BOULDER, Colo. — Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders has announced his commitment to participate in his team’s upcoming bowl game, with his father expressing confidence that prominent player Travis Hunter will also join him. If both athletes take the field, it would pose some risk, deviating from the trend seen in recent years where many NFL prospects opt out of bowl games, especially since the College Football Playoff has emerged as the primary event for championship contention.

“It’s a team thing,” Sanders remarked on Friday after an impressive performance where he threw for 438 yards and five touchdowns, leading No. 23 Colorado to a commanding 52-0 victory against Oklahoma State. “If T and a couple of other players aren’t out there, the Buffs aren’t going to look the same. We recognize our roles and leadership in the team, and the number of players who might sit out if we’re not on the field.”

For Colorado to qualify for the Big 12 Championship game, they require some assistance this Saturday. Should their aspirations fall short, they are likely contenders for either the Holiday Bowl on December 27 or the Alamo Bowl on December 28. This marks the Buffaloes’ first bowl appearance in a non-COVID year since 2016, but the team has faced challenges, not having secured a bowl game victory since 2004.

The significance and appeal of bowl games have diminished amid the establishment of a playoff system that ranks college football teams, which is this year expanding from four to 12 clubs. Several prestigious bowls, including the Rose, Sugar, and Orange Bowls, will be integrated into the playoff framework, while other bowls still draw teams based on traditional conference tie-ins.

While many elite players frequently choose to forgo lower-tier bowl games, Coach Deion Sanders reinforced his stance that the Buffaloes will participate in the bowl game, regardless of the projections for Shedeur and Hunter as potential high first-round picks. “Our kids are going to play in our bowl game because that’s what we signed up to do,” he stated. “We’re going to finish what we started. Tapping out would disrupt our preparation for the upcoming season.”

Reflecting on his own experience at Florida State, where the Seminoles were overlooked for the four-team playoff despite an undefeated record last season, Sanders recalled that some players opted out of the Orange Bowl, leading to a devastating 63-3 defeat against Georgia. This year, Florida State heads into its final game against Florida with a disappointing 2-9 record. “You notice how some teams fail to perform in bowl games, and it affects them moving forward,” he noted, without naming his previous school. “We don’t intend to follow that path. Our goal is to compete fiercely, just as we did today.”