Colorado won its first game of the second season under Deion Sanders on Thursday night, but poor clock management nearly cost them. Sanders, however, said a late incomplete pass when his team should have been running out the clock was just one example of his son and quarterback, Shedeur Sanders, being a good teammate.

Colorado had the ball and a 31-26 lead on first-and-10 with 1:41 left in the fourth quarter when Shedeur Sanders threw a deep incompletion to wide receiver LaJohntay Wester. That stopped the clock and gave North Dakota State just enough time to get the ball back and nearly pull off a Hail Mary upset on the final play. So why did Colorado throw a deep ball there?

Deion said it was because his son is a good teammate and wanted to help Wester make a key play on a night when Colorado had two other receivers, Jimmy Horn Jr. and Travis Hunter, have phenomenal games.

“Shedeur’s such a good kid, sometimes it costs him because at the end of the game we just want to run the ball,” Sanders said. “And he shot at LaJohntay because he wanted LaJohntay to make a big play because you got the other two guys, the Dogs are having a big day, and he knows he’s going to have a one-on-one matchup. He just didn’t throw it far enough. I’m like, ‘Dawg, come on, Dawg, not now. This is not the time to be the good kid, this is the time to throw this game away.’ But that’s it. He wanted what he wanted, let’s put it that way. Most of the time he hits it.”

Deion said Shedeur played well, but also acknowledged there are still some areas that need improvement, including Shedeur’s clock management.

“You see that big thing over there? That’s a clock. Those numbers going down there, that’s for you,” Deion Sanders joked about telling his son. “Be smart. Be smart.”

Shedeur admitted after the match that he needs to learn to control the game better.

“It was something I definitely learned from,” Shedeur said. “There’s not many mistakes you’ll see me make twice.”

Deion also said he wants to make sure Colorado protects the quarterback.

“You never want to see your son get hit,” Deion Sanders said. “Let alone your quarterback.”