We're five weeks into the college football season, and the deities of the game have already poured out a marvelous blessing upon us humble viewers below. BYU and Colorado are already squaring off in an Alamo Bowl rematch as the Cougars open Big 12 play and the Buffaloes scramble to find stability after two early losses knocked the ship off-kilter.
It's Christmas. It's my birthday. It's BYU football -- we celebrate every week.
But with this impending duel, a lingering question cannot go ignored: what's changed in a year between these two programs, and what should we expect from this year's clash?
I'm so glad you asked. The research has been collected, the odds have been analyzed, and each team's resume has been finely combed to develop the perfect prediction of BYU's battle with Colorado in week 5. Here's our pick.
BYU vs Colorado prediction: Cougars face Buffaloes in Boulder
These two squads entered the 2025 year with a great deal of mystery to their backs. A flooding pool of questions like: "Is BYU just as good this year as they were last season?" "Can Colorado maintain some level of success without Hunter and Sanders?" "Will BYU's freshman quarterback stand up to the challenge?"
Well, with 7 games of sample to scan, the image of each team's outlook is beginning to come into focus. Cutting away pixels, clarifying the resolution, and solidifying their identities, with every on-field result, we can say with a bit more certainty just who these two teams are.
The verdict? BYU may once again be a Big 12 contender. Colorado has stumbled from its 2024 peak.
The Cougars enter this game unbeaten with an average margin of victory of 38 points. Freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier has lived up to his name, tearing through every obstacle in his path with the intensity of a wild animal despite being a true freshman. To his advantage, Bachmeier hasn't had to be revolutionary -- though he's certainly impressed to this point -- thanks to a stiff defense on the other side of the ball.
Jay Hill has his unit firing like it's running on a V12 engine. You couldn't get a nose to run against this side, let alone a ball carrier. They've been rigid, immovable, and flat-out devastating as they've allowed only one touchdown to this point in the year. That's right: only 33% of BYU's opponents have breached the endzone, and that's only happened one time.
For a Colorado team struggling with its quarterback identity -- whether for on-field or off-field reasons -- there isn't much reason to carry tremendous optimism to this point in the year. Salter, a transfer from Liberty, has seemingly secured his spot as QB1 for the time being after a solid outing in Laramie last week, but there are far more questions than answers about Deion's team this time around. Their resume is that of a .500 team and teetering on the edge of a losing record for the third time this season.
The Buffs dropped their season-opener against Georgia Tech despite the Yellow Jackets giving away 3 first-half turnovers, and were utterly humiliated against a Houston team that, while seemingly improved, has been a Big 12 bottom-feeder since joining the league. Wins over Delaware and Wyoming don't exactly move the needle either.
Some key details to watch for in this one: The Buffaloes' run defense has been miserable -- they allowed Wyoming's top rusher to pound them for 126 yards in arguably the Buffs' best result on the year to this point. LJ Martin has rushed for 100+ in every game this season, and it's hard to image BYU's big bodies up front won't have their way with the Colorado front seven.
Folsom Field should provide the most hostile environment true freshman Bear Bachmeier has faced all year, but OC Aaron Roderick has proved capable of keeping his young pigskin-slinger comfortable and safe when distributing across the field. BYU's offense doesn't need to be dominant -- that's the defense's job -- they just need to keep the home team at arm's length. Solid defense will put the Cougars' attack into favorable situations, and the scoreboard should follow suit.
Prediction: BYU 37, Colorado 16