Alabama Legend A. J. McCarron’s Blunt Message to Deion Sanders After Georgia Tech Loss

On CBS’ "College Football Pregame " on Saturday, A. J. McCarron — the former Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback who won back-to-back national titles in 2012 and 2013 and finished as the Heisman Trophy runner-up in 2013 — delivered a blunt, no-nonsense critique of Sanders’ late-game clock management.

"The other concern for me for Colorado was clock management at the end," said McCarron. "It was awful clock management. You complete a pass and then you don't call timeout — you've got two timeouts! ... I thought they cost themselves a chance to at least tie the game and extend it and go into overtime."

McCarron also tried offering advice to Sanders, recommending him to "hire somebody that helps you do clock management."

Sanders Backs Up His Decision

After the game, Sanders was asked why he didn't take a timeout on that critical third down at the end of the game. He responded not by admitting any fault, but by defending his decision and explaining his rationale.

"I think we got out of bounds a couple times, so we didn't have to take them," Sanders said. "So, that's what transpired. We got out of bounds on both sidelines and that's what happened. After the first, we got a good play. We caught the ball for nine yards, we had one yard to go. If you get the first down, the clock stops. So, it don't make sense to really use your timeout in that sense."