeur Sanders in his final college game.
“I think the offensive line is improved from what we faced in the bowl game,” Hill said. “And the quarterback has a super strong arm. We got our work cut out for us. We gotta be on our ‘A’ game, which we know. I like the matchup.”
Hill said Salter might be the best QB the Cougars see through four games, which is saying something considering ECU quarterback Katin Houser bounced back from a poor showing against the Cougars and led the Pirates to a 28-6 rout of Army on Thursday night.
Salter has completed 66.7% of his passes for 565 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for 153 yards and three scores.
“He is a dual-threat guy. He is very athletic. He’s got a strong arm. He’s accurate. I don’t know that he has been in the system a long time, but he is only going to get better and better in it, I know that,” Hill said. “And he’s got good weapons to throw to. So we got our work cut out for us.”
Defensively, the Buffaloes have been average, and are allowing 409.3 yards per game, compared to 205.4 yards per game for BYU’s defense. Against Power Four teams Houston and Georgia Tech, Colorado’s defense has allowed 265 rushing yards per game.
Look for BYU to exploit that apparent weakness — as it did in the bowl game last year — with a heavy dose of LJ Martin and freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier. However, receiver Parker Kingston said BYU wants to throw the ball a lot, too, despite CU having one of the best cornerbacks in the country in Oklahoma State transfer DJ McKinney.
“We have played against him for the past three years (at OSU and CU),” said Kingston, who returned a punt for a touchdown against the Buffs in the bowl game. “He’s a good player. I mean, they’re saying that he’s a first-round draft pick, so it’s going to be fun to go up against him … and put the whole nation on notice that we can throw the ball.”
Handling another hostile environment
BYU’s Bachmeier and some of the younger players got a taste of playing in front of a hostile crowd last week in the 34-13 win at ECU, but Folsom Field figures to be even more loud and intense, as Sanders and other CU coaches and staffers have taken to social media to plead for Buffs fans to show up in force to offset the usual large contingent of traveling BYU fans.
That win over the Pirates pushed BYU’s record to 31-4 in its last 35 night games; the Cougars are 14-1 in their last 15 night games away from LaVell Edwards Stadium.
BYU starting left tackle Isaiah Jatta transferred to Provo from CU, but did not do any interviews this week. In August, Jatta said he was excited to make the trip back to Boulder and see some of his former teammates and coaches, but did not have the matchup circled on his calendar.
“Seeing them again, of course there are going to be emotions,” he said. “I’m not gonna act like it’s a crazy type of emotion, but it’s just like a, ‘I know those people. I am familiar with them,’ type of thing. It’s nothing too crazy, though.”
Last year, BYU tight end Carsen Ryan and defensive tackle Keanu Tanuvasa faced the Buffs in Boulder as members of the Utah Utes team that fell 49-24 on Nov. 16. Ryan had four catches for 78 yards.
“It is a loud crowd out there. They get a lot of fans. It is always a fun place to go to. It is a really cool area,” Ryan said. “I like their stadium a lot. I always have fun playing there and I am excited to get out there and hopefully put up a similar game like I did last year. … Coach Prime always has good players coming in every year. So we are going to be ready for them and what they got for us.
