SAN ANTONIO – LJ Martin rushed for 88 yards and two touchdowns, Jake Retzlaff passed for 151 yards and No. 17 BYU beat No. 20 Colorado 36-14 in the Alamo Bowl on Saturday night.

BYU (11-2, No. 17 CFP) scored in each quarter to secure its second straight bowl victory and third in its last four appearances after failing to advance last season.

Colorado (9-4, No. 23 CFP) was held to 210 total yards rushing with just two net yards. The Buffaloes had 90 yards rushing in the fourth quarter and the Cougars led by 29 points.

Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders was sacked three times and threw two interceptions in front of a sellout crowd of 64,261. Sanders passed for 208 yards and two touchdowns while completing 16 of 23 passes.

Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter had four receptions for 106 yards, including a 43-yard touchdown from Sanders with 6:14 left in the third quarter.

Colorado’s offensive struggles started early against BYU.

The Buffaloes failed on fourth-and-1 at the Cougars’ 49-yard line when Sanders’ pass to Will Sheppard fell incomplete.

With four minutes left in the first quarter, BYU then marched 52 yards for its first touchdown on a 1-yard run by Martin.

Cougars sophomore Parker Kingston returned a punt 64 yards for a touchdown, giving BYU a 17-0 lead with 5:32 left in the first half.

The Buffaloes were shut out in the first half despite having just 61 total yards, including minus-nine yards rushing on 12 carries.

Sione I. Moa added a 13-yard rushing touchdown for the Cougars in the third quarter.

Will Ferrin added field goals of 51 and 54 yards for BYU.

Takeaways

BYU: Kingston returned three punts for 82 yards, including the first-half touchdown. He also had one reception for 24 yards and threw an incompletion that fell off the fingers of tight end Mata’ava Ta’ase.

Colorado: The Buffaloes entered the game averaging 34.5 points per game, which ranked 22nd nationally, but struggled against the Cougars.

Next

BYU opens its 2025 schedule at home against Portland State. Colorado opens its 2025 season at home against Georgia Tech on August 30.