Stephen A. Smith found plenty to like in Colorado’s 14-13 win over Georgia Tech, but one number stood out above the rest: 51.
On Friday’s First Take, the ESPN commentator zeroed in on Colorado’s defensive effort after the Buffaloes avenged last season’s 27-20 loss to the Yellow Jackets in Atlanta. He started by acknowledging Deion Sanders, saying, “I’m happy for him.
Let me get that out of the way. I’m happy for him,” before adding, “I think it's important to get off to a good start.”
What really caught Smith’s attention was how Colorado controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Brennan Marion’s offense ran for 183 yards on 49 carries, a major step forward for a program Smith said had struggled badly on the ground over the last two years.
“Everybody’s looking at the fact that they rushed for 183 yards. We know how putrid their running game was over the last two years,” Smith said.
“They outrushed Georgia Tech 183 to 51. I’m very, very happy about that.”
But Smith said the defensive side mattered even more.
“What I’m ecstatic about is two things. You only gave up 51 yards rushing,” Smith said.
That was a dramatic turnaround from last season, when Colorado allowed 222.5 rushing yards per game. In this rematch, Chris Marve’s defense held Georgia Tech to 51 yards on 30 carries and kept the Yellow Jackets out of the end zone.
Smith pointed out that the game wasn’t just about one stat. It was about Colorado changing the kind of game Georgia Tech wanted to play.
“It clearly appears as if it’s corrected the error of its ways, not just because they ran the football, but because they stopped the run and you held Georgia Tech to 13 points,” Smith said. “That is what I need to see.”
Georgia Tech’s only touchdown came on a 100-yard kickoff return by Rahkeem, and Smith was careful to separate that special teams play from what Colorado’s defense accomplished.
“And by the way, didn’t give up a touchdown,” Smith said. “Okay, got to correct those errors.”
The contrast with last season was impossible to ignore. Georgia Tech ran for 320 yards on 47 carries in its 27-20 win at Folsom Field. This time, Colorado forced the Yellow Jackets to do much more through the air.
Smith also tied the performance back to Sanders’ message after last year’s rough finish.
“When they struggled last year, Prime sat up there and told everybody, enjoy it now because this ain’t going to happen to us again,” Smith said. “And now he goes out there, and he backs it up.”
Smith wasn’t pretending one game answers everything. Colorado still has a long way to go. But after a road win against the same team that beat them a year ago, the Buffaloes left with something real: a rushing attack that showed up, a defense that shut down the run, and a result Smith called “a strong, strong step in the right direction.”
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