Deion Sanders defends decision to throw on final drive vs. NDSU: 'Today was that type of day'

Deion Sanders explained Colorado’s thinking in passing late against North Dakota State.

The Buffaloes went on to win 31-26 over NDSU last night but punted the ball away with 31 seconds left after passing on four of the six plays, with a pair of those being incompletions, on their final drive. However, Sanders justified it in saying that they were taking what the defense gave them by throwing as much with Shedeur Sanders.

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“I mean, you’ve got to understand, you’ve got to take what people give you. You can’t take what you want and it’s not there,” said Sanders. “I mean, what is it, what he throw for, 445 yards – you think we upset? Who upset? ‘You didn’t have a running game’? Well, the passing game looked pretty darn good today so let’s be appreciative and thankful that we got one of the premier guys in college football spinning it.”

Someone else asked further following that answer so Sanders clarified again. With what the Bison defense set up with, Colorado felt their advantage was by continuing to pass the ball rather than run it along with the clock.

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“No, no – you want first downs. If you want to run the clock down, they’ve got a five-man box. That means they’ve got five down,” Sanders explained. “Like, you’ve got to look at that and say, okay, I got one-on-one right here. I haven’t seen one-on-one the whole game. I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do to move these chains. That’s what that is.”

With how things happened, both sides of the argument have their merits.

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On one hand, Sanders went 26-34 (76.5%) for 445 yards, four touchdowns, and an innocent interception. He was having a night in their season opener with him completing a throw apiece to Lajohntay Wester and Jimmy Horn Jr. on that last drive too. A pass interference flag also continued that possession.

On the other, though, Colorado nearly left too much time on the clock. Just 1:48 came off the timer after that drive with North Dakota State getting the ball back with 31 seconds left in a five-point game. It was then nearly disastrous time management by the Buffs with the Bison making a catch as time expired that left them four yards shy of leaving Boulder with the win instead.

Sanders says Colorado will even things out with their offense and what they call moving forward. Still, Thursday required them, at least in their mind, to keep on passing to the very end.

“We’re going to run the ball. We’re going to do that. We’re going to have a lot more balance,” said Sanders. “Today was just that type of day. You’ve got to take what they give you.”