The Colorado Buffaloes won a thriller on the road against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Thursday night to open the 2026 season, and their ground game is what stood out in the box score to head coach Deion Sanders.
“God, we rushed for 183 yards? My god, they rushed for 51? I thought we were small,” Sanders said before cackling during his postgame press conference, per DNVR Sports.
As Sanders alluded to, the Buffaloes tallied 183 yards on the ground, with Micah Welch rushing for 58 yards and one touchdown, Damian Henderson II totaling a game-high 65 rushing yards and JaQuail Smith registering 42 rushing yards of his own, among other players who got the ball in the Colorado backfield. Meanwhile, Colorado held Georgia Tech to just 51 rushing yards on 1.7 yards per carry.
Still, the Buffaloes needed late magic to get a road victory, with quarterback Julian Lewis leading a go-ahead, 75-yard touchdown drive with 1:40 remaining in the fourth quarter and no timeouts in Colorado’s pocket. After throwing for just 64 yards prior to the Buffaloes’ last possession, Lewis threw for 60 yards on the go-ahead drive, capped off by a 20-yard touchdown strike to tight end Charlie Williams with 37 seconds left.
Georgia Tech then made the Colorado faithful, which included wrestling legend Bill Goldberg, sweat, as quarterback Alberto Mendoza — the younger brother of Fernando Mendoza, the 2025 Heisman Trophy winner and the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft — completed a 42-yard pass to wide receiver Dalen Penson on the first play of the ensuing possession.
In the end, though, Colorado blocked a would-be, game-winning 45-yard field goal off the foot of kicker Aidan Birr as time expired to get a 14-13 victory. After the game, former Colorado star and current Cleveland Browns backup quarterback Shedeur Sanders — the son of Deion Sanders — was celebrating with the team and seen on the sideline talking to Lewis during the game.
Lewis, a five-star recruit in the Class of 2025, is in his first season as the Buffaloes’ full-time starting quarterback, with the still-18-year-old throwing just 94 passes in 2025.
As for the elder Sanders, he’s in his fourth season at the helm for Colorado, with the program coming off a 3-9 season and a combined 17-21 under him since 2023.
Next up for Colorado is its home opener against the Weber State Wildcats on Sept. 12, with the Buffaloes’ Big 12 opener coming on the road against the Baylor Bears on Sept. 26.
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