Colorado Buffaloes' Tawfiq Byard Sends Emotional Message To Fans After Latest Loss

BOULDER — Safety Tawfiq Byard has quickly earned the respect of his new teammates, coaches and fans amid his first season with the Colorado Buffaloes.

Both on the field and in the locker room, the South Florida transfer stands as one of Colorado's brightest spots. The Buffs' defense certainly hasn't played to its potential, but Byard has met expectations with 30 total tackles, 0.5 sacks and a pass defended over the past three games.

Despite his own success, Byard was as frustrated as anyone else following Colorado's 24-21 loss to the BYU Cougars on Saturday evening. Few within coach Deion Sanders' program expected the Buffs to begin 2-3, and Byard felt the need to take some accountability for the slow start.

Tawfiq Byard Apologizes To Colorado Fans

Colorado Buffaloes Tawfiq Byard Emotional Message Fans Latest Loss BYU Cougars Deion Sanders Kaidon Salter Big 12 Football CU — Sep 27, 2025; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes safety Carter Stoutmire (23) and safety Tawfiq Byard (7) defend an attempt at Brigham Young Cougars running back LJ Martin (4) in the first quarter at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Unprovoked, Byard shared some honest thoughts on how Colorado has let down its fans early this season.

"I just want to apologize to Buff Nation," Byard told the media after Saturday's loss. "You guys were out there rocking today. You guys showed that we're really a top program in this country as far as the fans aspect, and now we just got to go out there and show it. We got to get to the ball. We got to run to the ball. We got to stay on our gaps."

Colorado's defense made a few inopportune mistakes but had an overall respectable performance against BYU, holding the Cougars to under 200 passing yards and a season-low 24 points. Still, penalties and an inability to slow BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier on the ground hindered the Buffs.

Byard credited Colorado's improved defensive effort to another strong week of practice.

"It started in practice," said Byard, whose 35 total tackles lead the Buffs. "Coach Prime emphasized physicality all week, stepping on toes, making tackles. It showed today, especially from the safety position. We had a couple of nice out-of-the-post safety tackles and stuff like that. Defense, we just gotta keep going. We gotta keep communicating, we gotta keep being together because when we're out there, it's just us."

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MORE: Deion Sanders Makes Questionable Decision in 4th Quarter of Colorado's Loss to BYU

Where Does Colorado Go From Here?

While the Buffs' defense showed plenty of good against the Cougars, it's back to the drawing board heading into next week's game against the TCU Horned Frogs.

"We just got to go to work tomorrow," Byard said. "We come in tomorrow, and we gotta practice. We gotta treat it like it's a game because we got in the game, and we left some plays out there. That starts in practice. We just got to keep going and keep fighting."

Byard will continue to be a key part of keeping the Buffs together throughout a difficult stretch of Big 12 games coming up. Colorado still has an opportunity to reach six wins and a bowl game, but changes will be needed on both sides of the ball.