Georgia Tech found just enough offense to give itself a late chance, but Colorado walked out with a 14-13 win after blocking Aidan Birr’s 45-yard field goal as time expired.
The finish was brutal, but the problems started long before the final snap. Tech was beaten at the line on both sides of the ball, finished with only 51 net rushing yards, and ran just 54 plays to Colorado’s 76.
The Yellow Jackets also hurt themselves with penalties, piling up nine for 49 yards, including three on PAT attempts. Birr’s kicking night never really settled in, either, as Tech’s field goal game went 1-for-3.
Still, there was one encouraging note for Tech: Alberto Mendoza.
The Indiana transfer quarterback completed 17 of 23 passes for 237 yards and looked calm throughout, whether standing in the pocket or escaping trouble on the move. He was sacked three times, but none of those hits were on him. In a game that got messy fast, he was the one piece that consistently looked in control.
Tech’s lone touchdown came in a flash. After Colorado struck first, Rahkeem Smith answered with a 100-yard kickoff return to tie the game at 7-7 in the second quarter. That was one of the Jackets’ best moments all night, and it was special teams doing the heavy lifting.
The rest of the game was a grind.
Tech opened with a promising drive after Mendoza took over at quarterback, converting a 3rd & 4 with a throw to Dalen Penson and getting first downs on the ground from Justice Haynes. But an illegal formation penalty and an incompletion stalled the series, and Birr missed from 30 yards.
Colorado’s next big chance came after Jordan Allen fumbled on a jet sweep, giving the Buffs the ball at Tech’s 26. They couldn’t cash in, though. A play that briefly looked like a turnover was wiped away because of forward momentum, and Colorado eventually came away empty after getting down to 1st & goal from the 3.
Tech then got pinned at its own 1 and never escaped the shadow of its own goal line, punting away a short possession that set Colorado up at the Tech 35. The Buffs turned that into a five-yard Micah Welch touchdown and a 7-0 lead, then made the odd decision to still kick the PAT after Tech drew two offsides penalties.
Smith’s kickoff return erased that lead almost instantly. Tech also put together its cleanest offensive series of the first half on the next meaningful possession, with Mendoza finding Allen, Kevin Roche Jr, Penson, and Isaiah Fuhrmann for first downs.
On 3rd & 12, Mendoza bought time with his legs and hit Allen at the four-yard line. A false start at 1st & goal pushed the Jackets back, and they settled for a 22-yard field goal and a 10-7 lead.
From there, both teams went quiet before halftime.
The second half never really found rhythm. Tech managed one solid 30-yard completion to Allen, but that drive ended in a punt, and Colorado’s offense was held just outside field goal range before punting back. Tech’s line kept getting exposed, including a third-down sack after Ethan Mackenny was beaten badly.
Colorado eventually took over the fourth quarter by leaning on short runs and chewing up the clock. Tech got a huge break when Kevin Roche Jr blocked Elliott Arnold’s 38-yard field goal attempt that would have tied it at 10-10 with 7:35 left.
That should have been the moment for Tech to seize control. Instead, the Jackets put together the kind of possession they needed all night: a run-heavy, clock-draining drive that included a 21-yard completion to Allen, a third-down conversion by Haynes on a toss sweep, and a 3rd & 3 completion to Roche Jr. that moved the ball to the red zone at the two-minute warning. But offensive coordinator George Godsey went with simple runs that were blown up behind the line, Colorado used its timeouts, and Tech came away with only a field goal to lead 13-7.
Colorado answered quickly, marching 14 yards in a minute and three seconds to retake the lead at 14-13.
That set up one last shot for Tech. With 35 seconds left, Mendoza hit Penson on a 42-yard crosser to get into field goal range. After a couple of short plays, Birr lined up for the 45-yarder - and Colorado got a hand on it to end the game.
For Georgia Tech, it was the kind of opener that leaves a mark: a missed opportunity, too many self-inflicted wounds, and a finish that never even got a chance to clear the crossbar.
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