During the regular season, the Colorado football team had two bye weeks, so a little time off is nothing new.

The Buffs had an extended break, though, following the regular season finale on Nov. 29, returning to practice earlier this week to prepare for the Valero Alamo Bowl on Dec. 28 in San Antonio against BYU (5:30 p.m., ABC).

“Glad to be back to playing football,” head coach Deion Sanders said Tuesday when he addressed the local media for the first time since a 52-0 win against Oklahoma State nearly three weeks ago.

Since the win against OSU, the 20th-ranked Buffs (9-3) have taken some time off, which has included stars Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders collecting awards around the country.

Flipping the switch back to game mode won’t be a problem, Coach Prime said.

“No, it’s really not,” he said. “That depends on what type of team that you have. We have a multitude of young men that has desires to go pro. It can’t be a challenge (to get ready) because this is last call for them. We have a bunch of young men that wants to establish themselves and beat out some of these guys that they know that we’re attaining in the portal, and they want to put their footprint down going into the spring that, ‘Hey, man, this is my job. I should be starting, first team.’ So it’s very important, and we keep it important.”

The Alamo Bowl against the 17th-ranked Cougars (10-2) is important for different reasons.

For Hunter, there’s some motivation to once again prove why he was honored with the Heisman Trophy on Saturday. For Shedeur Sanders, it’s another opportunity to prove why he is the best quarterback in the country.

“You think Travis wants to go out there and get locked down with a Heisman in his house?” Coach Prime said. “You think Shedeur wants to go out there and play like hot garbage when he’s one of the premier guys and probably, arguably, the first pick of the whole draft?”

Hunter and Shedeur are sure-fire first-round picks, and probably top-five picks in the 2025 NFL Draft. But for others, there’s motivation to show out one last time for pro scouts while wearing a CU uniform.

Receiver Jimmy Horn Jr. has been hobbled for more than a month and has a chance to have a big game again. Receivers Will Sheppard and LaJohntay Wester have had great seasons and want to finish strong.

Defensive linemen Chidozie Nwankwo and Shane Cokes, linebacker LaVonta Bentley, safeties Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig and Shilo Sanders, and more, have plenty on the line, too.

As Coach Prime mentioned, there are many others who are planning to return to the 2025 Buffs who can make an impression on the staff going into the offseason.

“It’s not just a bowl game, where we’re going to go be merry and have a Merry Christmas and exchange gifts and do all that,” he said. “No, we want to go there and play Buff football. And we got some guys that want to end on a great note.

“We’ve got a lot of guys that want to ball out, and I can’t wait to see them. I think we even had a fight at practice today. I don’t recommend that, but I was proud of that.”

The Buffs will leave for San Antonio on Monday and will practice several days there before the game.

“I do know we’re flying in a heck of a plane on the way there,” he said.

“We created that moment. They’ll never forget this plane that we’re getting on. So I can’t wait just for them to see that.”