Tawfiq Byard wasn’t going to let a hand injury keep him out Saturday during a pivotal game.

A sophomore safety for the Colorado Buffaloes, Byard left the game in the second half and returned during a long drive by Iowa State to make one of the biggest plays of game.

His interception of Iowa State’s Rocco Becht early in the fourth quarter was one of the top plays of CU’s 24-17 upset of the No. 22 Cyclones.

Wearing a soft cast on his left hand, Byard stepped in front of the pass and ended a scoring threat to preserve CU’s 21-17 lead.

“I had the same injury last year (at South Florida),” he said. “I broke my hand last year. … It was a good catch.

“On a tackle, I got a little bruise on my hand. I had to go get an X-ray, get it checked out. I came back and we’ve got to finish. We just kept

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