Colorado Buffaloes fizzle out late in heartbreaking loss to No. 25 BYU

That. Hurt.

The Colorado Buffaloes had No. 25 BYU reeling, Folsom Field rocking, and momentum squarely on our side. And then, in the cruelest fashion, it slipped away.

Saturday night’s 24-21 loss to the Cougars left us crushed because we had it and let it go.

This was a golden opportunity that slipped through our fingers in the fourth quarter, capped by an interception on the last play.

A dream start turns into a nightmare

It couldn’t have started better. The Buffs punched BYU right in the mouth with a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.

Kaidon Salter opened the scoring with a 3-yard keeper, and then Deion Sanders dug into the playbook with a Wildcat wrinkle that had all of us on our feet. Wideout Dre’lon Miller — already a fan favorite — took the direct snap, followed his blockers, and bulldozed into the end zone from five yards out.

Folsom Field erupted. The revenge factor from last year’s Alamo Bowl loss to BYU hung in the air. For a brief, shining moment, it felt like Colorado was going to dominate

But the lead didn’t last.

BYU’s freshman QB doesn’t flinch

While Colorado sputtered, BYU’s true freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier grew up before our eyes. He wasn’t rattled by the atmosphere or the noise.

Bachmeier finished 19-of-27 for 179 yards and two touchdowns, but it was his legs that broke our back. He ran 15 times for 98 yards, repeatedly gashing the Buffs on third down and extending drives that should have ended.

The Cougars piled up 208 rushing yards as a team and leaned on physicality and efficiency. Running back LJ Martin added 58 tough yards, but it was Bachmeier’s composure and running ability that made the difference.

Salter’s first mistake as a Buff was the killer

For three quarters, Salter gave us enough. He wasn’t amazing, but he was steady — 11-of-16 passing for 119 yards, one touchdown, and a handful of clutch scrambles. His 19-yard strike to Dre’lon Miller in the third quarter briefly put Colorado on top, 21-17.

But when the moment came in the final minute, the script flipped. Down three with the ball in his hands, Salter tried to push deep. Instead, BYU linebacker Isaiah Glasker read it perfectly, snagged the interception, and sealed the game.

It was Salter’s first pick since transferring to Colorado, and it couldn’t have come at a worse time.

The what-ifs

The Buffs came out with the fire of a ranked team. The problem was they couldn’t finish like one. Too many stalled drives in the middle quarters, too many missed tackles on defense, and when the chance came to write a storybook ending, it ended in a nightmare.

“Sometimes it felt like the moment was just too big for some of our athletes,” Coach Prime admitted after the game. “We have to be better as a staff, as a team and I have to do better. We had opportunities, we just didn’t make it happen.”

Coach Prime preaches belief, and we still believe. But we’re also tired of almost. Tired of close. At 2-3 overall and 0-2 in the Big 12, this season is slipping unless Colorado finds a way to win the games that are within reach.

The good news is, the talent is real. Salter has the tools. Miller looked like a star. The defense, while inconsistent, has flashes of dominance up front. But flashes don’t win Big 12 games, and that’s where Colorado came up short yet again.

What comes next

The Buffs can’t sulk for long. The Big 12 schedule isn’t forgiving, and stacking losses will bury this team fast. BYU showed Colorado the blueprint: physicality, efficiency, and poise in big moments. Until we match that, the heartbreaking losses will keep piling up.

But for now, we’re left staring at the what-ifs. What if the Wildcat had been used more? What if Miller had gotten more touches? What if Coach Prime would've used his two timeouts in the fourth quarter?

That’s football. This is the pain of being a Colorado fan. Nights like this hurt so much, because they've become very familiar.

Oh, so familiar.

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