The Buffaloes beat a Georgia Tech team that went 9-4 in 2025 despite Lewis completing 14 of 27 passes for 124 yards. Colorado ran 76 plays to the Yellow Jackets’ 53, held the ball for 34:09 and turned its edge on the ground into a nonconference road win that puts more weight behind a turnaround after last season’s 3-9 finish.

Afterward, Sanders praised the belief he heard from his linemen during the game. “You have no idea how many times I was shaken by a lineman and told that we got this, and I never doubted it,” he said.

Georgia Tech led 10-7 at halftime and pushed its advantage to 13-7 when Aidan Birr made a 29-yard field goal with 1:40 left. Colorado had no timeouts when Lewis took over at his own 25-yard line, then found Williams for a 20-yard touchdown with under a minute remaining.

Mendoza answered with a 42-yard completion to Dalen Penson, moving Georgia Tech into range for one more kick. Carter got through Birr’s 45-yard attempt as time expired.

Welch’s 5-yard touchdown gave Colorado a 7-0 lead and marked the program’s first opening-score rushing touchdown since 2021. Georgia Tech tied it immediately when Rahkeem Smith returned the ensuing kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown.

Colorado also won the other rushing matchup. The Buffaloes held Georgia Tech to 51 yards on 30 attempts, or 1.7 yards per carry, while Alberto Mendoza threw for 237 yards. Lamont Lester Jr. had three sacks, including one that stopped a Georgia Tech possession after a 30-yard completion opened the drive.

For a team that went 1-8 in Big 12 play in 2025, controlling both lines against a nine-win opponent gave Colorado more than a dramatic finish. It gave the Buffaloes their first 1-0 start since Sanders’ 2023 debut season.

Chauncey Gooden started at left guard and also worked at defensive tackle. Colorado’s passing game had dropped passes, missed downfield chances and a rough late-second-quarter sequence in which Lewis lost his grip on the ball, recovered it and took a 15-yard sack. The run game kept the Buffaloes close anyway.

Carter’s block finished the game, but it did not erase the return or the failed field-goal operation. Colorado went without a special teams coach this season, a decision that drew online criticism; the program has not explained the choice.

Colorado also has not disclosed whether players sustained injuries in the opener.

Lewis did not need a clean four quarters. He needed one last drive after the run game and defense held the game within reach, and he delivered it. Colorado has already banked the kind of road result that can separate a real turnaround from another rebuilding season.

2. The rushing defense. Georgia Tech managed 1.7 yards per carry. Colorado’s next FBS test comes Saturday, Sept. 19, at Northwestern, where the Buffaloes can show whether that number travels.

3. The kicking operation. Watch the snap and protection, not only whether Gerlach’s next attempt goes through.

4. Lester’s pressure. His three sacks changed the opener. Colorado needs that disruption to continue as the schedule turns toward FBS opponents.

Sanders’ message in the locker room was for his players to respect the opponent after the escape. “Let’s make sure the locker room is clean when we leave. Let’s be respectful, don’t say nothing crazy about our opponents because they fought their butts off,” he said.