Travis Hunter Touted as Star After Jackson State Loses Deion Sanders' Final Game

Deion Sanders' final game at Jackson State didn't go as planned, with the Tigers losing 41-34 in overtime to North Carolina Central in the Celebration Bowl.

Jackson State tied the game at 34 as time expired on Shedeur Sanders' 19-yard touchdown pass to Travis Hunter on 4th-and-10.

After North Carolina Central scored on the opening possession of overtime, Sanders' pass on 4th-and-goal from the 1-yard line was incomplete to end the game.

The loss ended Jackson State's quest for a perfect season, but the team still won a program-record 12 games.

Despite the bitter end to his season and his tenure with the Tigers, Deion earned plaudits for what he was able to accomplish in just three seasons as head coach at the program.

Hunter, who is expected to follow Deion and Shedeur to Colorado, continued to show off his Primetime-esque skills. The freshman cornerback caught four passes for 47 yards and two touchdowns on Saturday.

Deion Sanders was named Colorado's head coach on Dec. 3. The Pro Football Hall of Famer is taking over a program that has been a mess for years.

The Buffaloes finished the 2022 season with a 1-11 record, the worst scoring defense (44.5 points allowed per game) and fifth-worst scoring offense (15.4 points per game) in FBS.

Colorado has just one winning season since 2017 (4-2 in 2020). It hasn't won a postseason bowl game since the 2004 Houston Bowl.

Sanders is certainly capable of engineering a quick turnaround. Jackson State was coming off seven consecutive losing seasons when he was hired in September 2020.

The Tigers went 27-6 overall and won back-to-back SWAC titles with Sanders as head coach.