Deion Sanders To Hire Clock Management Staff? Late-Game Solution Proposed

Nearly 53,000 necks craned throughout Folsom Field late Friday night, anxiously awaiting a stoppage.

Colorado Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders didn't give them one. Driving down seven with just over a minute left against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, "Coach Prime" declined to use either of the Buffs' two remaining timeouts.

This decision, or lack thereof, wasn't the main reason Colorado fell to Georgia Tech 27-20 to open the 2025 season. But it was the final one.

Coach Prime's Clock Calamity

Aug 29, 2025; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders during the first quarter against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Folsom Field. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Colorado started with 1:07 to play after Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King's go-ahead rushing touchdown. After offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur's questionable call for a swing pass to running back Micah Welch went backwards, 22 seconds ticked away until the next play.

Quarterback Kaidon Salter then completed an 11-yard pass to wide receiver Hykeem Williams. Still with the clock running down to 28 seconds, the Buffs lined up for a third-down play. Salter found nothing downfield, and rather than sliding down for a clock-stopping first down, he scrambled out of bounds with 18 seconds left.

The chaos left Colorado at its own 39 and without many more opportunities to use its timeouts. An incompletion, 11-yard pass and a failed Hail Mary later, the Buffaloes had lost.

When asked about his reasoning, Sanders misremembered the drive. While the clock didn't stop for the drive's first 50 seconds, Coach Prime stated his case without accountability.

"I think we got out of bounds a couple times, so we didn't have to take them," Sanders said. "And when we caught the ball, I think for nine yards, we got one yard to go. So if you get the first down, the clock stops, so it doesn't make sense to really use your timeout in that sense.

"We were just really trying to preserve them until we certainly needed them. I don't want to go home with timeouts. They don't do me no good, but you've got to be strategic as well, just burning timeouts, just to burn them, just so you guys won't say nothing, that don't make sense at all."

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Extra Coaching The Answer?

Oct 19, 2024; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Colorado Buffalos offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur against the Arizona Wildcats at Arizona Stadium. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

On Sunday, CBS Sports College Football Pregame discussed how to address Sanders' situational struggles. Former Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron offered the possibility of adding a staff member who can quell the chaos of late-game scenarios.

"Hire somebody that is up in the booth that helps you do clock management," said McCarron, a National Championship-winning quarterback for coach Nick Saban's Alabama Crimson Tide. "They can come over in the headset and say, 'Coach, this is where we take a timeout, right here.'"

CBS College Football crew — Danny Kanell and A.J. McCarron — say Coach Prime needs situational coaches on his staff. 🤔 #CFB #CollegeFootball #SkoBuffs 🦬 pic.twitter.com/yDqdy1tZxs
— Ossacin’s Ducktail (@OssacinDucktail) September 1, 2025

CBS Sports' Danny Kanell alluded to a trend with Sanders and a lack of decisiveness late in games. While Coach Prime may not prefer another cook in the kitchen as McCarron hypothesized, he must show enough self-awareness not to freeze or fluster when the lights are brightest.

"He is a figurehead. He doesn't get too involved in the minutia of game plans and game management," Kanell said. "Last year, there were a couple of overtime games. It looked like he wasn't certain how the overtime rules unfolded. Last night, even after the game, he didn't have a great explanation for that. . . It's an area where Deion needs to take a step forward."

Georgia Tech Loss A Blessing in Disguise?

Aug 29, 2025; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets quarterback Haynes King (10) celebrates his touchdown carry with offensive lineman Harrison Moore (52) in the fourth quarter against the Colorado Buffaloes at Folsom Field. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Mismanaged and incompetent would be putting Sanders's crunch-time logic lightly, but it could be the right lesson to learn this early in the season.

And lest one forgets, the sole culprit of defeat was stopping the run. Georgia Tech bullied the Buffs with its creative, powerful ground game for 320 yards.

These issues are glaring, but it's better to have them exposed on Day 1 than late in Big 12 play with postseason implications. If Sanders can swallow his signature pride just once to make adjustments to his late-game process, he'd put Colorado in better positions to win.

That could include designating a staff member to chime in on clock management, a tactic used by many college and pro coaches. And whether or not he obliges, Sanders risks the Buffaloes' viability to compete for championships if he cannot improve in this aspect of team leadership.