The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly From Georgia Tech's Win Over Colorado

• The resiliency the team showed after turning the ball over three times in the first three possessions was fantastic.

• The defense. After allowing a touchdown on Colorado's first drive, the Yellow Jackets' defense came up with several stops to keep them in the game. In the fourth quarter, they came up with a stop with the game tied 20-20, and after King's go-ahead touchdown run with 1:07 left. It was not perfect, but it was a good debut for Blake Gideon. They had six TFLs as well and one very big sack from Jordan van den Berg.

• Georgia Tech nearly averaged seven yards per play and 6.8 yards per rush.

• Aidan Birr 2-2 on his field goals

• Malachi Hosley (seven carries for 47 yards) and Bailey Stockton (4 catches for 48 yards) had underrated performances.

• Georgia Tech was 6-11 on third down.

• Haynes King’s 45-yard touchdown run with 1:07 to go lifted the Yellow Jackets to a season-opening 27-20 win at Colorado.
• With the win, Georgia Tech moved to 1-0 for the second-straight season.
• Georgia Tech moved to 91-38-4 (.699) all-time in season openers.
• Georgia Tech moved to 18-8 (.692) in season openers since 2000.
• Georgia Tech moved to 1-0 all-time versus Colorado.
• The win was Georgia Tech’s third-straight over a Big 12 Conference opponent (20-17 vs. UCF in the 2023 Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl and 66-24 vs. Kansas in 2011).
• Georgia Tech moved to 18-12 all-time against current members of the Big 12.
• Georgia Tech moved to 4-6 all-time and 2-3 in regular-season games in the Mountain Time Zone.
• The win was Georgia Tech’s first regular-season victory in the Mountain Time Zone since a 42-21 win at Air Force on Nov. 11, 1978, snapping a three-game losing streak in the regular season.
• Georgia Tech moved to 2-0 all-time in the state of Colorado.
• The win was Georgia Tech’s first regular-season non-conference win over a power-conference opponent since a 28-27 win at Georgia on Nov. 26, 2016.
• Georgia Tech held significant statistical advantages in total yards (463-305), rushing yards (320-146) and first downs (27-19).
• Georgia Tech turned the ball over three times on its first three possessions of the game (all in the first 7:56). Last year, the Yellow Jackets did not commit their third turnover of the season until their eighth game (Oct. 19 vs. Notre Dame).
• After turning the ball over on its first three possessions, Georgia Tech scored on five of its final seven possessions (three touchdowns, two field goals).
• Georgia Tech won its season opener on its final offensive play for the second-straight season. On Aug. 24, 2024, Aidan Birr’s 44-yard field goal as time expired lifted Tech to a 24-21 win over No. 10 Florida State in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin, Ireland.

• King rushed for 156 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries (8.2 avg.). It was his fourth 100-yard rushing game in 25 games at Georgia Tech.
• King’s 100-yard rushing/100-yard passing game (143 yards on 13-of-20 passing) is also his fourth as a Yellow Jacket and the 26th in Georgia Tech history.
• King’s three touchdown runs (4, 17, and 45 yards) matched his career high and gave him six games with multiple rushing touchdowns as a Yellow Jacket.
• King moved into sixth in Georgia Tech history for career rushing yards by a quarterback with 1,480.
• King moved into fourth in Georgia Tech history for career rushing touchdowns by a quarterback with 24.
• With 65 yards on 16 carries (4.1 avg.), Jamal Haynes moved into 16th in program history with 2,068 career rushing yards.
• Georgia Tech WR Malik Rutherford left the game after the first play, snapping his string of consecutive games with a reception at 29. It ends tied for the fourth-longest streak in Georgia Tech history and tied for the sixth-longest active streak in the nation.

The Bad

• Eight penalties. Georgia Tech does not commit a lot of penalties under Brent Key, but it made a few mistakes on Friday night.

• While the emphasis was clearly on running the football, it would have been good to see more explosive plays through the air. Malik Rutherford going down early in the game hurt that, but they will have to make more plays through the air against better opponents.

• The run defense was not always crisp. They allowed 4.7 yards per carry and 146 yards on the ground, with CU running back Micah Welch totaling 64 yards on 11 carries. It was not a terrible performance, but this is not the best running attack they will face this year.

• While GT was 3-3 in the redzone, two of those were field goal attempts. They need to convert more opportunities into touchdowns in future games.

• Only one sack by the defense. They did a solid job of containing Salter, but they to get more pressure on the quarterback.

• King's missed throw to Seither on 3rd and 16 late in the game. After a series of penalties backed up the Georgia Tech offense, King missed a wide open Seither. King was great in parts of this game, but he also missed some open receivers.

The Ugly

• Three turnovers on their first three possessions. Georgia Tech dominated the game statistically, but Colorado remained in the game because Georgia Tech gave them plenty of chances at the start of the game. The Yellow Jackets were one of the best teams in the country at not turning the ball over last season, but it was not a good start on Friday night. They will have to play a cleaner game if they want to hang around with Clemson in two weeks.

• Too many bad snaps. One led to a fumble and there a few others which could have led to one. That will need to be cleaned up heading into next week.