BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders says he'll play in his team's bowl game, while his dad says he's planning on CU's Heisman favorite, Travis Hunter, being there, too.
If both show up, it would come at some risk and would largely run counter to what dozens of NFL hopefuls have done in recent years, now that the College Football Playoff has become the only postseason event with a real title at stake.
“It’s a team thing,” Sanders said Friday after throwing for 438 yards and five scores in No. 23 CU's 52-0 win over Oklahoma State. “If me and T and 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 help Saturday to make it to the Big 12 title game. If the Buffs don't get it, they will be a good bet to make the Holiday Bowl on Dec. 27 or the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 28. It will be CU's first bowl game in a non-COVID season since 2016. The Buffs haven't won a bowl game since 2004.
The games themselves have decreased in popularity and importance since college football started crowning its national champions through a playoff system. The system is expanding from four to 12 teams this year. A number of the top-line bowls — for instance, the Rose, Sugar and Orange — will be part of the playoffs.
Other bowls still select teams from conferences with which they have tie-ins.
Though many top players choose to skip the second-tier games, coach Deion Sanders said the Buffs will all be there, even with Shedeur and Hunter projected as high first-round 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."
Sanders went to Florida State. Last season, the Seminoles got snubbed from the four-team playoff despite its undefeated record. A number of players didn’t play in the Orange Bowl, and the Seminoles lost 63-3 to Georgia. This season, FSU is 2-9 heading into its season finale against Florida.
“There’s a couple of teams, you take note, they lay an egg in the bowl game and they haven’t been the same," the coach said, without specifically mentioning FSU. "We don’t plan on doing that. We plan on going out and fighting just like we fought today.”
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