Suppose you were unwrapping Hanukkah gifts while keeping an eye on BYU-Colorado and merely listening to the musings of Dave Pasch and Dusty Dvoracek on ABC. In that case, you might have assumed the Alamo Bowl was the perfect storybook ending for Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders.
In reality, it was anything but.
Whether that depends on your feelings for Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes is a discussion for another time or another article. The more pressing storyline, unfolding amidst BYU’s commanding 36-14 victory, was what fans perceived as the Cougars’ near-invisibility in the eyes of one of ESPN’s top announcing duos.
Despite being 10-2 and led by a Jewish quarterback (Jake Retzlaff)—a unique narrative in itself at a University affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—BYU doesn’t have the same sexy, headline-grabbing appeal as Colorado.
We get it.
The Buffaloes boast a two-way Heisman winner and a polarizing quarterback prospect who doubles as the son of the nation’s most talked-about head coach and has a chance to be the No. 1 quarterback selected come April’s NFL Draft.
The announcers are going to talk about Colorado — it’s part of the draw.
The problem?
It highlighted a recurring issue in sports media. As The Athletic’s Robert Mays literally just pointed out, his least favorite trend in a decade of covering sports is the idea that praising one team automatically equates to disrespecting another.
It’s an exhausting approach to analysis, but on Saturday, BYU fans felt it was their reality.
A quick search for terms like “Colorado announcers” or “Dave Pasch” on social media raises plenty of complaints. Whether those grievances are legitimate or not, they became a storyline — one indirectly addressed during the broadcast by Pasch himself, who, along with his partner, Dusty Dvoracek, ranked seventh in Awful Announcing’s 2024 CFB announcer rankings.
In a segment about BYU senior offensive lineman Connor Pay, Pasch shared an anecdote from their production meeting, which was particularly fitting given the ongoing commentary on social media.
Dave Pasch acknowledges the lack of BYU commentary LOL
— Jarom Jordan (@jaromjordan) December 29, 2024
“He walked up out of there and said to us, ‘Talk about BYU just a little bit, would you?’ Well, we’re talking about him, and we’re talking about BYU now,” said Pasch. “I’m sure the fans in Provo would love us to talk about BYU the whole night, but…”
Haven’t watched the broadcast version, but from what I’m hearing it didn’t work 😂
I did my best guys I’m sorry lol https://t.co/pSOCoNljBA— Connor Pay (@cpay70) December 29, 2024
And to be fair to both Pasch and Dvoracek, that 20-second clip followed up with this from the latter: “But they’ve given us plenty to talk about. They deserve everything coming their way tonight.”
Whether Pasch and Dvoracek deserved the backlash is up for debate, but the broadcast certainly didn’t fly under the radar, with even Pay taking note. Fans on social media took to platforms like X (formerly Twitter) to air their grievances about what they perceived as an imbalance in coverage.
“Shadeur Sanders, Shadeur Sanders, Shadeur Sanders, Travis Hunter, Shadeur Sanders, Deion, Shadeur Sanders, Travis Hunter, Shiloh Sanders, Shadeur Sanders, Travis Hunter” –@DavePasch pic.twitter.com/jxDKGBQUUN
— Boney Fuller (@boneyfuller) December 29, 2024
.@DavePasch who is Colorado playing tonight?
— Joe Wheat (@joewheat27) December 29, 2024
SHUT UP announcers. It’s been a 3 hr long commercial for Coach Prime and Shedeur Sanders. BYU has pummeled Colorado & gotten 1/10 the commentary.
— Greg Puckett (@KingofSummerUGA) December 29, 2024
I’m sorry but the broadcast for BYU vs CU by @DustyDvoracek and @DavePasch has been so bad. They literally couldn’t care less about CFB, the actual Teams seasons or the future. They only cared about 2 Colorado players the entire game. Never seen it so blatant like this.
— GT GOLD/WHITE (@collegespu) December 29, 2024
That was the third time the broadcasters have gone to the rules analyst begging for a call against BYU. All three times he said it was a correct no-call.
— Nate Slack (@nateslack5) December 29, 2024
You’d think Colorado was up by 50 the way these announcers talk about them
— Parker 🐸 (@parkergulp) December 29, 2024
Announcers have to run out of Colorado content soon right?
— Cougs in the Pros 🤙🏼 (@BYUpros) December 29, 2024
Social media isn’t real life, yet there’s a forming narrative that can’t be overlooked.
The perception of imbalance in the broadcast sparked enough chatter on X (formerly Twitter) to make it a focal point of the conversation.
Pasch and Dvoracek are two of ESPN’s top announcers, but even the best can find themselves in the crosshairs of fan angst when expectations don’t quite match up with the broadcast reality.
And the broadcast reality on Saturday was to talk about Colorado — a lot.