Deion Sanders made it clear that his Colorado team wouldn’t be employing one of the loathed practices that teams use for bowl games – and he wants the college football world to take notice.
All too often, if a team doesn’t make the College Football Playoff, you will see starters who have a chance to be drafted or will not be back next season sit out bowl games to avoid injury.
That will not be the case for Colorado, which has two of the most highly regarded draft prospects on its roster in quarterback Shedeur Sander and receiver/defensive back Travis Hunter.
They will be playing no matter where Colorado lands.
“Our kids are going to play in our bowl game because that’s what we signed up to do and we’re going to finish,” Sanders said during his media availability on Friday. “We’re not going to tap out, because that throws off the structure of next season.
“There’s a couple teams that should take note. They laid an egg in the bowl game and they haven’t recovered since. We don’t plan on doing that. We plan on going out there fighting just like we fought today regardless of where we are.”
Sanders could have been taking a veiled shot at Florida State, for whom he played during his collegiate career.
The Seminoles are 2-9 this season after being snubbed out of the College Football Playoff a year ago and deciding to sit their starters against Georgia in an eventual 63-3 Orange Bowl loss.
Sanders can’t avoid any slippage with a Colorado program he has completely turned around and which still has a shot at the CFP if it gets some help in the standings on Saturday and earns a bid to the Big 12 Championship.
The Buffalos were 1-11 the year before Sanders took over and two years later they are 9-3 and ranked No. 25 in the country. His son Sheduer could be the No. 1 pick in this year’s NFL draft.
The two-time Super Bowl winner, however, wishes he could pick the location of Colorado’s bowl game as a thank you to their fans.
“I wish we had say so in the bowl because I want to go somewhere near that our fanbase could get there economically,” he said. “Because I care about them just that much. . . They show up and show out.”
Colorado plans to do the same with its full roster wherever it ends up playing.