ATLANTA — Colorado freshman quarterback Julian Lewis hit tight end Charlie Williams for a 20-yard touchdown with 42 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, lifting the Buffaloes to a last-minute, 14-13 win against Georgia Tech on Thursday night in the season opener.
Georgia Tech looked like it could pull off the improbable when quarterback Alberto Mendoza found receiver Dalen Penson for a 42-yard gain, putting the Yellow Jackets in field goal range. But Boo Carter blocked Aidan Birr’s 45-yard attempt, and the Buffaloes stormed the field.
Coach Deion Sanders said his team, despite trailing all second half, never lost hope.
“If you’d know how many linemen grabbed me and said ‘I told y’all we got this, I told you we got this coach,’” Sanders said. “I mean you have no idea how many times I was shaken by a lineman and told that we got this, and I never doubted it.”
A tough night for Lewis came together in the final two drives. The freshman quarterback took 9:07 off the clock with a 17-play, 61-yard drive that ended with a blocked field goal from 6-foot-9 Georgia Tech tight end Kevin Roche Jr.
Georgia Tech responded with a field goal scoring drive to take a 13-7 lead, but with newfound confidence, Lewis led a clutch two-minute drill for the win.
“I talked to him at halftime in front of the whole team… I told (Lewis) ‘Let’s go. Be that man. We believe in you. Let’s go.’ You know, I challenged him in front of the whole team,” Sanders said. “He took advantage of the moment.”
After a first half with six completions for 41 yards, Lewis finished the night 14-of-27 for 124 yards and a touchdown. Running back Micah Welch put the Buffaloes on the board with a 5-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter, giving Colorado a short-lived 7-0 lead.
Georgia Tech responded 14 seconds later as Rahkeem Smith returned a kick 100 yards for a touchdown and tied the game. It was Smith’s first touch as a Yellow Jacket and the program’s first kick returned for a touchdown since Jahmyr Gibbs against Boston College in 2021.
Mendoza finished the night 17-of-23 for 237 yards and dodged an injury scare that onlookers feared could affect his second half availability.
His debut featured promising moments, like scrambling away from traffic in the second quarter and throwing a 22-yard dart to Jordan Allen on the move. Mendoza capped off Georgia Tech’s final drive with his longest completion of the night, a 42-yarder, to put the Yellow Jackets in field goal range.
He was sacked three times for a loss of 22 yards.
Colorado’s last time starting the season 1-0 was in 2023 in Sanders’ debut with a 45-42 win against TCU, and it, too, was a thriller.
The Buffaloes were the last to find the end zone in a barnburner, with Shedeur Sanders leading a 6-play, 82-yard drive late in the fourth.
Takeaway
Colorado: After seven seasons without a 1,000 yard rusher, Colorado has two strong prospects with Welch and Damian Henderson II splitting snaps in the backfield. Welch finished the night with 58 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. Henderson had 12 carries for 65 yards.
Georgia Tech: Atlanta’s 74% humidity didn’t impact fan attendance, with 51,913 fans packed in Bobby Dodd Stadium’s third consecutive sell-out. The humidity helped contribute to ball control issues for Georgia Tech who fumbled three times in the first half, losing one.
