Conference play, (sort of) familiar foe brings new test for No. 25 BYU at Colorado

BOULDER, Colo. — It's been some nine months since BYU last faced Colorado, when the Cougars capped an emphatic 11-2 season with a 36-14 thumping over the Buffaloes at the Alamo Bowl.

It's been much longer since BYU had to travel to their semi-regional geographic rival.

The Cougars (3-0) will open Big 12 play Saturday at Folsom Field, where BYU hasn't faced Colorado since 1981 in a series that has only been played 13 times (and the Buffs lead 8-4-1).

The lack of history for two campuses around 500 miles apart that twice shared two conferences (Rocky Mountain and Mountain States) is mostly due to Colorado's departure to the Big Eight in 1948, well before that conference became the Big 12 or the Buffs spent a decade in the Pac-12 beginning in 2011.

The familiar foes stand to face off significantly more as members of the 16-team Big 12, with league commissioner Brett Yormark having said geography will play a role in future schedules.

But in this instance, there's only so much crossover between the two teams that squared off in San Antonio last December.

The biggest change lies in college football's most important offensive position, where true freshman Bear Bachmeier replaced former starter Jake Retzlaff for the first three games of the season and Colorado's Shedeur Sanders has given way for Liberty transfer Kaidon Salter for a year before former five-star recruit Julian "JuJu" Lewis is expected to take over Deion Sanders' system.

Retzlaff is gone, but running back LJ Martin returns for a BYU team has again been powered by its run game — though running back depth took a hit when Sione Moa was pronounced "out" on the Big 12-mandated availability report. Still, the Cougars are considered 6.5-point favorites by most analysts in the desert.

But don't ask "Coach Prime" about revenge or redemption. This is a whole new team — one without Heisman Trophy winning two-way star Travis Hunter, at that.

"They played their butts off, kicked our butts in the bowl game," Sanders said. "Now we have a whole new team, and they have a similar new team as well — under new management, meaning a new quarterback."

Changes aside, there still remains a strong mutual respect between Sanders and his BYU counterpart Kalani Sitake, whom he refers to as a "good, God-fearing man" who happens to coach at a conference rival institution.

"I'm a big Deion Sanders fan," Sitake said of the former eight-time Pro Bowler and two-time Super Bowl champion nicknamed "Prime Time" who now goes by "Coach Prime."

"It's not just him," Sitake added. "He has a great staff, and amazing young men on his team. Being around him during the bowl game confirmed that there are a lot of good people in that program."

Ditto for Sitake's coordinators Aaron Roderick and Jay Hill, who both praised Sanders and his program — particularly from those same interactions during bowl week in San Antonio.

BYU linebacker Isaiah Glasker also grew up a fan of "Prime Time," which he showcased by performing Sanders' renowned touchdown celebration when the former Bingham High receiver picked off a pass at the Alamodome.

Glasker insists that the dance wasn't intended with any sort of mockery or malice towards Colorado or Prime himself, but was a tribute to a player he regards as an all-time great. Still, he didn't get a chance to shake hands with Sanders after the game before he was named Alamo Bowl defensive MVP.

He's also heard a lot about Folsom Field, where "the smell of weed" has been alleged to waft over the stadium located 30 miles northwest of downtown Denver.

"I know they're a great team and heard they have a great stadium. I'm really excited to go see them," Glasker said. "I've heard the energy out there is super fun, and I think the boys are excited to get out there."

"I think they're going to come out and play a hard game, especially after the bowl game and everything that happened," Glasker said. "I feel like we're going to get their best shot."

The Cougars had to rebuild most of their defensive line since the last meeting with the Buffs, but return a core led by Glasker and fellow linebacker Jack Kelly in addition to Utah transfer Keanu Tanuvasa, Southern Utah's Anisi Purcell and former Oklahoma State defensive tackle Justin Kirkland, who is expected to play in his first game Saturday.

Personnel changes aside, Hill thinks both sides are "pretty similar" to the teams that met nine months ago.

"The players have changed drastically; we don't have a Marque Collins or a Jakob Robinson and Tyler Batty, and they don't have Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter and some of those guys," he said. "But I don't think the schemes or the programs have changed that much. ... We had a lot of veteran guys in that game, and some of our newer guys who haven't played as much football need to play at that same level."

"We've got to be on our A-game again," he added.

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