Jackson State's bid at perfection thwarted by North Carolina Central as Deion Sanders era ends

ATLANTA — The Deion Sanders era with Jackson State football suffered a heartbreaking end in a 41-34 overtime loss to North Carolina Central in the Celebration Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Sanders, coaching his final game at JSU before taking over at Colorado, saw Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders take over to help force overtime. But the Tigers stalled in the extra period, advancing to the 1-yard line before a dropped Hayden Hagler pass in the end zone and subsequent incompletion ended a remarkable run in the program's history.

Sanders finished 27-6 in three seasons as JSU coach. It was the Tigers' second consecutive Celebration Bowl loss.

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Shedeur Sanders and Hunter, who both are expected to join Deion Sanders in Colorado, connected on two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, including game-tying 19-yard pass as time expired in regulation.

North Carolina Central quarterback Davius Richard threw for a touchdown and ran for two others, including a 1-yard score in overtime that was the game-winner. The Eagles (10-2) had four rushing touchdowns.

Shedeur Sanders finished with 349 yards passing and four TDs for the Tigers (12-1).

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Deion Sanders, Jackson State lose overtime heartbreaker to NC Central