Colorado · Big 12Julian Lewis lifts Colorado past Georgia Tech in opener
The freshman led a late go-ahead drive before Colorado blocked a 45-yard field-goal attempt on the final play of a 14-13 win.
SEP 4, 2026
The Pate State · Editorial IllustrationFreshman quarterback Julian Lewis put Colorado ahead with a late two-minute drive Thursday, then the Buffaloes blocked Georgia Tech’s 45-yard try on the final play to escape with a 14-13 victory.
The win moves Colorado to 1-0 after a 3-9 season in 2025 and gives the Buffaloes an early chance to change the direction of the program. Georgia Tech, which finished 9-4 and 6-2 in the ACC last season, fell to 0-1 before its Sept. 12 game against Tennessee.
Colorado needed both late answers: Lewis created the lead, and the Buffaloes preserved it with the block. The identity of the player who made it and Lewis’ passing and rushing numbers were not reported, but his first college game ended with the drive Colorado needed.
01 · The Detail Beneath the HeadlineWhat Most People Are Missing
Colorado’s one-point escape has more leverage than a routine opening win because of what follows. A team that went 1-8 in Big 12 play last season has Weber State on Sept. 12 before road games at Northwestern on Sept. 19 and Baylor on Sept. 26. The Buffaloes can turn a road win over a 2025 nine-win opponent into a 2-0 start, then learn whether the change survives two more trips before Texas Tech visits Oct. 3.
Georgia Tech faces the reverse compression. Last season’s 6-2 ACC team enters its Sept. 12 Tennessee game at 0-1, with Mercer on Sept. 19 between that test and the Sept. 26 trip to Stanford. Colorado bought a runway into its September schedule; Georgia Tech lost its margin before facing the most immediate test on either team’s calendar.
02 · The Open QuestionsQuestions to Be Answered
How much of Colorado’s offense will belong to Julian Lewis against Weber State?
The published account establishes Lewis’s late drive but provides no passing or rushing totals, leaving his full-game workload undefined. Colorado’s Sept. 12 game against Weber State is the first schedule point for that role to become visible before consecutive trips to Northwestern and Baylor. His snap count and share of the passing and rushing production will show how heavily Colorado plans to lean on the freshman by the Sept. 26 trip to Baylor.
Can Georgia Tech recover against Tennessee before the Sept. 26 trip to Stanford?
Georgia Tech’s 9-4 breakthrough included a 6-2 ACC record, but the one-point opener removed any cushion from the nonconference schedule. Tennessee arrives Sept. 12, followed by Mercer on Sept. 19 and the trip to Stanford. The Tennessee result will show whether Georgia Tech reaches that stretch with the Colorado finish contained or with an 0-2 start still shaping its season.