The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets once again start their season against the Colorado Buffaloes, this time in Atlanta. They will try to spoil Deion Sanders’ return to Atlanta by winning just like they did last season, and Georgia Tech fans are hoping it’s not down to the final few minutes this time.
Colorado Buffaloes vs. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Matchup History and Excerpts
The history between these two teams is very brief: the game last season was the only time these two uncommon foes met. With Colorado being a Big 12 team and Georgia Tech being an ACC team, they don’t really play each other.
Last season was close. The Buffaloes started out with a 7-0 lead, with Georgia Tech committing three straight turnovers. The Yellow Jackets were able to get their bearings, but Colorado held tough. In the fourth quarter with 5:19 left, it was 20-20, and Colorado had the ball. Fortunately, the Yellow Jackets only let them gain one first down, and on the next possession, quarterback Haynes King broke off a 45-yard touchdown to give Georgia Tech a 27-20 lead with 1:17 left. The Buffaloes couldn’t answer, with a hail mary falling short, and the Yellow Jackets won to start their season strong.
Deion Sanders is thankful King is in the NFL now.
“Thank God that quarterback [Haynes King] is gone. That kid refused to lose a year ago, and he was definitely a difference maker. I think he had, what, 140 yards rushing? Something like that. 156. Thank you for checking. I wanted to settle for 140. Yeah, this is a great team though, man. I love it,” Sanders said.
Key explained the anticipation of Sanders returning to Atlanta, Georgia, a place where he’s made such an impact as a corner for the Atlanta Falcons and an outfielder for the Atlanta Braves.
“Not far fetched, it’s the truth. I mean, Deion’s the biggest sports celebrity probably to ever play in the town, in the city of Atlanta. He’s coming back home,” said Key. “And, especially for somebody that grew up in the 80s, I mean, golly. He was the the top of the top, the premier guy that that, you know, everybody wanted to be when they were growing up. Baseball, football, just just the persona that was created around him. So all those things are big.”
Colorado vs. Georgia Tech 2026 Preview
Key Players for Colorado
Colorado’s defense underwent a facelift from last season, with a depth chart even listing every starter on the defense as an incoming transfer. The unit may need some time to gel together.
That starts with the linebackers. New defensive coordinator Chris Marve’s speciality is linebackers, and the Buffaloes got some stat-sheet stuffers at the LB position. Gideon ESPN Lampron had 119 tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks last season at Bowling Green. Texas transfer Liona Lefau had 69 tackles, three tackles for loss, and a sack.
The defensive line is going to be another thing to monitor against Georgia Tech. When Marve was at Virginia Tech last season, the Hokies’ defensive line was very strong against the Yellow Jackets.
“I know we did not play well at all. At all. We got whipped up front big time. We couldn’t handle it. Poor performance. I’m sure you probably have some elements of that, right? But I mean, we have a different offense, a different coordinator. We look at everything. We’re gonna look at all those things, but you look at it all you want. Try to know everything there is about a play caller,” Key said about Marve.
On offense, Julian Lewis is entering his first season as the undisputed starter for Colorado. The Carrollton, Georgia native should be better than Kaidon Salter was last season. Danny Scudero was the top add as a wide receiver transfer, coming off a 1,297-yard season at San Jose State, and DeAndre Moore made some plays at Texas as well. With Brennan Marion’s background coming from wide recievers, the group of pass catchers for Colorado will get plenty of chances to make impacts.
Key Players for Georgia Tech
Many have tried to predict what Alberto Mendoza will play like and how similar he will be to his brother Fernando. Well, on Thursday, Georgia Tech gets its first chance to see him in action. He’ll be the most integral part of this group. The running game will give him a lot of support, and I expect Justice Haynes to get the line share of carries.
However, the offensive line is another big X-Factor. They had some rough moments against Marve’s front last season, and starters Keylan Rutledge and Joe Fusile are gone. It’ll be interesting to see Jameson Riggs make his first start at center. Riggs earned the nod after an initial thought that he could be the right guard or tackle.
“He has a good ability to manage all the 13 other guys on the field and offense. So last year before scrimmage, we kicked Jameson into center. And I saw some things there that I really, really was impressed with. And we ended up settling back out at tackle a little bit last year, got a lot of valuable reps.It was just something is we’re moving guys around trying to find the best five, right? Just because you think something’s going to be a certain way, right?”
Until you put them in, you know, put them in the fire and let them go. When Joe got banged up there for those few days, uh, in, uh, in camp, we, we kicked him in and just, wow, he’s natural, owning the whole process, from getting up the line of scrimmage to the calls, the cadences, all those things. It’s his first game out there at center, and I’m really excited for him,” said Key.
Defensively, it’ll be interesting to see how this new corner room fares against the Colorado receiver group. Jaylen Mbakwe earned a start on the perimeter, while Daiquan White Jr. went alongside him, and Kelvin Hill Jr. is in the nickel too. They’ll need to shut down this Colorado receiver group.
Game Result
I think Georgia Tech wins a close one in this game. While there’s inexperience on the Georgia Tech offense versus Colorado’s offense, I still think Alberto can get it done while the running game works well around him. The Colorado defense is also full of transfers, so it’ll take some time to gel together.
If Georgia Tech can chew clock while Alberto can show off his intelligence and some mobility, the Yellow Jackets should be able to win. I’m not sure Colorado can do that, with questions on their offensive line. It’ll be close, but Georgia Tech starts the season 1-0
Result: Georgia Tech 27, Colorado 24
How to Watch
Date: Thursday, Sept. 3 | Time: 8 p.m. ET
Location: Bobby Dodd Stadium — Atlanta, Georgia
TV: ESPN | Live stream: Fubo (try for free)
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