Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders has confirmed he will play in his team’s bowl game, and his father, Coach Deion Sanders, also expects Travis Hunter, Colorado’s Heisman candidate, to be there as well.
If both players participate, it would come with some risk, which goes against the recent trend of many NFL-bound players skipping bowl games. This is especially true since the College Football Playoff is now the only postseason event with a significant championship on the line.
“It’s a team thing,” Shedeur Sanders said after his impressive performance in Colorado’s 52-0 win over Oklahoma State, where he threw for 438 yards and five touchdowns. “If me and T and a couple other players aren’t out there, the Buffs aren’t going to look the same. We understand the pieces we are to the team, the leaders we are overall, and the amount of players that would sit out if we weren’t out there doing it.”
Colorado needs some help on Saturday to make it to the Big 12 title game. If they don’t get the help they need, they are likely to be invited to either the Holiday Bowl on Dec. 27 or the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 28. This will be their first bowl game in a non-COVID season since 2016, though they have not won a bowl game since 2004.
Bowl games have lost some of their appeal since the introduction of the College Football Playoff, which now includes 12 teams. Many of the major bowls, like the Rose, Sugar, and Orange Bowls, will now be part of the playoff system.
Some bowls still select teams from specific conferences, but many top players choose to skip the lesser bowls. However, Coach Deion Sanders has said that his team will play in the bowl game, even with Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter expected to be high first-round NFL draft picks.
“Our kids are going to play in our bowl game because that’s what we signed up to do,” the coach said. “We’re going to finish. We’re not going to tap out because that throws off the structure of next season.”
Coach Sanders referenced his time at Florida State, where the Seminoles were left out of the College Football Playoff last season despite being undefeated. Many players chose not to play in the Orange Bowl, and Florida State suffered a heavy loss to Georgia. This season, Florida State’s record stands at 2-9 heading into their final game.
“There’s a couple of teams, you take note, they lay an egg in the bowl game and they haven’t been the same,” Coach Sanders said, without naming Florida State. “We don’t plan on doing that. We plan on going out and fighting just like we fought today.”
