“T.I.P.S.” for CU at Georgia Tech

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Colorado v. Georgia Tech: “T.I.P.S.” for the 2026 Season Opener

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Welcome to the 18th season of my “T.I.P.S.” game previews (yes, CU at the Game has been around that long). Each week, usually on Wednesdays, I will be posting my predictions for CU’s upcoming game. My criteria for discussing the upcoming game are based upon the following: T-Talent; I-Intangibles; P-Preparation/Schedule and S-Stats.

Thanks to all of you for coming along for the ride … I look forward to your comments …

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Figuring out how a season opener will play out is always difficult, and it’s been no different for Colorado in the Coach Prime era:

— To open the 2023 season, in Coach Prime’s first game as CU’s head coach, the Buffs were 20.5-point underdogs to No. 17 TCU. The result? Colorado 45, No. 17 TCU 42.

— To open the 2024 season, the Buffs were 9.5-point favorites over North Dakota State, but were four yards short of an upset in a 31-26 victory.

— To open the 2025 season, the Buffs were 4.0-point underdogs at home to Georgia Tech, and lost, 27-20, on a 45-yard touchdown run by quarterback Haynes King with 1:07 to play.

This season opens with the Buffs again playing Georgia Tech, this time in Atlanta. The Yellow Jackets have been installed as a touchdown home favorite.

Which team will come out best prepared? Which team wants it more?

Let’s find out …

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“T.I.P.S” for Colorado at Georgia Tech – Thursday, 6:00 p.m., MT, ESPN

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T – Talent

Haynes King was the starter at quarterback at Georgia Tech for three seasons. Before that, King was a quarterback for Texas A&M for three seasons. So, yes, Haynes King was a pretty experienced quarterback, playing six collegiate seasons in all.

Last fall, Haynes King had 299 yards of total offense against CU – including 156 yards and three touchdowns rushing – in leading the Yellow Jackets to a 27-20 win over the Buffs.

This just in … Haynes King is no longer playing college football (at last check, we was a Carolina Panther).

King’s previously presumed successor, Aaron Philo, will be the starter for Florida this fall, with Philo following his offensive coordinator, Buster Faulkner, to Gainesville.

Enter Alberto Mendoza.

The younger brother of Heisman trophy winner Fernando Mendoza, Alberto already has a national championship ring, having been a backup for Indiana last fall.

Passed over in favor of TCU transfer quarterback Josh Hoover, Mendoza moved on from the Hoosiers to Georgia Tech. Against Colorado, Mendoza will be making his first collegiate start.

Mendoza did see in nine games in 2025 as the top backup behind his brother Fernando, though all in mop up duty. Alberto completed 18-of-24 passes (75%) for 286 yards, five touchdowns and just one interception in his nine games.

With a neophyte starter replacing a six-year starter at quarterback, look for Georgia Tech to lean on its rushing attack. Fortunately for Mendoza, he has a potential 1000-yard rusher to lead the offense. Running back Justice Haynes (yes, another Haynes) comes to Georgia Tech by way of Alabama and Michigan. Last season, before he was injured, Haynes rushed for 857 yards and ten touchdowns in just in seven games. Said one opposing ACC assistant coach: “Justice Haynes is a f—ing savage. I saw him his a guy and it was like two cars hitting each other. Great balance, great vision”.

The offensive line will have three new starters, but challenge to CU’s defense will be heading their way – right up the middle.

While Georgia Tech’s offense was prolific last season, its defense kept the 9-4 Yellow Jackets from achieving even loftier goals. The Yellow Jackets were 69th in scoring defense in 2025, and 92nd in total defense.

Georgia Tech is moving on to its fourth defensive coordinator in four seasons, with Jason Semore returning to Atlanta (Semore was on the staff when head coach Brent Key took over as interim coach in 2022). Semore promises an “attacking defense” (who doesn’t?), but only has three returning starters.

The Yellow Jackets, like almost everyone else, is relying heavily upon the Transfer Portal for an infusion of talent, with two three-year starters at linebacker, Kyle Efford and E.J. Lightsey, forming the backbone of the rebuilt defense. Former Buff Tawfiq Thomas may be a starter at defensive tackle.

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I – Intangibles

A chip on his shoulder … In the distant past (say, ten years ago), a non-conference home-and-home series could breed some extra incentive for the team which lost the first of the two games – especially if, like CU, one team lost the first game at home.

But, in the new world of college football, there isn’t that sort of rancor between non-conference opponents. Gone are the days when a team would graduate 20-25 seniors, have them replaced by 20-25 freshmen from the Recruiting Class, but have most of the roster returning from the previous season.

Truth is, the 2026 CU roster has very little resemblance to the 2025 roster, so there’s no point in using the 27-20 loss at home to Georgia Tech as a rallying cry for this week’s game.

Unless … you are Coach Prime.

This is not about Coach Prime returning to Atlanta, where he played for the Braves and the Falcons. This is about Coach Prime leading his team as a cancer-free, determined coach.

How much Coach Prime’s illness contributed to CU’s demise last season is anyone’s guess. His not returning to Boulder much of the summer, his battles with treatments, his pain … it’s all speculation as to whether those factors had much, if anything, to do with CU’s lack of production on the field.

Now cancer-free, two years removed from having Shedeur and Travis in his locker room, and one year removed from the drama of Shedeur’s NFL Draft/first NFL season, it’s all CU all the time for Coach Prime.

A proud and confident man, Coach Prime has been more energetic and engaged this off-season. He has had any number of opportunities to bow out of the coaching world these past two seasons, but he has stayed on.

Will his renewed focus will make a difference this fall? Will last season’s loss to Georgia Tech give Coach Prime extra incentive to get the 2026 season off to a good start?

TBD

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Inexperienced quarterbacks … Georgia Tech’s starting quarterback, Alberto Mendoza, will be making his first career start against Colorado. CU’s Julian Lewis, meanwhile, will be making his third career start.

Advantage, Colorado?

Perhaps.

Julian Lewis was a five-star recruit when he signed with the Buffs, but his head coach and offensive coordinator have spent a good portion of Fall Camp trying to dampen expectations.

Coach Prime: “One thing I don’t want to do is put added pressure on the [quarterback] position,” Sanders said. “He doesn’t have to be outstanding. I just want him to execute the play that’s called.”

Brenna Marion: “We’re gonna always manipulate the offense to what the quarterback can do well”, noting that Lewis was “fast enough” to become mobile when needed.

Damning with faint praise.

Yes, it makes sense for the coaches to not put to much weight on the shoulders of a still 18-year old quarterback. At the same time, there haven’t been stories out of Fall Camp that Lewis has mastered the offense, or that he has been a dominant performer in drills.

Reading too much into the tea leaves?

Perhaps …

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P – Preparation/Schedule

Future criteria … If you have been a longtime reader of the “T.I.P.S.”, you know that this section is devoted to determining whether one team has an advantage over the other based upon the timing and location of the upcoming game.

Factors include:

• Whether one of the teams is coming off of a bye week;
• Whether one of the teams is facing back-to-back road games;
• Whether one of the teams is coming off of a rivalry game, or has one coming up the following week;
• Kickoff time/Weather forecast

These factors will come more into play as the season progresses. For Week One, there is little to compare. Yes, it’s a Thursday night game, but neither team played last weekend.

Now, You can make an argument that Georgia Tech players may be looking past CU – at least a little bit. For starters, they beat the Buffs on the road last season, and this weekend’s game is at home. Plus, the Yellow Jackets have a big, ESPN Prime Time home game against No. 20 Tennessee next weekend, while CU will be returning home to play … Weber State.

If CU/Georgia Tech was being played on Saturday, I’d give the look ahead scenario more credence. But, with an extra two days to practice for the Tennessee game after facing CU, I can’t see the game against the Volunteers as being enough of a distraction to make a significant difference.

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Injury reports … This entry will be a fixture here on “T.I.P.S.” once we get to Big 12 conference play. This is the second season for which will be required to submit injury reports a few days before each game. With categories of “Out”, “Doubtful”, “Questionable”, and “Probable”, fans will be given at least a general feel for how a roster may be affected by injuries.

This rule won’t be in effect, however, until Big 12 play. For the Georgia Tech game, we know little about injuries.

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S – Statistics 

Do statistics matter? … Not as much as they used to, and certainly not when looking at last season’s stats for guidance for the upcoming year. With the Transfer Portal, teams have such new rosters year over year that it’s hard to predict what a team will do this year compared to last.

Once we get into the season, though, we can start to judge how well the Buffs are performing based upon their cumulative stats. For example, Coach Prime indicated this past off-season that he went looking for a new offensive coordinator who could give him 30 points per game. Brennan Marion fit that bill, and much has been made about how much better CU’s offense – which averaged 20.9 points per game last season – will be improved.

We’ll see.

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Watch the rushing yardage totals … While we don’t have any predictive stats to work from, there is certainly one in-game stat to track while watching the Buffs play Georgia Tech.

Rushing yards.

Georgia Tech’s head coach, Brent Key, is a former offensive lineman. His coaching philosophy is to control the ball, control the clock … and control the game.

Last season, Georgia Tech was 21st in the nation in rushing offense, gaining almost 200 yards per game … including 320 yards and three touchdowns on the ground against Colorado. With an inexperienced quarterback behind center and a potential 1,000-yard rusher behind him, you can expect the Yellow Jackets to keep the ball on the ground against the Buffs.

As for Colorado, you know that the Buff rushing attack has been somewhere between abysmal and pathetic in the Coach Prime era. The Buffs were 103rd nationally last season in rushing, and that was actually an improvement from the previous season (with Shedeur scrambling, improvising, and throwing the ball all over the lot in 2024, the Buffs were 8-0 in games when CU managed to even get to 50 yards rushing in a game).

Under new head coach Brennan Marion, CU’s version of the “Go-Go” offense is supposed to be heavily run dependent. UNLV set school rushing records with Marion at offensive coordinator, and the run game is being emphasized in Boulder this fall.

Want to judge how the CU/Georgia Tech game is going without looking at the score? Check out the halftime rushing statistics. If CU is close to – or even ahead of – Georgia Tech’s numbers, that bodes well for the Buff Nation.

If, however, it is looking like a repeat of last year’s game (320 rushing yards for the Yellow Jackets; 146 for the Buffs), it may be shaping up for another disappointing result for CU fans.

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Prediction … 

Last September, Colorado was a 4.0-point home underdog to Georgia Tech, which meant that Las Vegas considered the Yellow Jackets as being a touchdown better than the Buffs on a neutral field.

This September, Colorado is a 7.0-point road underdog to Georgia Tech, which means that CU is actually given a little bit better odds than last year.

Last September, Georgia Tech won, 27-20.

Buff faithful point out that it was a tie game late, with Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King wining the game with a 45-yard touchdown run with 1:07 to play.

Buff haters point out that Georgia Tech turned the ball over the first three times it had the ball against the Buffs, and still won the game.

My head tells me that CU has too many holes in its roster, especially along the defensive line, to be given the nod in this game. Georgia Tech loves to play smash-mouth football, and that goes right to CU’s weakest link.

But, at least for this week, though, I’m going with my heart over my head.

Last season, I predicted CU would upset Georgia Tech, and win at home, 27-23.

Maybe this time I’ll get it right.

Prediction … Colorado 27, Georgia Tech 23

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2025 Predictions … (Straight up: 9-3; Against the Spread: 8-4)                                                                                                    2024 Predictions … (Straight up: 10-3; Against the Spread: 10-3) …
2023 Predictions … (Straight up: 8-4; Against the Spread: 7-5) …
2022 Predictions … (Straight up: 10-2; Against the Spread: 9-3) …
2021 Predictions … (Straight up: 9-3; Against the Spread: 7-5) …

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This post, about the Georgia Tech game, from the 2026 Season, is filed under Article.
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