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Friday Fast Facts – Georgia Tech Week
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Leading off …
— “T.I.P.S” … My weekly written preview, along with my predictions for CU’s 2025 season opener against Georgia Tech, can be found here.
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The Big Picture …
— Patience, people … CU opened the 2024 season with a 3-1 record, with wins over North Dakota State, Colorado State, and Baylor (and a loss to Nebraska). In all four games … the opposing team scored first. It wasn’t until Game Five, a road win over UCF, that the Buffs broke through and scored first;
— A perfect baker’s dozen … All 12 of CU’s regular season games last season were shown on national television (six by Fox, three on ESPN, one each for ABC, CBS and NBC), with the ABC telecast of the Alamo Bowl making CU a perfect 13-for-13 in national telecasts last fall. In 2024, the University of Colorado the only program in the country to have all 13 games shown on a national network;
ESPN has the coverage of the CU/Georgia Tech game. The Delaware game (Fox) and the contest against Houston (ESPN) will keep the streak alive. The September 20th game against Wyoming, while a sellout at Folsom, still doesn’t have a designated kickoff time or network coverage (both are controlled by Wyoming and the Mountain West);
— Tribute to Coach Mac … to honor Bill McCartney, the Buffs will wear throw-back uniforms, with gold helmets and pants, a “retro” black jersey and white socks. The Buffs will also wear “Coach Mac – 1982-94” patches;
— How many more sell outs? … As of this writing, the Georgia Tech and Wyoming games are the only two sellouts out of CU’s seven-game home slate. A quick look at the tickets available for the Delaware game (see available seats here) shows hundreds – if not several thousand – tickets left for sale;
— The ESPN Power Index … Favored the Buffs for most of the second half of last season, after listing CU as underdogs early on in a number of games. To open the 2025 season, despite CU being a 5.0-point underdog according to Las Vegas (up from 3.5-points at the open), the ESPN Power Index gives CU a slight 52.7% chance of winning, with Georgia Tech given a 47.3% chance at victory.
— The game will be telecast nationally by ESPN, with Dave Pasch on play-by-play, Dusty Dvoracek on color, and Taylor McGregor on the sidelines … 850 KOA radio will have Mark Johnson with the play-by-play, and former CU head coach Gary Barnett as the analyst.
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Player Notes …
— Hey, Don’t I Know You? … Hard as it may be to believe, Colorado has seen quarterback Haynes King before. In 2021, in a game played in Mile High Stadium, the Buffs played the Texas A&M Aggies. The starter for the No. 5 team in the nation, Haynes King had one completion on two pass attempts (for eight yards), with one carry for two yards, before leaving the game with an injury. The Buffs made a game of it, but ultimately fell, 10-7. (Texas A&M would go on to finish the season 8-4; the Buffs 4-8).
— Kaidon Salter and Haynes King have more in common than fans think … Salter is tied with Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik for the most total touchdowns since 2023, with 66 (47 passing; 19 rushing). Salter is second in the nation in rushing touchdowns by a quarterback over that span, with his 19 rushing touchdowns second only to the 21 rushing touchdowns posted by Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King (King is third in total touchdowns, with 62);
— Buffs are how old? … Colorado leads the nation with 38 players in the final year of eligibility, eight more than any other FBS team (Mississippi State and Oklahoma State each have 30). The CU roster has three seven-year players (tied for the nation’s lead), and 12 sixth-year players (second in the country).
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— Colorado and Georgia Tech – head-to-head
Colorado and Georgia Tech have never met on the football field. There is, of course, a “history” between the two schools, as the Buffs and Yellow Jackets shared the 1990 national championship.
On the evening of January 1, 1991, No. 1 Colorado defeated No. 5 Notre Dame, 10-9, in the Orange Bowl. Earlier in the day, No. 2 Georgia Tech defeated No. 19 Nebraska in the Florida Citrus Bowl, 45-21. For once, CU fans were cheering for Nebraska, so, naturally, Nebraska tanked the game, surrendering the most points ever given up by a Nebraska squad in a bowl game.
Bowl victories in hand, January 2, 1991, became a day of celebration in both Boulder, Colorado, and Atlanta, Georgia. The two major polls, the Associated Press poll of the nation’s sportswriters and the United Press International poll of college coaches, were split. The AP poll gave the national championship to Colorado; the UPI poll gave the nod to Georgia Tech.
The Associated Press poll was the fifth tightest in the 55-year history of the poll. Colorado received 39 of the 60 first place votes, while Georgia Tech received 20 and Miami one. Overall, CU received a total of 1475 poll points; Georgia Tech 1441.
In the United Press International poll, the margin was even slimmer. Georgia Tech received 30 first place votes to 27 for Colorado (and two for Miami). In the point totals, though, the Yellow Jackets just edged out the Buffs, 847-846. It was widely reported that the last coach to vote came in at 5:15 Eastern Time on January 2nd. At the time, the vote was dead even. At the time – and for decades afterword – Nebraska’s Tom Osborne refused comment as to whether his vote denied Colorado the consensus national title, but Missouri head coach Bob Stull, whose team had been victimized by the “Fifth Down” controversy, indicated that he had in fact voted for Colorado.
But, 35 years after the fact, Tom Osborne admitted he was one of the coaches who switched his vote to Georgia Tech, preventing his rival from being named a unanimous national champion.
From USA Today … Nearly 35 years later, former Nebraska coach Tom Osborne finally is willing to talk about which team he voted to win the national championship for the 1990 college football season.
Did he select Big Eight Conference rival Colorado as the nation’s No. 1 team after the Buffaloes beat Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 1, 1991?
Or did he instead coronate Georgia Tech, which beat his Nebraska team that same day in the Citrus Bowl?
Osborne, 88, discussed it by phone with USA TODAY Sports as Colorado and coach Deion Sanders prepare to face Georgia Tech in a season-opening game in Boulder on Friday, August 29th. It will be the first meeting of Colorado and Georgia Tech despite forever being linked by what happened in the voting for that national championship.
“If you wanted to know how I voted, I did vote for Georgia Tech,” Osborne said.
Osborne was seen as an important vote because his team was the only one that played both teams in the 1990 season. He previously has declined to talk about it publicly, even though many speculated he voted Georgia Tech No. 1, perhaps even to deny league foe Colorado of a national championship prize that he had had yet to win.
Osborne denies he did it to spite Colorado. “I would never do that,” he said.
… Continue reading story here …
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“We would like to have won it (unanimously)”, said Colorado head coach Bill McCartney upon returning home to Colorado, concluding that coming out on top of the majority of all of the polls was “good enough for us”. In all, Colorado finished first in the Associated Press poll, the USA Today/CNN poll, the National poll, and the Scripps Howard power rankings. Georgia Tech, meanwhile, bested the Buffs in the UPI poll and the Scripps Howard writers poll.
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— Colorado and Georgia Tech … historical
— In the 12 statistical categories tracked by Winsipedia, Colorado leads in seven, while Georgia Tech leads in five.
— Both schools have been playing football since the 1890s. Georgia Tech has the edge in all-time wins (763 to 732) and all-time winning percentage (.580 to .570). The Yellow Jackets built up a nice lead in both categories when Georgia Tech was coached by John Heisman (yes, that John Heisman) between 1904-17. During that span, Georgia Tech went 102-29-7, winning the national championship in 1917.
— On CU’s side of the ledger … the Buffs have the advantage in categories such as consensus All-Americans (33 to 22), NFL draft picks (293-221), and weeks spent in the AP poll (316 to 307).
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— Colorado and Georgia Tech … Notes and Numbers
— Georgia Tech started out as Georgia School of Technology, switching to the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1948. The school fight song, “The Rambling Wreck from Georgia Tech” is based on the older English and Scottish drinking song, “Son of a Gambolier”. The “Ramblin’ Wreck” mascot is a 1930 Ford Model A Sport Coupe, which has been the school’s official mascot since 1961;
— The aforementioned John Heisman was Georgia Tech’s head coach in 1916, when the Yellow Jackets posted the most lopsided win in college football history, defeating Cumberland, 222-0. Why the rout? Heisman said he intended the victory to belittle the sportswriters who focused on the number of points scored instead of the skill of the players, and also to get even with Cumberland for defeating his baseball team by using ringers;
— During the Heisman era, Georgia Tech picked up the nickname “Golden Tornadoes” … but the nickname didn’t last. In addition to the “Yellow Jackets”, Georgia Tech teams have also been known as the “Engineers” and “Blacksmiths” The Yellow Jacket mascot, who looks like a bumblebee, is known as “Buzz”.
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Big 12 Notes …
— Four Big 12 teams ranked … The Big 12 Conference placed four football programs in the Associated Press Preseason Top 25 with Arizona State as its highest ranked team at No. 11. Kansas State (17th), Iowa State (22nd) and Texas Tech (23rd) rounded out the league’s ranked teams with another five schools receiving votes. BYU, Utah and Baylor were the top three teams receiving votes, while TCU and Colorado rounded out the Big 12 representatives in receiving votes.
- Arizona State received its highest preseason ranking from the AP since opening the 1998 season in eighth.
- K-State is ranked in the Preseason AP Top 25 for a third consecutive season for the first time since the 1999, 2000 and 2001 seasons.
- Iowa State opens the season at No. 22 and has now been ranked in 15 of the last 16 AP polls.
- Texas Tech was voted into the AP Preseason Top 25 for the first time since 2008.
— Big 12 This-and-That … All 16 teams of the Big 12 are in action this weekend, with Utah (at UCLA) and TCU (at North Carolina) the only road teams (Cincinnati will play a neutral site game – at Kansas City – against Nebraska). Other notes …
- Saturday’s meeting between Arizona and Hawai’i will be the Big 12’s first game of its TNT partnership;
- With the Big 12’s three quarterbacks who played in Week Zero (KSU’s Avery Johnson; KU’s Jalon Daniels; ISU’s Rocco Becht) combining for seven scores and no interceptions, the Big 12 passers have a nation-leading aggregate passer rating of 165.6;
- Week One will feature Big 12 teams playing on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Monday (see games, below)
— Big 12 lines … From Draftkings.com …
Thursday, August 28th
- Jacksonville State at UCF … 5:00 p.m., MT, ESPN+ … UCF a 16.5-point favorite …
- UT Martin at Oklahoma State … 5:30 p.m., MT, ESPN+ … Oklahoma State is a 22.5-point favorite …
- Stephen F. Austin at Houston … 6:00 p.m., MT, ESPN+ … Houston is a 22.5-point favorite …
- Nebraska v. Cincinnati (Kansas City) … 7:00 p.m., MT, ESPN … Cincinnati is a 6.5-point underdog …
Friday, August 29th
- Wagner at Kansas … 5:30 p.m., MT, ESPN+ … no line
- Auburn at Baylor … 6:00 p.m., MT, Fox … Baylor is a 2.5-point underdog …
- Georgia Tech at Colorado … 6:00 p.m., MT, ESPN … Colorado is a 5.0-point underdog …
Saturday, August 30th
- Robert Morris at West Virginia … 12:00 p.m., MT, ESPN+ … no line
- South Dakota at Iowa State … 1:30 p.m., MT, Fox … Iowa State is a 15.5-point favorite …
- North Dakota at Kansas State … 5:00 p.m., MT, ESPN+ … Kansas State is a 28.5-point favorite …
- Arkansas Pine-Bluff at Texas Tech … 5:30 p.m., MT, ESPN+ … no line
- Portland State at BYU … 6:00 p.m., MT, ESPN+ … BYU is a 35.0-point favorite
- Northern Arizona at Arizona State … 8:00 p.m., MT, ESPN+ … Arizona State is a 28.5-point favorite …
- Hawai’i at Arizona … 8:30 p.m., MT, TNT … Arizona is a 13.5-point favorite …
- Utah at UCLA … 9:00 p.m., MT, Fox … Utah is a 6.5-point favorite …
Monday, September 1st
- TCU at North Carolina … 6:00 p.m., MT, ESPN … TCU is a 3.5-point favorite …
Idle: None
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4 Replies to ““Friday” Fast Facts – Georgia Tech”
Toms reasoning for voting for GT over Colorado????? 5th down and they played both head to head. Look the 5th down game happened but its aways too simplistic to just the Buffs won because of that. People never think of game theory in terms of how a team would play that scenario if the downs were properly counted. But yes we struggled against nebraska more than GT did in their bowl game. Maybe because Nebraska was still in a national championship hunt and was more focused against us. Maybe its because CU played nebraska in a true road game in miserable conditions where once the field dried up CU dropped 27 points in a blink of an eye. Georgia Tech played Nebraska in ideal conditions in florida sunshine on a neutral field against a Nebraska team that didnt care anymore. Dr Tom couldnt stand the fact that Bill McCartney was about to win a national championship before him and I just flat out dont believe him when he said he wasnt spiteful. Go Buffs.
Agree on the spite. I heard that Osborne went around the conference before the season started asking everyone to vote for Nebraska as they were highly ranked at the time. That being true it was nothing more than hypocritic turncoat move. After all this is a guy who sheltered a criminal on his team and I believe hid his weapon.
In fairness there it was the Nebraska athletic director not Osborne that said that. But i still think for the image of credibility the AD needed to get that point across to his head football coach. Made Nebraska look hypocritical and petty.
They ARE hypocritical and petty. Devanney and Osborne are two kernels in the same rotten cob and they can both GFT. the cornholers had several top players suspended in a meaningless (to them bowl game). The disingenuousness is palpable. Bobby Ross the coach of GT would not say if he voted CU second, but Mac did vote GT second. As much controversy as there is with the CFP setup, at least the Natty is settled on the field.