Friday, August 29
Boulder, Colo.
6 p.m.
Colorado
vs
Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech Edges Buffs In Season Opener
August 29, 2025 | Football
BOULDER, Colo. — Colorado's season-opener came down to the wire Friday night at Folsom Field. The Buffaloes had the ball with a chance to tie in the final minute, but came up empty, falling to Georgia Tech, 27-20.
Colorado tied the game with a seven-yard scamper from Kaidon Salter to tie the game at 20-20 with 8:25 left to go in the game. Both teams traded punts on their next possession before Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King scored on a 45-yard rush with just over a minute remaining, putting the Buffs in comeback mode with 1:07 to play.
The Buffs' comeback ended in a Hail Mary attempt to Dre'lon Miller, but got swatted to the turf by a swarm of Georgia Tech defenders.
Georgia Tech totaled 320 yards rushing and 463 yards of total offense. King led the Yellow Jackets with 156 yards on 19 carries. He also threw for 143 yards.
"They ran for 320 yards. You're not gonna win with those statistics," head coach Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders said after the loss. "[We] tried many things. We tried blitzing, trying to fill every gap, but we couldn't get the job done. They were much more physical than we were. They were much more aggressive at times. We made some plays. We should have capitalized off some of the plays we made, but that first half, we didn't, and now we're playing catch-up aesthetically, and it's not like we were tricked or fooled or anything."
Salter, making his first CU start, led the Buffaloes' offense, completing 17-of-28 passes for 159 yards and one touchdown. He also added 43 rushing yards on 13 carries, scoring another touchdown on the ground. Micah Welch led the Buffs with 64 rushing yards on 11 carries while Simeon Price contributed 30 rushing yards on five attempts.
"I think we had success running the ball at times as well, but we missed a few plays that we should hit," Prime added. "I think you all saw that, but overall, man, you got to give them [Georgia Tech] credit. They played a heck of a game. (Haynes King) started off horribly, but he picked it right back up and did his thing, man. So, hats off to him. He led his team to a victory."
The Buffs' defense sent a message early on, forcing three Georgia Tech turnovers on its first three possessions. Martavius French recorded six tackles and recovered both fumbles. DJ McKinney picked off King on the Yellow Jackets' third possession and finished the night with four tackles. For McKinney, it was his third straight game with an interception, dating back to last season, tying the CU record for consecutive games with a pick.
Alejandro Mata was perfect in the kicking game, making both field goal attempts with a long of 42 yards and converting both extra-point attempts. Buck Buchanan, CU's new kickoff specialist, saw all five of his kickoffs result in a touchback. Last season, CU had just 15 touchbakcs on 76 kickoffs. Damon Greaves also had a solid night kicking, averaging 45.0 yards on five punts with three inside the 20, and two over 50 plus. He also had one punt inside the five and a close call that could've gone either way would've given him two inside the five, but was called a touchback instead.
"I'm optimistic on everything," Prime expressed. "The special teams were special. We have to do a better job offensively and defensively. We're definitely gonna be fine. I'm not concerned about that. And we could have won that game. It's not like we got our butts kicked, like we could have won that game. They ran the heck out of the ball. They did that. But we had opportunities. I'm pretty sure you guys are harping on the opportunities that we didn't take advantage of. So if we take advantage of those opportunities, I have a whole different mood up here right now. So we got to get that fixed, and we will get that fixed."
How it Happened
Colorado's defense got the Folsom crowd riled up on the game's second play, with King fumbling a handoff at the Tech 36-yard line.
Five plays later, Salter found DeKalon Taylor in the endzone on an 8-yard pass for the season's first touchdown.
Georgia Tech coughed the ball up twice more in the quarter, with another fumble and an interception thrown by King. Unfortunately, the Buffs couldn't capitalize on either turnover, coming up empty on both ensuing drives.
Tech cut into the CU lead early in the second quarter, capping off a 13-play, 84-yard drive with a 32-yard field goal. King handed the Yellow Jackets their first lead, 10-7, with a 4-yard rush to bookend an 80-yard drive.
The Buffs responded with an eight-play, 51-yard drive, highlighted by a 39-yard pitch and catch from Salter to Omarian Miller to put Colorado within range for Mata's 42-yard kick to tie the game at 10-10.
Georgia Tech hit a 43-yard field goal as time expired to take a 13-10 lead at the half.
The Buffs got the ball out to open the third quarter and picked up 22 yards on a Micha Welch run down the left side, marking the longest rush for Colorado on the night. The drive stalled and both teams forced punts before Mata covered on a 29-yard field goal to tie the game with six minutes left in the quarter.
King drove the Yellow Jackets back down the field, finishing off the drive with a 17-yard run to put Tech back in front in the final seconds of the quarter, 20-13.
Down seven at the start of the fourth quarter, the Buffs turned in their best drive of the night, eating up 6:49 on the clock with a 15-play, 75-yard drive, ending with a Salter 7-yard dash with 8:25 remaining.
The Buffs got a stop, forcing a Georgia Tech punt with 5:25 left, but couldn't do anything with the ensuing possession, giving the Yellow Jackets the ball back with 2:51 remaining.
King then led Georgia Tech on the decisive scoring drive. On 2nd-down-and-6 from the Colorado 45, he broke free down the right side, giving the Yellow Jackets the lead for good.
Up Next
Colorado returns to action Saturday, Sept. 6, hosting Delaware at 1:30 p.m. at Folsom Field.
Colorado tied the game with a seven-yard scamper from Kaidon Salter to tie the game at 20-20 with 8:25 left to go in the game. Both teams traded punts on their next possession before Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King scored on a 45-yard rush with just over a minute remaining, putting the Buffs in comeback mode with 1:07 to play.
The Buffs' comeback ended in a Hail Mary attempt to Dre'lon Miller, but got swatted to the turf by a swarm of Georgia Tech defenders.
Georgia Tech totaled 320 yards rushing and 463 yards of total offense. King led the Yellow Jackets with 156 yards on 19 carries. He also threw for 143 yards.
"They ran for 320 yards. You're not gonna win with those statistics," head coach Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders said after the loss. "[We] tried many things. We tried blitzing, trying to fill every gap, but we couldn't get the job done. They were much more physical than we were. They were much more aggressive at times. We made some plays. We should have capitalized off some of the plays we made, but that first half, we didn't, and now we're playing catch-up aesthetically, and it's not like we were tricked or fooled or anything."
Salter, making his first CU start, led the Buffaloes' offense, completing 17-of-28 passes for 159 yards and one touchdown. He also added 43 rushing yards on 13 carries, scoring another touchdown on the ground. Micah Welch led the Buffs with 64 rushing yards on 11 carries while Simeon Price contributed 30 rushing yards on five attempts.
"I think we had success running the ball at times as well, but we missed a few plays that we should hit," Prime added. "I think you all saw that, but overall, man, you got to give them [Georgia Tech] credit. They played a heck of a game. (Haynes King) started off horribly, but he picked it right back up and did his thing, man. So, hats off to him. He led his team to a victory."
The Buffs' defense sent a message early on, forcing three Georgia Tech turnovers on its first three possessions. Martavius French recorded six tackles and recovered both fumbles. DJ McKinney picked off King on the Yellow Jackets' third possession and finished the night with four tackles. For McKinney, it was his third straight game with an interception, dating back to last season, tying the CU record for consecutive games with a pick.
Alejandro Mata was perfect in the kicking game, making both field goal attempts with a long of 42 yards and converting both extra-point attempts. Buck Buchanan, CU's new kickoff specialist, saw all five of his kickoffs result in a touchback. Last season, CU had just 15 touchbakcs on 76 kickoffs. Damon Greaves also had a solid night kicking, averaging 45.0 yards on five punts with three inside the 20, and two over 50 plus. He also had one punt inside the five and a close call that could've gone either way would've given him two inside the five, but was called a touchback instead.
"I'm optimistic on everything," Prime expressed. "The special teams were special. We have to do a better job offensively and defensively. We're definitely gonna be fine. I'm not concerned about that. And we could have won that game. It's not like we got our butts kicked, like we could have won that game. They ran the heck out of the ball. They did that. But we had opportunities. I'm pretty sure you guys are harping on the opportunities that we didn't take advantage of. So if we take advantage of those opportunities, I have a whole different mood up here right now. So we got to get that fixed, and we will get that fixed."
How it Happened
Colorado's defense got the Folsom crowd riled up on the game's second play, with King fumbling a handoff at the Tech 36-yard line.
Five plays later, Salter found DeKalon Taylor in the endzone on an 8-yard pass for the season's first touchdown.
Georgia Tech coughed the ball up twice more in the quarter, with another fumble and an interception thrown by King. Unfortunately, the Buffs couldn't capitalize on either turnover, coming up empty on both ensuing drives.
Tech cut into the CU lead early in the second quarter, capping off a 13-play, 84-yard drive with a 32-yard field goal. King handed the Yellow Jackets their first lead, 10-7, with a 4-yard rush to bookend an 80-yard drive.
The Buffs responded with an eight-play, 51-yard drive, highlighted by a 39-yard pitch and catch from Salter to Omarian Miller to put Colorado within range for Mata's 42-yard kick to tie the game at 10-10.
Georgia Tech hit a 43-yard field goal as time expired to take a 13-10 lead at the half.
The Buffs got the ball out to open the third quarter and picked up 22 yards on a Micha Welch run down the left side, marking the longest rush for Colorado on the night. The drive stalled and both teams forced punts before Mata covered on a 29-yard field goal to tie the game with six minutes left in the quarter.
King drove the Yellow Jackets back down the field, finishing off the drive with a 17-yard run to put Tech back in front in the final seconds of the quarter, 20-13.
Down seven at the start of the fourth quarter, the Buffs turned in their best drive of the night, eating up 6:49 on the clock with a 15-play, 75-yard drive, ending with a Salter 7-yard dash with 8:25 remaining.
The Buffs got a stop, forcing a Georgia Tech punt with 5:25 left, but couldn't do anything with the ensuing possession, giving the Yellow Jackets the ball back with 2:51 remaining.
King then led Georgia Tech on the decisive scoring drive. On 2nd-down-and-6 from the Colorado 45, he broke free down the right side, giving the Yellow Jackets the lead for good.
Up Next
Colorado returns to action Saturday, Sept. 6, hosting Delaware at 1:30 p.m. at Folsom Field.
Players Mentioned
PK
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ILB
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P
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PK
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CB
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WR
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RB
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QB
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RB
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RB
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