BOULDER, Colo. — Minutes after North Dakota State's potentially game-winning Hail Mary pass left the Bison 4 yards away from a prime-time upset Thursday night, Colorado coach Deion Sanders walked into the postgame news conference more relieved than anything else.
“Have you ever felt like you won but you didn't?” Sanders asked.
He was summing up his feelings at the time, but he might as well have been speaking for all the Buffaloes fans who left the not-quite-full Folsom Field having seen a version of their team that looked a lot like last year’s disappointing one. Colorado did a lot of good things in its 31-26 win, but it wasn’t the kind of all-around performance against a lower-division team that will inspire new optimism about a major step forward coming this season.
Quarterback Shedeur Sanders and star Travis Hunter looked like the potential top five NFL draft picks their coach expects them to be. Sanders completed 26 of 34 passes for 445 yards and three of his four touchdown passes went to Hunter, who represented an unfair imbalance for NDSU’s secondary. He finished with seven receptions for 132 yards.
“I think 31 NFL scouts came out tonight and I think they saw what they came to see. So, let's move on from there,” Deion Sanders said. “I'm going to do my best to contain my anger, but we got the win.”
The more Sanders talked, the more positive he was about the team's performance, but it was still in stark contrast to last year's season-opening win against TCU, after which Sanders famously proclaimed, “Do you believe now?”
After that game, Sanders convinced people that the Buffaloes could compete for the conference title. A year later, it seems silly to use the first game of the season to give a clear idea of what is to come.
Earlier last month at the Big 12 media day in Las Vegas, Sanders was asked about his expectations for the season. It was a typical offseason question to start an interview. And after finishing in last place in the Pac-12 last season, it would have been reasonable for Sanders to be measured in his response or lean toward any number of coaching references that didn’t invite additional outside scrutiny.
Sanders, however, dismissed the idea that the Buffaloes should not be in the same group as conference favorites.
“I'd be an idiot to sit here and not tell you that we have plans to win,” he told ESPN. “I don't know who sits here and says they don't have plans to win. You'd have to be an idiot to say that.”
Win a national title? Win the Big 12? Win more games than they lose? He wouldn’t get into specifics, but he wasn’t a man open to the idea that the Buffs’ 4-8 finish last year was reason to think they would be competitively irrelevant again in 2024.
2:42
Travis Hunter after 3 TD game: I have a lot of confidence in myself
Colorado star Travis Hunter joins Scott Van Pelt to talk about his big game against North Dakota State.
One of the main reasons he cited for the win was the expectation of a revamped offensive line. Aside from center Hank Zilinskas, who started two games last season, the other linemen made their debuts against NDSU, and finished with mixed reviews. Though Sanders was sacked just once, he was constantly under pressure and the line failed to open consistent lanes in the running game. Colorado finished with a paltry 59 rushing yards on 23 carries (2.6 yards per carry).
“You would love to run a little more with the ball, but shooting, when you have [504 yards] “As far as total offense, I'm pretty good,” Sanders said. “I'm going to sleep well. Really good. Really good tonight with that. So I'm good with that. We'd like to see a little more balance, but what is balance? Balance is wins.”
Shedeur Sanders also hinted that his offensive line might have something more to play for.
“The offensive line had an incentive. That's all. They had a big incentive,” he said. “So they definitely did what they were supposed to do today. So I feel good about it now.”
Sanders was not without his mistakes, especially when it came to game management.
After NDSU scored to make it 31-26, Colorado converted a first down at its 42-yard line, leaving 1 minute, 41 seconds on the clock. The Bison had one timeout remaining, meaning if the Buffs had run three straight running plays, they could have run out the clock in 10 seconds before punting on fourth down, which could have ended the game.
Instead, Sanders went for a first-down pass play and took a deep throw that was incomplete, resulting in an extra timeout for NDSU.
“Coverage zero. Coverage zero and we have the best receiver room in the country, so it's kind of disrespectful,” Sanders said when explaining his decision to throw.
When NDSU took possession of the ball at its 8-yard line, it had 31 seconds left, which was almost enough to pull off a last-second miracle. NDSU's pass was caught at the Colorado 4-yard line.
“It was something I would definitely learn from,” Sanders said. “That's why I'm happy. I've always been able to learn from everything in my life. So, there aren't many mistakes I'm going to make twice. That's something I'm going to learn, to understand that even if it seems super tempting… you just have to keep going.” [running the ball in that situation].”
In the end, it didn't matter. Colorado took the win, even though it didn't seem like it.
