Georgia Tech Football: Yellow Jackets Lose 14-13 on Blocked Field Goal, Missed Opportunities

Under the lights of a sold-out stadium on Thursday night, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets were looking to start strong against the Colorado Buffaloes. It was a battle of the brand-new. Both teams had new coordinators on both sides of the ball, and Alberto Mendoza started his first game since high school. With legendary Atlanta sports mogul Deion Sanders returning home, Brent Key and Georgia Tech couldn’t fall for the romanticism and risk an upset loss. Unfortunately, mistakes all around hurt the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, and they lost 14-13.

Georgia Tech vs. Colorado 2026 Recap

The game started off with different strategies for both sides, with mixed results. Colorado relied on the arm of Julian Lewis, but they went three-and-out on their first two drives. Meanwhile, Georgia Tech’running back Justice Haynes had 26 yards on five carries on a 43-yard drive.

Unfortunately, a bobble by wide receiver Jordan Allen on a third-and-eight resulted in fourth down at the Colorado 12. Aidan Birr missed a rare field goal.

That’s when the game went crazy.

On Georgia Tech’s next play, Allen fumbled the ball, and it was recovered by Colorado. Then, a few plays into their drive, it looked like Colorado running back Damian Henderson Jr. fumbled, and it was recovered and brought into the end zone by safety Tae Harris. However, the officials ruled that Henderson Jr.’s knee was down, and Colorado kept the ball. That was despite video replay showing Henderson Jr.’s knee not down on the play. Still, on fourth and goal, Buffaloes running back DeKalon Taylor was stopped at the one by nickelback Kelvin Hill Jr.

Second Quarter

The second quarter started with Georgia Tech punting from inside the five, and Colorado returned it to the 35. With great field position, the Buffaloes capitalized, going on a five-play drive capped off by a Micah Welch touchdown run, making it 7-0 at 13:06 in the quarter. However, the Yellow Jackets countered on the play right afterward, with kick returner Rahkeem Smith taking it from his own end zone to Colorado’s end zone for a 100-yard kick return touchdown to tie it 7-7 at 12:52 in the second.

The Colorado Buffaloes punted on their next drive, and Georgia Tech kept attacking. Alberto Mendoza made a few gorgeous dimes, including a crazy throw across his body on a third-and-12. However, the drive stalled out at the four-yard line, and Aidan Birr atoned for his miss earlier by knocking down the 22-yard FG to make it 10-7 Georgia Tech with 2:03.

Colorado once again went three-and-out, although another questionable ruling prevented Georgia Tech from recovering another fumble in Colorado territory. Georgia Tech responded with a three-and-out, with Alberto Mendoza getting sacked by Colorado DE Lamont Lester, and Colorado had three drops to end the half with a 10-7 lead for GT.

Second Half

The third quarter started off with Georgia Tech getting to Colorado’s 35 before Mendoza was sacked by Lester again, and Georgia Tech had to punt the football. Colorado went on a 15-play, 52-yard drive that stalled out at Georgia Tech’s 38-yard line, and they punted. Georgia Tech again crossed midfield, but Lester sacked Mendoza for the third time in the game, resulting in another punt.

Colorado again drove down the field on a 16-play, 61-yard drive, but the drive stalled out at the 19-yard line of Georgia Tech. Still, they had the perfect chance to tie it, with Daniel Gerlach trying to make a 38-yard field goal. However, Georgia Tech defensive lineman Shymeik Jones blocked it.

Fourth Quarter

Georgia Tech chewed some very important clock at 7:35. Mendoza made some great passes again, and Georgia Tech went on a 13-play, 68-yard drive to Colorado’s 11-yard line. There, Aidan Birr made a clutch field goal to give Georgia Tech a 13-7 lead.

Unfortunately, they left too much time on the clock for Juju Lewis, who found another gear in the fourth quarter. On an eight-play, 75-yard drive, Colorado converted a third and 13 on a great Lewis throw, then a third and 3 on a run.  Then, on first-and-10 at the 20-yard line, Lewis found tight end Charles Williams on an underneath route for a 20-yard touchdown to take a 14-13 lead.

Georgia Tech wasn’t finished, however, as Alberto Mendoza found Dalen Penson up the middle for a 33-yard completion. That set them up in field goal range with 26 seconds left, but they decided to run the ball on second down instead of taking more shots to the end zone. That bled the clock to three seconds on a fourth-and-seven, setting up Aiden Birr for a 45-yard field goal. Unfortunately, Colorado blocked it at the buzzer, and Georgia Tech suffered an ugly and demoralizing 14-13 loss.

Georgia Tech Football: Takeaways From Week 1

Offensive game plan was Unbalanced

Let’s start with the positive: Alberto Mendoza was great. He went 17 for 23 for 237 yards, and there were even some throws where he resembled his brother, Fernando Mendoza. However, the running game was not as impressive, or not even impressive at all.

The running game mustered just 73 yards on 27 carries, and if you factor in sacks, that’s just 51 net yards rushing. The offense gained 26 yards rushing on its first drive, so over a third of its yards came on one drive. That factors into my next point.

Trenches were Troublesome

The trench play on both sides of the ball was rough, and that’s concerning entering the fourth year of the Brent Key era. The offensive line showed that it really missed Keylan Rutledge and Joe Fusile, two sturdy guards at worst. The runs between the tackles were stuffed because either the hole wasn’t there or someone was straight up beaten on a play. Left tackle Ethan Mackenny had a rough day, allowing three sacks and picking up two false-start penalties in a row, too.

The defensive front didn’t generate a ton of stops or pressures. Tawfiq Thomas was a bright spot, and even Shymeik Jones had a blocked field goal. However, the running game gashed the line for the most part, especially late. Colorado had 54 rushing yards in the fourth quarter, along with two straight drives with over 15 plays. While they didn’t get any points out of them, it drained clock and put Georgia Tech at a disadvantage. Overall, Colorado had over nine minutes more of possession time than Georgia Tech, and the trenches is a big reason why.

Miscues and Situational Letdowns

There were several plays that Georgia Tech could’ve had back and reversed fate. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen.

Aiden Birr had a missed field goal and a blocked field goal. Georgia Tech had a false start on first and goal on their first field goal drive to make it 10-7. Colorado sacked Mendoza twice on third downs in Colorado territory. The officials called two fumbles back, including one that Tae Harris returned for a touchdown.

All of those plays were brutal, but the last few drives are going to keep Georgia Tech fans up at night. With two minutes left in the game at Colorado’s 13, up 10-7, Georgia Tech only mustered two yards of offense. They were trying to get Colorado to call timeouts, but the runs were snuffed out. They had to settle for a field goal instead of trying to get a touchdown or even a first down to end the game.

Then, on the drive after Colorado scored, Mendoza fired a 42-yard bomb to Dalen Penson. With 26 seconds left on Colorado’s 33-yard line, they got an incomplete pass, then a great out-route to Kevin Roche that stopped it again; then on third down and seven, they called a running play that got snuffed out again. That set the stage for Aidan Birr’s kick to be blocked, but if Georgia Tech tried to convert the third down with a passing play, they could’ve gotten closer for Birr. A first down would’ve stopped the clock for a bit. Overall, there were just mistakes at the worst possible time.

Georgia Tech descends to 0-1, set to host the Tennessee Volunteers next week on Saturday. Colorado rises to a surprising 1-0 and plays Weber State next week.