Colorado won its first game of Year 2 under Deion Sanders on Thursday night, but bad clock management nearly cost them. Sanders, however, said that a late incompletion when his team should have been running out the clock was just an example of his son and quarterback, Shedeur Sanders, being a good teammate.
Colorado had the ball and a 31-26 lead with first-and-10 and 1:41 left in the fourth quarter when Shedeur Sanders threw a deep incompletion to wide receiver LaJohntay Wester. That stopped the clock and ended up giving North Dakota State just enough time that they got the ball back and nearly pulled off a Hail Mary upset on the final play. So why did Colorado throw a deep ball there?
Deion said it was because his son is a good teammate and wanted to help Wester get a big play on a night when Colorado had two other receivers, Jimmy Horn Jr. and Travis Hunter, play phenomenal games.
“Shedeur is such a good kid, sometimes it costs him, because at the end of the game we just want to run the ball,” Sanders said. “And he took a shot to LaJohntay because he wanted LaJohntay to have a big play because you got the other two guys, the dogs having a big day, and he knows he’s going to have a one-on-one matchup. He just didn’t put it out there far enough. I’m like ‘Dawg, come on, Dawg, not right now. It’s not time to be the good guy right now, it’s time to put this game away.’ But that’s what that was. He wanted what he wanted, let’s just put it like that. Usually he hits it.”
Deion said Shedeur played well but also acknowledged that there are things to clean up, including Shedeur’s clock management.
“You see that big thing up there? That’s a clock. Those numbers running down right there, that’s for you,” Deion Sanders joked that he has to tell his son. “Be smart. Be smart.”
Shedeur acknowledged after the game that he needs to learn to manage the game better.
“It was something I definitely would learn from,” Shedeur said. “There’s not too many mistakes you’re going to see me make twice.”
Deion also said he wants to make sure Colorado is protecting the quarterback.
“You never want to see your son get hit,” Deion Sanders said. “Let alone your quarterback.”