Colorado football opened the 2026 season in the kind of heart-stopping fashion that has come to define the Deion Sanders era, as freshman quarterback Julian Lewis threw a 20-yard touchdown to tight end Charlie Williams with 42 seconds left and the Buffaloes blocked a walk-off field goal to stun Georgia Tech 14-13 on Thursday night at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta.
The former five-star recruit known as JuJu Lewis made his long-awaited collegiate debut in one of Week 1's most-watched games, and for much of the night the moment looked too big for the 18-year-old signal-caller. Then, with the game on the line, he settled in and delivered the drive Colorado's new era has been waiting for.
The victory moved Colorado to 1-0 on the season and to the top of the Big 12 standings, a tone-setting result for a program trying to prove it can win without the departed star power of Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter.
How Julian Lewis' Clutch Debut Came Together in Atlanta
Lewis' debut was far from polished. Through the first half he completed just six passes for 41 yards, and Colorado trailed 13-7 late in the fourth quarter after Georgia Tech's Rahkeem Smith returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown and the Yellow Jackets added field goals on both sides of halftime.
Sanders said he challenged his quarterback at the break, and he did it in front of the entire locker room.
I talked to him at halftime in front of the whole team, Sanders said. 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. He took advantage of the moment.
The moment arrived on Colorado's final possession. Lewis, who finished 14-of-27 for 124 yards and a touchdown, engineered a two-minute drill that ended with the scoring strike to Williams, giving the Buffaloes their first lead since the second quarter.
Georgia Tech still had a chance to answer. Quarterback Alberto Mendoza connected with Dalen Penson for a 42-yard gain to reach field goal range, but Colorado defensive back Boo Carter burst through to block Aidan Birr's 45-yard attempt as time expired, sending the Buffaloes streaming onto the field.
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.
From a 7-0 Lead to a Blocked Kick: How the Opener Unfolded
The game swung wildly across four quarters. Running back Micah Welch put Colorado on the board first with a five-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, and the Buffaloes led 7-0 for all of 14 seconds before Smith's 100-yard kickoff return, his first touch as a Yellow Jacket and the program's first kick-return touchdown since Jahmyr Gibbs in 2021, evened the score.
Georgia Tech took control from there, outscoring Colorado 10-0 across the second and third quarters behind Mendoza, who threw for 237 yards on 17-of-23 passing despite being sacked three times and battling an injury scare that briefly raised doubts about his second-half availability.
Colorado's breakthrough came on a grinding 17-play, 61-yard drive that burned 9:07 off the clock, though it ended without points when 6-foot-9 Georgia Tech tight end Kevin Roche Jr. blocked a field goal. Georgia Tech answered with a field goal drive to extend its lead to 13-7 before Lewis' late heroics flipped the result.
The game was played before 51,913 fans in Atlanta's 74 percent humidity, the third consecutive sellout at Bobby Dodd Stadium, and the conditions contributed to Georgia Tech fumbling three times in the first half while losing one.
Why This Win Matters for Coach Prime's Colorado Program
The narrow escape carries outsized weight for a Colorado program still defining its post-Shedeur Sanders identity. The Buffaloes' last 1-0 start came in 2023, Sanders' debut season, when Shedeur Sanders led a late 82-yard, go-ahead drive to beat TCU 45-42. That win launched a national phenomenon; this one signals whether the hype can survive the transition to a new cast.
Julian Lewis is the centerpiece of that transition. The heralded recruit arrived as the heir to Colorado's quarterback throne, and while his numbers were modest at 124 passing yards, his ability to respond after three rough quarters is exactly the trait Sanders will lean on as the schedule stiffens.
The running game offered another encouraging sign. Welch (58 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries) and Damian Henderson II (65 yards on 12 carries) split the backfield workload effectively, giving Colorado the balanced identity it largely lacked during the pass-heavy Sanders and Hunter years.
The stakes are also personal for Sanders. As the season opened, ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith publicly questioned whether the head coach could survive another disappointing campaign, a reminder that patience in Boulder is not unlimited. Opening the year with a road win over an ACC opponent at least buys the program momentum heading into a manageable early stretch.
Where Colorado Football Stands After Week 1
Colorado exits Week 1 at 1-0 and sits first in the Big 12 standings, with a schedule that offers a chance to build early momentum. The Buffaloes host Weber State on Sept. 12 before a road test at Northwestern, followed by conference play beginning at Baylor.
For Georgia Tech, the result was a missed opportunity in a game it controlled for long stretches. The Yellow Jackets fell to 0-1 and now face a difficult follow-up, hosting No. 20 Tennessee on Sept. 12.
The blocked kick and the two-minute drill have already become defining snapshots of Colorado's 2026 identity: resilient, imperfect, and suddenly capable of winning the close games that slipped away a season ago.
What's Next for the Buffaloes
The road ahead offers Colorado a legitimate runway. Weber State should be a comfortable home opener, and the Northwestern trip represents the first real measuring stick against a Big Ten opponent. From there, the Big 12 gauntlet begins in earnest with Baylor, Texas Tech, Utah, and a late-season stretch against Houston and Cincinnati.
The central question will be Lewis' development. If his fourth-quarter poise against Georgia Tech becomes his baseline rather than his ceiling, Colorado has the pieces, including a capable two-back rotation, an opportunistic defense and Sanders' motivational pull, to contend in a wide-open Big 12.
The Bottom Line: Colorado's Season-Opening Takeaways
Colorado's 14-13 win over Georgia Tech delivered more than a victory. Here is what matters most:
- Julian Lewis showed late-game poise in his debut, leading the winning drive with 42 seconds left.
- Boo Carter's blocked field goal preserved the win and set the tone for an opportunistic defense.
- The Welch-Henderson backfield duo flashed the balance Colorado has lacked in recent years.
- Colorado's first 1-0 start since 2023 keeps momentum behind Deion Sanders' rebuild.
- Georgia Tech, now 0-1, faces No. 20 Tennessee next in a difficult turnaround spot.
