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Friday Fast Facts – BYU Week
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Leading off …
— Your “T.I.P.S” for Colorado v. BYU, my weekly written preview, along with my predictions for CU’s Gold Rush game against the Cougars, can be found here.
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The Big Picture …
— Familiar Foes? … This weekend will mark the second time in three weeks the Buffs will be playing the “Cougars”. Two weeks ago, it was CU’s second-ever game against Houston. This Saturday, the Buffs will take on the BYU Cougars for the 14th time (CU leads the all-time series, 8-4-1). The only other FBS team with a “Cougar” mascot? A former conference foe … Washington State.
Later this season, the Buffs will again face two similar mascots in three games, with CU taking on the Arizona Wildcats at home on November 1st, before taking on the Kansas State Wildcats two games later. In case you are wondering … there are four FBS “Wildcats”, with Kentucky and Northwestern being the other two;
— Gold Rush … and Drones? … The BYU has been designated as a “Gold Rush” game, with the Buff Nation asked to wear gold as CU takes on the Cougars. As a reward for coming out late on a Saturday night, fans are going to be given a halftime drone show. From a CU press release:
The show is produced by Brightflight Drone Shows and will feature hundreds of drones synchronized to display iconic scenes from around Colorado and Boulder, including the Flatirons, Ralphie and even Coach Prime. The show will last approximately 10 minutes and musical accompaniment will be provided by the Golden Buffalo Marching Band.
— Watch the scoreboard … In the Coach Prime era, when the Buffs score over 30 points in a game, CU is 13-3 (with a ten-game winning streak, including wins this September over Delaware and Wyoming). When the Buffs score less than 30 points in a game, however, CU is 2-11;
— The ESPN Power Index … Last weekend, CU was a 13.5-point favorite over Wyoming, with the ESPN Power Index giving the Buffs an 85.7% chance at defeating the Cowboys. This weekend, CU is a 6.5-point underdog to BYU, with the ESPN Power Index a 77.3% chance at victory … with CU given a 22.7% chance at winning;
— Broadcast info … The 8:15 p.m., MT, game will be telecast nationally by ESPN, with Mark Jones on the play-by-play, Roddy Jones on color, and Dave Fleming on the sidelines … 850 KOA radio will have Mark Johnson with the play-by-play, and former CU head coach Gary Barnett as the analyst. The lead in game for the Buffs v. Cougars on ESPN will be another Big 12 game, Arizona at No. 14 Iowa State (5:00 p.m., MT, kickoff).
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Player Notes …
— Q could be a game changer … Freshman wide receiver/kick returner Quentin Gibson is becoming a real threat. Gibson has topped 100 yards in kickoff returns in both of the last two games, marking the first Buff to reach that plateau since Marques Mosley had back-to-back 100 yard return games in 2012;
— That really was a pretty good game … Kaidon Salter had a pretty good game in his return to the starting lineup against Wyoming. How good? Salter threw for 304 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for 86 yards and another score. Salter’s efforts represent just the second time in CU history in which a quarterback threw for 300 yards and three touchdowns, while also rushing for over 80 yards and a touchdown. The only other time a Buff pulled that off was Steven Montez pulled off a memorable debut in Eugene against Oregon in 2016;
— Buck Buchanan earning his keep … Buck Buchanan has already blasted 19 touchbacks — already surpassing last season’s total of 15 in just his fourth game. Buchanan is averaging kicking about 7 yards deep into the end zone.
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— Colorado and BYU …
— Natty Buddies … Of the current members of the Big 12, only three teams own national championships, with CU’s 1990 title being the most recent. Prior to that, the only other Big 12 teams with national titles are BYU (1984) and TCU (1938);
— Colorado v. BYU … The Buffs have a 8-4-1 all-time record against the Cougars, though BYU has won the last three. The most recent matchups were in bowl games, with the Cougars winning the 2024 Alamo Bowl, 36-14, and the 1988 Freedom Bowl, 20-17. The last regular season game between the two teams was played in Boulder in 1981, with the Cougars winning, 41-20.
The last CU victory in the series? You have to go all the way back to 1947, a 9-7 victory in Boulder … which was also the last time the two teams met in the regular season as conference opponents (the Mountain States Conference). CU won the first six games in the rivalry … but all six of those games were played between 1923 and 1940;
— Colorado v. BYU, historically … Colorado has over 30 years more football in its history, with over 100 more wins all time … and over 100 more losses. In comparable categories, CU has significant advantages in all-time NFL draft picks (293 to 153), and consensus All-Americans (33 to 14). The Buffs still have the advantage in all-time appearances in the Associated Press poll (316 weeks to 292), but, with BYU returning to the AP poll this week, the gap is narrowing.
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— The last time … December 28, 2024 … Alamo Bowl … No. 17 BYU 36, No. 20 Colorado 14
Colorado continued its 20-year drought without a bowl victory, and its continued misery in San Antonio, with a 36-14 loss to No. 17 BYU in the Alamo Bowl. The Colorado defense held the Cougars to 331 total yards, but the Buff offense was held to 210 yards of total offense – including two total yards rushing – as CU quarterback Shedeur Sanders was harassed all night.
The Cougars used a combination of offense (quarterback Jake Retzlaff completed 12-of-21 passes for 151 yards), defense (BYU sacked Sanders four times, with two interceptions) and special teams (including a 64-yard punt return for a touchdown by Parker Kingston), to dominate the Buffs. It was 10-0 after the first quarter, then 20-0 at halftime, with the Buffs gaining two consolation passing touchdowns (a 43-yarder to Travis Hunter; a two-yarder to tight end Sav’ell Smalls), to keep the final score from being even more lopsided.
… Continue reading Game Story here …
… My Essay for the game, “Setting the Standard“, can be found here …
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— Getting to Know BYU … Notes and Numbers …
– Be Careful what you ask for … CU didn’t have much hope for a victory against BYU when the two teams met in Boulder on September 26, 1981. The Cougars were ranked No. 11 in the country, while the Buffs were wearing baby blue uniforms and enduring the final season of the forgettable third (and final) season of the Chuck Fairbanks era.
There seemed to be some hope for the Buffs when BYU starting quarterback Jim McMahon went down with an injury. Well, not so much. McMahon’s replacement? Steve Young.
Game story for No. 11 BYU 41, Colorado 20, can be found here …
– Nothing New … BYU is 3-0, with all three games non-conference games. In wiping out Portland State, Stanford, and East Carolina, the Cougars are following a normal path. In its third season as a Big 12 member, BYU is now 9-0 in non-conference games;
– Eye-popping numbers … While numbers have to be taken with a grain of salt, considering BYU’s opposition (Portland State, Stanford, and East Carolina are a combined 3-12), BYU is currently:
- Tied for No. 1 in the nation in scoring defense, giving up only 5.3 points per game;
- No. 2 in total defense, giving up only 205.3 yards per game;
- No. 6 in the nation in scoring margin, winning by an average of 38 points per game;
- No. 7 nationally in first downs allowed, with 39 in three games.
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Big 12 Notes …
— Four Big 12 teams ranked … The Big 12 Conference is back up four football programs in the latest Associated Press Top 25, even with No. 16 Utah falling out.
- Texas Tech, with its 34-10 road win over Utah, rose five spots to No. 12 nationally. Iowa State, which was idle, fell two spots to No. 14;
- TCU, at No. 24, and BYU, at No. 25, joined the poll for the first time this season.
— Big 12 This-and-That …
- Seven of the 30 undefeated FBS programs entering Week Five are from the Big 12, tied for the second most of any conference;
- TCU (7 wins – T-2nd), BYU (5 wins – T-9th) and Iowa State (5 wins – T-9th) give the Big 12 Conference three of the 13 longest active win streaks in FBS;
- BYU (T-1st), Arizona (T-6th), UCF (T-6th), Houston (11th), Texas Tech (14th) and Cincinnati (20th) give the Conference six of the top 20 scoring defenses in the country.
— Big 12 lines … From DraftKings ..
The Big 12 …
Friday, September 26th
- No. 24 TCU at Arizona State … 7:00 p.m., MT, Fox … Arizona State is a 2.5-point home favorite …
- Houston at Oregon State … 8:30 p.m., MT, ESPN … Houston is a 13.5-point road favorite …
Saturday, September 27th
- Cincinnati at Kansas … 10:00 a.m., MT, TNT … Kansas is a 6.0-point home favorite …
- UCF at Kansas State … 10:00 a.m., MT, FS1 … Kansas State is a 5.5-point home favorite …
- Baylor at Oklahoma State … 1:30 p.m., MT, ESPN2 … Oklahoma State is a 20.5-point home underdog …
- Utah at West Virginia … 1:30 p.m., MT, Fox … West Virginia is a 10.5-point home underdog …
- Arizona at No. 14 Iowa State … 5:00 p.m., MT, ESPN … Iowa State is a 6.5-point home favorite …
- No. 25 BYU at Colorado … 8:15 p.m., MT, SPN … Colorado is a 6.5-point home underdog …
- Idle … Texas Tech …
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