Georgia Tech football falls to Colorado in wild season-opening ending

Georgia Tech held a lead inside the final minute Thursday night against Colorado.

The Yellow Jackets couldn’t hang on — and for a moment, they still had a chance to win.

Colorado blocked Aidan Birr’s 45-yard field-goal attempt at the buzzer and the Buffaloes secured a 14-13 victory in front a stunned, sold-out crowd of 52,113 at Bobby Dodd Stadium.

“Whether we won the game or lost the game, there’s a lot of lessons and a lot of things we’ve got to get better at,” said Tech coach Brent Key.

The Jackets had previously dominated the second half.

Redshirt freshman Kevin Roche Jr. blocked Colorado’s fourth-quarter field-goal attempt and the Jackets extended their lead to 13-7 on a Birr field goal with 1:40 remaining.

Colorado quarterback Julian Lewis marched the Buffaloes for the go-ahead touchdown with 37 seconds remaining, connecting with tight end Charlie Williams from 20 yards out.

Lewis finished 14-of-27 for 124 yards.

The Jackets entered with new coordinators on offense and defense, a first-time starting quarterback in Alberto Mendoza and key contributors brought in through the transfer portal across the depth chart.

It looked as if Mendoza, the Indiana transfer, had his first signature moment with the Jackets.

After Colorado’s go-ahead touchdown, Mendoza found Dalen Penson on a 42-yard pass play to set up the potential game-winning kick.

It didn’t get past the line of scrimmage.

Mendoza finished 17-of-23 for 237 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. But the offense failed to score a touchdown and he also was sacked three times and fumbled an early exchange with Tre Maddox.

That led to Colorado taking a 7-0 lead with a 5-yard run by Micah Welch early in the second quarter.

Tech senior Rahkeem Smith answered Colorado’s score with a 100-yard kickoff return touchdown. Birr added a 22-yard field goal to give the Jackets the lead before halftime.