Inside Shedeur Sanders magical 98-yard TD drive to save Buffs

BOULDER—The chaos of Lil Wayne performing as a football team herds into a stadium behind a live Buffalo is a situation Shedeur Sanders was prepared for.

“I’d be so scared if I were the other team,” older brother Shilo Sanders said about the entry.

“There were so many people out there, it was crazy—I’m usually in the back because I don’t want to get trampled over,” the younger Shedeur said. “A lot of people are fast, I’m not fast—I stay in the back.”

Down eight points with 98 yards needed and two minutes and six seconds to play? Yeah, Sanders was in the front of it all. And the Colorado State Rams should have been scared—after all No. 2 had the ball and an opportunity. Better yet, he had a plan.

“Tom Brady mode,” the quarterback tweeted after the game.

Making like the NFL legend who has led 55 fourth-quarter comebacks, Sanders took CU from end to end in 90 seconds, capped by a 45-yard strike to Jimmy Horn Jr. to keep the Buffs alive. Then Sanders did it again, hitting Michael Harrison for a two-pointer that forced overtime. When Sanders got the ball down eight, ESPN said Colorado had a 0.6% chance to win, less than two minutes later—the Buffaloes chances were at worst 50/50.

“We do it in practice all the time, so it’s not really a shock or a surprise,” Sanders said of the legendary drive. “We like those high-pressure moments. That’s what we live in, and I honestly wish the whole game was like that. That’s when I think we excel. In my own mind, I was thinking about Brady. He does it all the time I got to be able to do it. Just talking to him and representing him in that way.”

Sanders is tight with Tom, a representative of Brady’s brand, and has worked out with the NFL legend.

This is how legends are made! 98 yard drives mean a little something in Colorado. @MJBuffsVoice @CUBuffs @CUBuffsFootball #GoBuffs pic.twitter.com/rEEHTx4VRK

— Colorado Football/Basketball Radio Network (@CURadioNetwork) September 17, 2023

But like Brady, the one drive to tie it wasn’t enough, as Sanders followed it up with two more touchdown tosses and another two-pointer in overtime to seal a wild 43-35 Rocky Mountain Showdown win for Buffaloes.

“I knew even if we got the ball on a two, three, or four-yard line, as long as the ball is in Shedeur’s hands, we’re going to get down this field. I knew that without a shadow of a doubt,” Dad and head coach Deion Sanders said. “And when we went to center field to talk about overtime until we won the ball. I want you to have the ball. I want you to pressure him to get them out of their comfort zone. ”

Sanders finished with 38 completions on 47 passes with 348 yards and four touchdowns, though he did throw his first pick in Black and Gold early in the game—brother Shilo got it back and some more, scoring the game’s first points on a pick six.

Sanders statline is all the more impressive given Colorado trailing for most of the game and his loss of star target Travis Hunter.

“Sheduer has been there, you guys just haven’t seen him. Because he was at an HBCU. And we were secluded, I guess no one had TVs, and they didn’t they didn’t work out here,” Coach Prime said. “But that’s who he is, no matter where he came from. That’s who that guy is. His passion, study habits, and commitment to excellence show every weekend. I know many people who wait for him to fail as if he can’t keep this going. But he can keep going because this is who he is.”

From HBCU to Boulder, Sanders is only three games in and his case is being written in pen for best quarterback to ever play at Folsom Field—Saturday was just one of many more legendary moments to come because that’s how Shedeur planned it.

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