What an overall ugly game that ended in pandemonium. But celebration for the Colorado Buffaloes as CU goes into Atlanta and shocks Georgia Tech 14-13. Here is the good, the question marks, and the ugly from the Buffs’ Week One victory.
The Good
- Revitalized Defense
Defense, particularly the rushing defense, was a major issue for the Buffs last season. On Thursday night, their rushing defense was spectacular. The Buffs held star Michigan transfer Justice Haynes to just 64 yards rushing. They held the entire Tech offense to just 51 yards. Alberto Mendoza took -22 yards in sacks. This was Georgia Tech’s fewest yards rushing in a game since 2022 at Georgia (40).
Photo Cred: AJC.com
Bowling Green transfer Gideon ESPN Lampron had seven tackles (one TFL): https://x.com/rockymtnbuff/status/2095732635947708794?s=20 – https://x.com/EspnGideon/status/2095750535106207970?s=20
Vanderbilt transfer Randon Fontenette also had a big game with eight tackles and one tackle for loss. Finally, Boo Carter was tremendous all game as a lock-down corner. He came up huge with the blocked field goal to win the game.
- Charlie Williams
Williams only had two catches for 28 yards, but he answered the call when no one else on CU’s offense would. Williams ran a nasty, disgusting route with under a minute to play before making a terrific catch to tie Georgia Tech with 37 seconds left before the PAT. The route is already drawing comparisons to college football greats Jeremy Shockey and Dallas Clark. With flashes like that, I expect big things for Williams this season.
- Offensive Line
In the second half, CU’s offensive line moved Georgia Tech’s front at will. Colorado’s drives consisted of run after run, and Georgia Tech just could not find a way to stop them. This physicality from the offensive line set the tone for the Buffs’ fourth-quarter comeback.
The Question Marks
- Julian “Juju” Lewis
The only thing saving the quarterback from the “Ugly” tier was his stupendous drive to end the game. Other than that, Lewis was abysmal, completing 14/27 of his passes with 124 yards and a 43.3 QBR. In particular, he struggled connecting with open receivers on deep balls. He throws what the commentator, Chase Daniel, aptly described as “long foul balls.” Lewis will need to play more like the guy we saw in the final drive if the Buffs are to do anything meaningful this season.
- Special Teams
Outside of the obvious Boo Carter blocked field goal to end the game, special teams were shaky at best throughout the game. To open the game, the special teams unit punted from around midfield with an opportunity to pin Tech deep in their own territory. But instead nearly had the punt blocked, giving the Yellowjackets excellent field position.
Photo Cred: The Denver Post
Georgia Tech should have gotten points out of the poor punt, but ended up missing a 35-yard field goal. In the fourth quarter with a chance to tie the game, Daniel Gerlach’s 38-yard field goal attempt was blocked. Similar to Lewis performance, if this unit didn’t come up huge the way it did to end the game, special teams would sit easily in the “Ugly” tier.
The Ugly
The rule is that if we get a win, there can’t be more than one “ugly.” So, even though much of this game was ugly, we do not care. Winning football games is hard.
- Center Position
Both centers Sean Kinney and Demetrius Hunter struggled with shotgun snaps throughout the night. By my count, there were over five bad snaps in this game that were high for Lewis to catch, completely went over Lewis head to the running back, or were off-center and forced Lewis into a delayed hand off. These bad snaps served as momentum killers in promising-looking drives for the Buffs, something they will need to clean up this season.
Photo Cred: SI
Final Grade: C+
This was an ugly game from start to finish. Juju Lewis—the highly-touted Georgia recruit and centerpiece of this CU roster—struggled mightily until the final drive, and CU’s momentum repeatedly evaporated thanks to mistakes all over the field. A win is a win, but Coach Prime and Julian Lewis will both tell you they need to improve drastically. If they play like this for the year they won’t compete in the Big XII.
