The Road Ahead To Georgia Tech: Presented By Progressive
September 02, 2026 | Football
How to watch, listen and follow along — plus five things to know — as the Buffs open the 2026 season in Atlanta
BOULDER – The Colorado football team opens the 2026 season on the road for the first time since 2023, meeting Georgia Tech on Thursday night at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta (6 p.m. MT, ESPN).
The 2026 season is the fourth of the Coach Prime Era. Thursday's game completes a home-and-home with the Yellow Jackets, who edged the Buffs 27-20 at Folsom Field in last year's opener on their way to a 9-4 season. Colorado and Georgia Tech remain linked by the 1990 shared national championship — the Buffs were the consensus champions, sweeping the AP, FWAA, NFF and USA Today/CNN polls, while Georgia Tech took the UPI coaches' poll by a single vote.
How To Watch, Listen And Follow
TV: The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN beginning at 6 p.m. MT. Matt Barrie, Chase Daniel and Paul Carcaterra have the call.
Radio: You can listen to the game on the Colorado Football Radio Network, Flagship 850 AM KOA Denver and SiriusXM 263 (App 972). Voice of the Buffs Mark Johnson, former CU head coach Gary Barnett and Bobby Pesavento are calling the action.
Live Stats: Follow every play in real time at cubuffs.com/livestats.
Social: Follow @CUBuffsFootball on Instagram, X, Threads, Facebook and TikTok for updates throughout the night.
Watch Parties: Join fellow Buffs at designated watch parties across the country. Click here for a list of participating locations in Colorado and beyond.
Postgame Press Conferences: Hear Coach Prime and Buffs players break down the game during their postgame press conferences, available on the official YouTube channel of Colorado Athletics, BuffsTV.
Five Things To Know
1 - Prime Staff: Coach Prime's staff for his fourth season is extraordinary. It includes over 250 years of coaching experience, 59 years of NFL playing experience and college playing experience at every level — junior college, FCS, Group of 6 and all four Power 4 conferences.
2 - Southern Accent: Colorado's roster carries a distinctly Southern accent. In all, 17 Buffaloes hail from the state of Georgia — more than any state except Texas — a pipeline headlined by second-year quarterback Julian Lewis and a Carrollton High School contingent that also includes his high school teammate Bryce Hicks and brothers Alex and Christian Ward. Thirty-three players are on the roster from Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Louisiana and Mississippi, and when Texas, Virginia and the Carolinas are folded in, the number jumps to 60, well over half the team. The 17 from Georgia get a homecoming right away when the Buffs open in Atlanta, where Lewis, Marietta native Kam Perry and the rest of the Peach State contingent return to their home state under the lights.
3 - 20 Honored: A total of 20 Buffaloes earned spots on national preseason watch lists, headlined by Lewis (Maxwell Award) and linebackers Gideon ESPN Lampron (Bednarik, Butkus) and Liona Lefau (Butkus) — Colorado is one of just eight programs with multiple Butkus selections. Danny Scudero and Kam Perry both landed on the Biletnikoff Award watch list, and defensive lineman Santana Hopper was named a first-team preseason All-American.
4 - Buffs In The League: A dozen Buffaloes who finished their college careers in Boulder are on NFL rosters or practice squads as the league opens its 2026 season, a group that runs from 10th-year cornerback Chidobe Awuzie (Ravens) and veteran defensive tackle Josh Tupou (Giants) to a second-year wave that includes Shedeur Sanders (Browns), Travis Hunter and BJ Green II (Jaguars), LaJohntay Wester (Ravens) and Jimmy Horn Jr. (Panthers). Jacksonville and Baltimore each carry multiple Buffs. And that is only the players who reached the NFL directly from Colorado — count those who spent time in Boulder before finishing elsewhere and the number climbs closer to 20. From the 2025 team alone, a dozen Buffs earned the right to continue their pro careers, most in the NFL.
5 - For Dom And Adam: Two quintessential Buffs from two different parts of the Colorado football program were lost this offseason. Quarterback Dominiq Ponder, who would have been in his third year with the program, passed away early on March 1, 2026, in a car accident. A Miami and Naples, Fla., native, Ponder played in two games during the 2025 season, making his college debut against Arizona. The Buffs will dedicate the 2026 season to Dom and wear DP 7 patches throughout the year. Adam Munsterteiger, publisher of BuffStampede.com who covered the Buffs for over two decades, passed away on May 19. Munsterteiger began covering the Buffs ahead of the 2003 season with a website that was at different times affiliated with 247Sports/CBS Sports, Rivals/Yahoo! Sports and On3.
The 2026 season is the fourth of the Coach Prime Era. Thursday's game completes a home-and-home with the Yellow Jackets, who edged the Buffs 27-20 at Folsom Field in last year's opener on their way to a 9-4 season. Colorado and Georgia Tech remain linked by the 1990 shared national championship — the Buffs were the consensus champions, sweeping the AP, FWAA, NFF and USA Today/CNN polls, while Georgia Tech took the UPI coaches' poll by a single vote.
How To Watch, Listen And Follow
TV: The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN beginning at 6 p.m. MT. Matt Barrie, Chase Daniel and Paul Carcaterra have the call.
Radio: You can listen to the game on the Colorado Football Radio Network, Flagship 850 AM KOA Denver and SiriusXM 263 (App 972). Voice of the Buffs Mark Johnson, former CU head coach Gary Barnett and Bobby Pesavento are calling the action.
Live Stats: Follow every play in real time at cubuffs.com/livestats.
Social: Follow @CUBuffsFootball on Instagram, X, Threads, Facebook and TikTok for updates throughout the night.
Watch Parties: Join fellow Buffs at designated watch parties across the country. Click here for a list of participating locations in Colorado and beyond.
Postgame Press Conferences: Hear Coach Prime and Buffs players break down the game during their postgame press conferences, available on the official YouTube channel of Colorado Athletics, BuffsTV.
Five Things To Know
1 - Prime Staff: Coach Prime's staff for his fourth season is extraordinary. It includes over 250 years of coaching experience, 59 years of NFL playing experience and college playing experience at every level — junior college, FCS, Group of 6 and all four Power 4 conferences.
2 - Southern Accent: Colorado's roster carries a distinctly Southern accent. In all, 17 Buffaloes hail from the state of Georgia — more than any state except Texas — a pipeline headlined by second-year quarterback Julian Lewis and a Carrollton High School contingent that also includes his high school teammate Bryce Hicks and brothers Alex and Christian Ward. Thirty-three players are on the roster from Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Louisiana and Mississippi, and when Texas, Virginia and the Carolinas are folded in, the number jumps to 60, well over half the team. The 17 from Georgia get a homecoming right away when the Buffs open in Atlanta, where Lewis, Marietta native Kam Perry and the rest of the Peach State contingent return to their home state under the lights.
3 - 20 Honored: A total of 20 Buffaloes earned spots on national preseason watch lists, headlined by Lewis (Maxwell Award) and linebackers Gideon ESPN Lampron (Bednarik, Butkus) and Liona Lefau (Butkus) — Colorado is one of just eight programs with multiple Butkus selections. Danny Scudero and Kam Perry both landed on the Biletnikoff Award watch list, and defensive lineman Santana Hopper was named a first-team preseason All-American.
4 - Buffs In The League: A dozen Buffaloes who finished their college careers in Boulder are on NFL rosters or practice squads as the league opens its 2026 season, a group that runs from 10th-year cornerback Chidobe Awuzie (Ravens) and veteran defensive tackle Josh Tupou (Giants) to a second-year wave that includes Shedeur Sanders (Browns), Travis Hunter and BJ Green II (Jaguars), LaJohntay Wester (Ravens) and Jimmy Horn Jr. (Panthers). Jacksonville and Baltimore each carry multiple Buffs. And that is only the players who reached the NFL directly from Colorado — count those who spent time in Boulder before finishing elsewhere and the number climbs closer to 20. From the 2025 team alone, a dozen Buffs earned the right to continue their pro careers, most in the NFL.
5 - For Dom And Adam: Two quintessential Buffs from two different parts of the Colorado football program were lost this offseason. Quarterback Dominiq Ponder, who would have been in his third year with the program, passed away early on March 1, 2026, in a car accident. A Miami and Naples, Fla., native, Ponder played in two games during the 2025 season, making his college debut against Arizona. The Buffs will dedicate the 2026 season to Dom and wear DP 7 patches throughout the year. Adam Munsterteiger, publisher of BuffStampede.com who covered the Buffs for over two decades, passed away on May 19. Munsterteiger began covering the Buffs ahead of the 2003 season with a website that was at different times affiliated with 247Sports/CBS Sports, Rivals/Yahoo! Sports and On3.
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