Deion Sanders’ Late-Game Decision Raises Eyebrows in Colorado’s 24-21 Loss to BYU
The Colorado Buffaloes suffered a tough 24-21 defeat at the hands of the BYU Cougars, despite jumping out to an early 14-0 lead. The game, played Saturday night in Boulder, marked Colorado’s Big 12 home opener — a matchup they needed to win to avoid an 0-2 start in conference play.
Late in the fourth quarter, with the Buffaloes trailing by three, head coach Deion Sanders made a puzzling decision that may have impacted the outcome.
Sanders Chooses to Punt After Burning Timeout
With just under six minutes remaining, Colorado had the ball on its own 41-yard line, facing a 4th-and-6. The offense initially stayed on the field as if planning to go for it, but as the play clock ticked down, the Buffaloes used a timeout.
What followed surprised many — instead of running a play, Sanders sent out the punting unit. The choice to burn a critical timeout only to punt seemed questionable, especially since taking a delay of game penalty and punting from five yards deeper might have been a better strategic move.
BYU took over and managed to cross midfield, eating up valuable time before punting back. Colorado got the ball at its own 4-yard line with just 1:34 left, but the late field position and time constraints proved too much to overcome.
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