Buffs? Physical? "I Thought We Were Small"
September 05, 2026 | Football
BOULDER — Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders opened his postgame press conference with the box score, not a greeting.
"God, we rushed for a buck 83," he said. "My God. They rushed for 51. I thought we were small."
Then he was asked about the biggest man on the field, and the answer explained the rest. Chauncey Gooden, Colorado's second-year offensive lineman, played both ways in the Buffs' 14-13 win over Georgia Tech at Bobby Dodd Stadium — the fourth player to do it under Coach Prime, after Travis Hunter, Isaiah Hardge and Tyler Brown. Coach Prime said the defensive snaps were earned on the other side of the ball.
"Chauncey is a dawg out there, man," Coach Prime said. "When you see some of his cut-ups from the game and what he did offensively to them, you understand why I allow him to play defense, and that was our idea: You're not going to play defense unless you're whooping the guy in front of you on offense. And he was. And when he got in there on defense, he did his job."
The size question had followed Colorado all through fall camp — every week, in one form or another, the Buffs heard they were undersized with the looming threat of a Georgia Tech team that runs the ball behind a head coach who, in Coach Prime's words, "don't play about the front." The answer was 49 carries for 183 yards, 34:09 of possession, and a defense that held the Yellow Jackets to 51 yards on 30 rushes — 1.7 per carry, four rushing first downs, nothing longer than 11.
"You're talking about another team that's also a physical team," Coach Prime said. "So to go out there and do this when you guys was talking about the run, and we're a small team — which I don't know where that came from — but you're certainly happy with the results."
The rush defense number deserves its own line. A year ago Colorado ranked 133rd nationally against the run, allowing 222.5 yards per game; Georgia Tech ranked 21st in rushing offense at 197.5. Thursday night, 51. The defense did not surrender a touchdown, either — the Yellow Jackets' only one came on a kickoff return — and their two scoring drives from scrimmage ended in field goals.
On the other side, the identity was not subtle. Julian Lewis threw for 124 yards, and for long stretches Colorado did not ask him for more. Its longest possession, a 17-play, 61-yard march that ate 9:07 across the third and fourth quarters, featured 15 consecutive rushing plays after an opening completion. Five running backs carried: Damian Henderson II 12 times for 65 yards, Micah Welch 13 for 58 and the game's first touchdown, JaQuail Smith 10 for 42, DeKalon Taylor four for 22 and Richard Young three for 10.
"What happens when the passing game is not working?" Coach Prime said. "You got to go with what you know. We know we're big up front. We know we could be physical. We know these guys can move bodies. So that's what we went with. Thank God."
He said the depth chart at running back is still a matter of trust, and that two of the backs — the ones who wear 20 and 29, Taylor and Welch — have already earned his.
"You got to understand, like 20 and 29, I know, so I trust them," Coach Prime said. "I know under pressure what they're going to do. The other guys are new to me, so it takes a minute for me to build that trust and that understanding of what they got. And several of them played. Shoot, they played some good football today. Physical, elusive."
Gooden was not the only one making a case up front. Coach Prime acknowledged the defensive line was short-handed and said the Buffs rotated liberally at tackle. Lamont Lester Jr., the third-year lineman who arrived from Monmouth, had all three of Colorado's sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss. Coach Prime learned the total at the podium.
"I didn't even know," he said. "That's good."
He had more to say about where Lester came from.
"A lot of these guys are great players where they came from," Coach Prime said. "That's why we got them. And just because a guy played at a school, you don't give him the credit that he deserves. Sometimes a smaller school. But football is football to me. I don't give a darn who's out there on the other side. Football's football. Like, you can watch a film and say that guy can play. I don't care who he's playing against. I don't care if it's the SEC, ACC or what."
The linebackers rotated three deep as well. Randon Fontenette led the team with eight tackles, Gideon Lampron and Liona Lefau had seven apiece, and Toby Anene added a tackle for loss and two quarterback hurries. Coach Prime credited defensive coordinator Chris Marve.
"It says a lot about Marve and who he is and what he is and how he is, and how he's relatable to these young men and how they really want to fight and play for him," Coach Prime said. "And how smart and intelligent he is playing situational football, doing some things that we knew they would do. We surrendered a few big plays that we shouldn't have, but we'll get that fixed."
The big plays were mostly not from scrimmage. Besides the kickoff return, Georgia Tech's field goals were set up in part by a punt-return roughness penalty and a 42-yard completion with 37 seconds left, and Colorado had a 38-yard field goal blocked at the end of its 17-play drive. Coach Prime counted three of the Buffs' six penalties on special teams — a number the play-by-play supports — and was not inclined to let the statistics wash it.
"It's effort plays," he said. "Like when they're blocking a field goal and they run a kickoff back for a touchdown, that's straight effort, because you have the correct personnel, because you go over it over and over and over and over. And I do that myself."
The unit's last play answered the first two: Boo Carter's block of a 45-yard field goal as time expired.
Coach Prime said he was leaving Atlanta satisfied with the parts of the game that were about strength, and not satisfied with the rest.
"God, we rushed for a buck 83," he said. "My God. They rushed for 51. I thought we were small."
Then he was asked about the biggest man on the field, and the answer explained the rest. Chauncey Gooden, Colorado's second-year offensive lineman, played both ways in the Buffs' 14-13 win over Georgia Tech at Bobby Dodd Stadium — the fourth player to do it under Coach Prime, after Travis Hunter, Isaiah Hardge and Tyler Brown. Coach Prime said the defensive snaps were earned on the other side of the ball.
"Chauncey is a dawg out there, man," Coach Prime said. "When you see some of his cut-ups from the game and what he did offensively to them, you understand why I allow him to play defense, and that was our idea: You're not going to play defense unless you're whooping the guy in front of you on offense. And he was. And when he got in there on defense, he did his job."
The size question had followed Colorado all through fall camp — every week, in one form or another, the Buffs heard they were undersized with the looming threat of a Georgia Tech team that runs the ball behind a head coach who, in Coach Prime's words, "don't play about the front." The answer was 49 carries for 183 yards, 34:09 of possession, and a defense that held the Yellow Jackets to 51 yards on 30 rushes — 1.7 per carry, four rushing first downs, nothing longer than 11.
"You're talking about another team that's also a physical team," Coach Prime said. "So to go out there and do this when you guys was talking about the run, and we're a small team — which I don't know where that came from — but you're certainly happy with the results."
The rush defense number deserves its own line. A year ago Colorado ranked 133rd nationally against the run, allowing 222.5 yards per game; Georgia Tech ranked 21st in rushing offense at 197.5. Thursday night, 51. The defense did not surrender a touchdown, either — the Yellow Jackets' only one came on a kickoff return — and their two scoring drives from scrimmage ended in field goals.
On the other side, the identity was not subtle. Julian Lewis threw for 124 yards, and for long stretches Colorado did not ask him for more. Its longest possession, a 17-play, 61-yard march that ate 9:07 across the third and fourth quarters, featured 15 consecutive rushing plays after an opening completion. Five running backs carried: Damian Henderson II 12 times for 65 yards, Micah Welch 13 for 58 and the game's first touchdown, JaQuail Smith 10 for 42, DeKalon Taylor four for 22 and Richard Young three for 10.
"What happens when the passing game is not working?" Coach Prime said. "You got to go with what you know. We know we're big up front. We know we could be physical. We know these guys can move bodies. So that's what we went with. Thank God."
He said the depth chart at running back is still a matter of trust, and that two of the backs — the ones who wear 20 and 29, Taylor and Welch — have already earned his.
"You got to understand, like 20 and 29, I know, so I trust them," Coach Prime said. "I know under pressure what they're going to do. The other guys are new to me, so it takes a minute for me to build that trust and that understanding of what they got. And several of them played. Shoot, they played some good football today. Physical, elusive."
Gooden was not the only one making a case up front. Coach Prime acknowledged the defensive line was short-handed and said the Buffs rotated liberally at tackle. Lamont Lester Jr., the third-year lineman who arrived from Monmouth, had all three of Colorado's sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss. Coach Prime learned the total at the podium.
"I didn't even know," he said. "That's good."
He had more to say about where Lester came from.
"A lot of these guys are great players where they came from," Coach Prime said. "That's why we got them. And just because a guy played at a school, you don't give him the credit that he deserves. Sometimes a smaller school. But football is football to me. I don't give a darn who's out there on the other side. Football's football. Like, you can watch a film and say that guy can play. I don't care who he's playing against. I don't care if it's the SEC, ACC or what."
The linebackers rotated three deep as well. Randon Fontenette led the team with eight tackles, Gideon Lampron and Liona Lefau had seven apiece, and Toby Anene added a tackle for loss and two quarterback hurries. Coach Prime credited defensive coordinator Chris Marve.
"It says a lot about Marve and who he is and what he is and how he is, and how he's relatable to these young men and how they really want to fight and play for him," Coach Prime said. "And how smart and intelligent he is playing situational football, doing some things that we knew they would do. We surrendered a few big plays that we shouldn't have, but we'll get that fixed."
The big plays were mostly not from scrimmage. Besides the kickoff return, Georgia Tech's field goals were set up in part by a punt-return roughness penalty and a 42-yard completion with 37 seconds left, and Colorado had a 38-yard field goal blocked at the end of its 17-play drive. Coach Prime counted three of the Buffs' six penalties on special teams — a number the play-by-play supports — and was not inclined to let the statistics wash it.
"It's effort plays," he said. "Like when they're blocking a field goal and they run a kickoff back for a touchdown, that's straight effort, because you have the correct personnel, because you go over it over and over and over and over. And I do that myself."
The unit's last play answered the first two: Boo Carter's block of a 45-yard field goal as time expired.
Coach Prime said he was leaving Atlanta satisfied with the parts of the game that were about strength, and not satisfied with the rest.
Players Mentioned
DE
/ Football
OG
/ Football
DB
/ Football
DB
/ Football
OL
/ Football
WR
/ Football
RB
/ Football
LB
/ Football
DL
/ Football
QB
/ Football
RB
/ Football
RB
/ Football
RB
/ Football
RB
/ FootballSaturday, September 05
Friday, September 04
Friday, September 04
Friday, September 04
