Los Angeles Rams receiver Puka Nacua got the two wins he wanted most on Saturday thanks to his team beating the Arizona Cardinals 13–9 and his alma mater BYU beating Colorado 36–14 in the Alamo Bowl.

BYU and Colorado both finished in a four-way tie for first place in the Big 12 standings, but neither team had the tiebreaker advantage to reach the Big 12 title game. That, among other factors, led Cougars quarterback Kedon Slovis to describe the Alamo Bowl matchup against the Buffaloes as "the people's" Big 12 championship game.

The College Football Playoff was changing how fans, players and coaches viewed bowl season even before it expanded to 12 teams. There have been dips in ratings. Last season, an Alamo Bowl featuring Arizona and Oklahoma averaged 3.