Colorado is heading into Thursday night’s Week 1 matchup with Georgia Tech already feeling like it has spent plenty of time preparing for the Yellow Jackets’ offense. That’s because, in linebacker Gideon ESPN Lampron’s view, the Buffaloes have been getting a useful daily dose of a similar look from offensive coordinator Brennan Marion’s “Go-Go” offense.
Lampron said that work has sharpened Colorado for what Georgia Tech is likely to bring.
“It’s definitely beneficial,” Lampron said. “Because going against an option offense tests every single rule of your defense. You get so many exotic looks, so they definitely have us prepared for anything that we could see.”
The matchup figures to put a premium on run defense, with both systems leaning hard on the ground game and mixing in triple-option concepts, RPOs and quarterback run-sets. That makes the linebackers’ reads especially important, since so much of the play can hinge on how they react to the backfield.
Colorado’s linebackers have been through a full fall camp of sorting through those option looks, and that experience is part of why the Buffaloes believe they can handle what Georgia Tech throws at them on Thursday.
For Lampron, though, the opener is about more than just scheme. It’s his first game wearing black and gold, and he made clear how much that moment means to him.
“I’m so excited to put on the black and gold this first game,” Lampron said. “That’s why all of us came here. I’ve been dreaming of playing at this level since I was a kid, so I’m ready to go make the most of it.”
Colorado’s defense is still working through a new system under defensive coordinator Chris Marve, and the staff has been building the game plan for Georgia Tech over roughly the last two weeks. Lampron said the key is keeping things simple and staying within the structure.
“We started [gameplanning] a couple of days ago,” Lampron said. “But the biggest thing for us is just doing our job, not playing selfishly, trying to make plays within the scheme of the defense, don’t be freestyling out there, just doing everything you can to help the defense is big. Obviously, emphasizing stopping the run and just playing together.”
That run-stopping piece is where Lampron’s mindset gets even more pointed. He said the challenge is personal.
“It’s definitely personal,” Lampron said. “It’s just saying they’re tougher than us, and that’s just something we’re going to have to see when we get out there. I’m so excited for our guys to get this challenge and I know we’ve been working so hard this entire year, so I’m just excited to go out there.”
Colorado built plenty of its identity in the Coach Prime era around games that turned personal, and if that same edge shows up again on Thursday, the Buffaloes should have no trouble matching Georgia Tech’s intensity to open the season.
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Georgia Techs New Offense Faces An Immediate Test Against Colorado
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Alberto Mendoza is at the center of it all in his first official start, and the challenge goes beyond simply running the plays. His job will include managing pre-snap reads and checks, the kind of details that can determine whether a new system feels smooth or rushed in its first test. For Georgia Tech, the opener is less about proving the whole thing works right away than seeing how quickly the structure holds up when the bullets start flying. [Read more 🡒]