The Colorado Buffaloes narrowly escaped with a 31-26 victory over North Dakota State in their season opener on Thursday night. Despite the win, the game was more competitive than expected, with Colorado struggling to close it out in the final minutes. A critical decision late in the fourth quarter nearly cost them the game.
With just under two minutes left, a pass interference call against North Dakota State seemed to put the game in Colorado’s hands. However, the Buffaloes chose to throw the ball on first down, stopping the clock unnecessarily. This decision prevented them from running down the clock and forced them to punt the ball back to the Bison with 31 seconds remaining.
North Dakota State took full advantage of the opportunity, quickly advancing the ball to their own 47-yard line. In a desperate final play, Bison quarterback Cam Miller launched a deep pass towards the end zone. The pass, intended to be broken up, somehow ended up in the hands of Tyler Terhark, just short of a potential game-winning touchdown.
As the clock expired, Colorado head coach Deion Sanders was visibly frustrated by how close his team came to losing the game, though he kept his comments lighthearted when speaking to ESPN afterward. The Buffaloes had been down 17-14 at halftime but managed to limit North Dakota State to just six points in the second half, which ultimately saved the game for them.
Looking forward, Colorado will aim to learn from their mistakes as they prepare for an away game against Nebraska. Meanwhile, North Dakota State will regroup and seek to bounce back in their next home game against Tennessee State.
