Colorado opened its 2024 season on the right foot with a 31–26 home victory over FCS power North Dakota State on Thursday night in Boulder.
As Colorado expected entering the game, the Buffaloes had their hands full with the well-coached Bison. Ultimately, Colorado star Travis Hunter's three touchdowns loomed large in a game where playmaking was at a premium.
After North Dakota State scored a touchdown with 2:19 to play, the Colorado lead was cut to 31–26. The Buffaloes got the ball back, looking to pick up a first down and potentially run the clock out.
The Bison got Colorado into a third-and-8 situation with 1:52 to play. Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders threw a pass intended for LaJohntay Wester deep down the left sideline that fell incomplete. However, North Dakota State was flagged for pass interference, giving the Buffaloes a fresh set of downs.
North Dakota State had only one timeout remaining, so the game would effectively be over if Colorado took three consecutive kneel downs. At best, North Dakota State would have gotten the ball with less than 10 seconds remaining if Colorado ran the clock down.
Instead, Colorado threw a first down incompletion deep down the left sideline, again intended for Wester, that gave North Dakota State some time back on the clock if they were to get a stop. The Bison forced a punt after two straight runs by Colorado on second and third down, and got the ball back with 31 seconds left. But with no timeouts and 92 yards to go, Colorado was able to clinch the victory.
Sanders defended the decision making after the game.
"You want first downs," Sanders told reporters in the aftermath of the victory. "If you wanna run the clock down...you gotta look out there and say, 'I've got one-on-one right here and I haven't seen one-on-one the whole game. So I gotta do what I gotta do to move these chains.' And that's what that is."
Shedeur Sanders threw for 445 yards and four touchdowns in the win, but the Buffaloes' running game was stagnant, at best. Deion Sanders discussed the running game after the victory as well.
"You've gotta understand, you gotta take what people give you," Sanders said. "You can't take what you want if it's not there. What did [Shedeur Sanders] throw four? 445 yards. You think we're upset? Who upset? Oh, they didn't have much of a running game. Yeah, well the passing game looked pretty darn good today. Let's be appreciative and thankful that we've got one of the premier guys in college football spinning it. We're gonna run the ball. We're gonna do that. We're gonna have a lot more balance. Today was just that type of day. You have to take what they give you."
Colorado heads on the road to Lincoln to take on Nebraska next Saturday night in one of the premier games in Week 2 of the college football slate. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Deion Sanders Defends Late-Game Play-Calling Following Win Over North Dakota State.
