Shedeur Sanders explains why he, Travis Hunter finished the game for Colorado in Alamo Bowl

There wasn’t any extra motivation for Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter to play in the Alamo Bowl Saturday night, except that the two wanted to finish.

They didn’t want to opt out of the game and watch from the sideline. Sanders and Hunter wanted to go out on their swords, win or lose, before heading off to the NFL.

Especially after a 4-8 season in 2023, the pairing wanted to do everything they could to go out the right way.

“Yeah, we started it so we had to finish it,” Sanders said postgame. “That was simply it, no matter what it was, if it was the other way around and we was up, we were still going to play regardless.”

Sanders finished the game 16-of-23 passing for 208 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Hunter reeled in four catches for 106 yards, a touchdown and logged four tackles on defense.

While Sanders and Hunter didn’t finish with a victory and win No. 10 this year, the experiences will never be forgotten. Although it might take some time to soak it all in.

“I think time away will because right now we’re all in this situation and we just came from a loss, so that’s kind of what’s on the forefront of our minds,” Sanders said. “But I would say within the next week when we’re all separated, when we’re all not together anymore, then I feel like I’ll go back and be able to think about those times.”

Sanders finished the season with 4,134 yards, 37 touchdowns, 10 interceptions and a 74% completion percentage. He’ll surely be the first or second QB taken in this year’s NFL Draft.

Like Sanders, Hunter put up career numbers and put on another solid performance despite the loss. He finished his season with 96 catches, 1,258 yards, 15 touchdowns, 13.1 yards per catch, 35 tackles, four interceptions, 11 pass deflections and one forced fumble.

Sanders and Hunter will start preparations for the NFL Draft while Colorado turns the page towards the 2025 season and a new era of Buffaloes football. Now, Deion Sanders and crew will put theory into practice and see if their model is sustainable.

Judging by recruiting and portal success over the last year, the future looks bright in Boulder.

They can thank Sanders and Hunter for laying the foundation.