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The Colorado Buffaloes took the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets down to the wire in their 2025 opener. With the gift of hindsight, it was an impressive showing from a Buffs team that won just three games against a team that was ranked as high as No. 7 in the AP Poll last season.
The Buffaloes also had home-field advantage in their 2025 opener, which they will be without in the coming campaign. As Colorado closes in on its most important season opener of the Coach Prime Era, there are three major aspects it must improve on to emerge victorious.
Applying pressure to the quarterback
The Buffaloes struggled in the pass rush all season in 2025, finishing with 13, the second-fewest in the Big 12. A major reason for that was their performance in the season opener.
Colorado failed to sack Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King in that game. What makes that even worse is the fact that Colorado’s secondary played a sound game. It limited King to 143 passing yards and no touchdowns, and cornerback DJ McKinney recorded his lone interception of the season off of him.
Yet, the Buffs pass rush couldn’t get to King, and he dominated the game in other aspects as a result. He became comfortable in the hostile environment of Folsom Field, and it allowed him and the Yellow Jackets to close out the game.
Integrity against the run
The lack of pressure allowed King to get his footing in the run game, overcoming his struggles through the air with a whopping 156 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. King gashed the Buffaloes’ defensive line from kickoff to the final whistle, wearing them down throughout the game and salting the game away in the fourth quarter.
But King wasn’t the only one to find success in the run game, as Yellow Jackets running backs Jamal Haynes and Malachi Hosley created an effective one-two punch. They combined for 112 yards and averaged 4.1 and 6.7 yards per carry, respectively.
King and Haynes have both left for the NFL, but Hosley will return to Georgia Tech in the coming season. Colorado has to win the battle in the trenches, and stopping Hosley is the crucial starting point.
Involvement of the receiving core
But Colorado’s defense wasn’t the only area of concern in its 2025 season opener. Colorado managed to score 20 points, but the air attack left much to be desired.
Wide receiver Omarion Miller led the team in receiving yards with just 39 on one catch. The Buffaloes’ lone receiving touchdown came from running back DeKalon Taylor, whose 38 yards were the second-most in the game.
Colorado desperately needs the receiving game to be a threat in 2026, as Georgia Tech was able to make it a non-factor in the Buffs’ comeback attempt last season. But with quarterback Julian Lewis at the helm of offensive coordinator Brennan Marion’s ‘Go-Go’ offense and a talented receiver core, their odds of improving on that front are high.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/colorado as Three Improvements Colorado Must Make to Beat Georgia Tech.
