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Kyle Bonagura, ESPN Staff Writer
BOULDER, Colo. – Minutes after North Dakota State’s potential game-winning Hail Mary pass left the Bison 4 yards shy on Saturday night, a prime-time upset, Colorado coach Deion Sanders strolled into the postgame news conference more relieved than anything else.
“Have you ever felt like you won, but you didn’t?” Sanders asked.
He’s summarizing his feelings now, but he can speak for all the Buffaloes fans who left a sold-out Folsom Field for watching what looked like a disappointing version of the team from a year ago. . Colorado did a lot of good things in the 31-26 win, but it wasn’t the kind of comprehensive performance against a lower division team that would inspire optimism about the important steps to come this season.
Quarterback Shedeur Sanders and two-way star Travis Hunter look like top 5 NFL draft picks the coaches want. Sanders completed 26 of 34 passes for 445 yards and three of four touchdown passes to Hunter, who represented an unfair mismatch for NDSU’s secondary. He finished with seven catches for 132 yards.
“I had 31 NFL scouts come tonight and I saw what they came to see. So, let’s go from there,” said Deion Sanders. “I’ll try my best to hold back my anger, but get a W.”
Sanders spoke more, he was more positive about the team’s performance, but it was still a stark contrast to last year’s season-opening win over TCU, and then Sanders declared, “Can you believe it now?”
After the game, Sanders convinced people that the Buffaloes could compete for a conference title. A year later, it seems silly to use the first game of the season to give us a good taste of what’s to come.
Earlier last month at Big 12 media day in Las Vegas, Sanders was asked about his expectations for the season. This is a standard offseason type of question to start an interview with. And after finishing last in the Pac-12 last season, it’s only natural that Sanders be measured in his response or lean toward some coaching standbys that don’t invite additional external scrutiny.
However, Sanders dismissed the notion that the Buffaloes don’t have the same breath as the conference favorite.
“I’d be an idiot to sit here and not tell you I’m going to win,” he told ESPN. “I don’t know who sits down and says they don’t plan on winning. You have to be stupid to say that.”
Win a national title? Win the Big 12? Win more games than lose? He did not give specific details, but this is not the person who opened the idea of ​​the Buffs’ 4-8 finish from a year ago as a reason for the idea that they will not compete again in 2024.
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Travis Hunter after 3-TD game: I have a lot of confidence in myself
Colorado star Travis Hunter joins Scott Van Pelt to discuss the big game against North Dakota State.
One of the main reasons given as to why the win is expected is the revamped offensive line. Aside from center Hank Zilinskas, who started two games last season, the rest of the linemen made their debuts against NDSU — and finished with mixed reviews. Even though Sanders was sacked just once, he was consistently pressured and the line failed to open consistent lanes in the running game. Colorado finished with a measly 59 yards rushing on 23 carries (2.6 yards per carry).
“You’d love to run the ball a little bit more, but shoot, if you have (504 yards) of total offense, I’m pretty good,” Sanders said. “I’m going to sleep well. It’s great. Tonight was great with that. So, I’m cool with that. We want to see a little more balance, but what is balance? Balance is winning.”
Shedeur Sanders also hinted that the offensive line might have something to play with.
“The O-line has incentives. That’s it. They have good incentives,” he said. “So, he definitely did what he had to do today. So now I feel good.”
Sanders is not without his faults. That is when it comes to game management.
After NDSU scored to make it 31-26, Colorado converted a first down at the 42-yard line that left 1 minute, 41 seconds on the clock. The Bison had one timeout left, which meant that if the Buffs ran three straight plays, they could wound the clock down with 10 seconds to go before punting on fourth down, which could end the game.
However, Sanders checked to play the pass on first down and took a deep shot that fell incomplete, serving as an extra timeout for NDSU.
“Zero cover. Zero cover and we have the best reception room in the nation, so it’s kind of disrespectful,” Sander Sanders when explaining the decision to throw.
When NDSU took over at the 8-meter line, there were 31 seconds left, which was almost enough to pull off the last miracle. NDSU’s Hail Mary intercepted at the Colorado 4-yard line.
“That’s something I’m definitely going to learn,” Sanders said. “That’s why I like it. Everything in my life – I can always learn from it. So, there are not many mistakes that you will make twice. That’s what I will do. learn, know that even if it looks super tempting … you just have to go with it (running the ball in that situation).
In the end, it didn’t matter. Colorado won, though not by much.
