Colorado spent most of Thursday night trying to find its footing, and then two plays changed everything.
Julian Lewis pushed the Buffaloes in front with a late touchdown pass, and Boo Carter finished the job by blocking a potential game-winning 45-yard field goal on the final snap, lifting Colorado to a 14-13 win over Georgia Tech at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
The ending came with all the chaos a season opener can offer. Georgia Tech had seized a 13-7 lead with fewer than two minutes left, putting Colorado in a spot where it had to go the length of the field and get the kind of drive it hadn’t consistently produced all night.
Lewis answered anyway, steering the Buffs down the field and hitting Charlie Williams on a 20-yard touchdown to give Colorado a 14-13 lead. The extra point held up, and suddenly the Buffaloes were the ones in front with 37 seconds to play.
That still wasn’t the end.
Alberto Mendoza wasted no time giving Georgia Tech another chance, finding Dalen Penson for a 42-yard gain that moved the Yellow Jackets from their own 25 to Colorado’s 33. Three seconds remained when Georgia Tech lined up for the kick, and Colorado had one final stop to make.
Carter made it.
On a night when Georgia Tech had already blocked a Colorado field goal earlier, the Buffaloes answered with the most important block of all.
For Lewis, the moment was about belief as much as execution.
“Trust each other, we work for it, we know what’s gonna happen, and God did it for us,” Lewis said during his postgame interview.
“God did a great thing for us, and I’m just blessed right now,” Lewis said.
Lewis finished 14 of 27 for 124 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. It wasn’t clean, and it wasn’t easy, but he delivered when Colorado needed a drive most.
Williams came through on the decisive touchdown and finished with two catches for 28 yards. Colorado’s ground game did plenty of the heavy lifting, with Damian Henderson rushing 12 times for 65 yards and Micah Welch adding 58 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. DeAndre Moore Jr. led the Buffs with four receptions for 37 yards.
Lamont Lester Jr. helped keep Colorado in the fight on defense, recording three sacks.
Georgia Tech got a big night from Mendoza, who completed 17 of 23 passes for 237 yards. Jordan Allen was his top target with eight catches for 113 yards, and Penson added three receptions for 73 yards. Justice Haynes ran 19 times for 64 yards.
Colorado’s opener was messy, but the closing sequence was exactly what sealed it: Lewis finding Williams, Carter slamming the door, and Deion Sanders leaving Atlanta with a 1-0 start.
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