Georgia Tech is set to open the college football season as a road favorite when it travels to Colorado for a Friday night primetime game on August 29, conveniently enough against Coach Prime. While it’s great to see Deion Sanders well enough to coach the Buffs this season, it was clearly a very challenging and demanding offseason for his health. Combined with the fact Coach Prime also loses two of the best players in the country in Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders, there are a lot of unknowns with Colorado’s program at the moment.
Hunter and Sanders were able to make magic happen at times for the Buffs, but the reality is that they got by with a terrible offensive line and very suspect defense. Simply put, when Colorado didn’t have a massive game on offense, it lost. I don’t see how those monster offensive outputs continue in 2025. Obviously, the superstars depart, but the Buffs lose almost everything on offense, returning just three starters.
Sure, the defense brings back plenty of veteran talent, but this wasn’t a very good unit last season. Give the Buffs credit for leading the Big 12 in sacks, because if they didn’t, this defense would’ve been even further exposed. I doubt Colorado will be able to repeat the production from the defensive line, meaning a drop off could be coming. And when the offense isn’t putting as much pressure on the opposition, the defense is only going to be more heavily relied upon.
If I’m going to bet a road favorite in Week 1, it better be a good team. Sure, I’m fading Colorado here, but I also want to back what could be a very dangerous Georgia Tech team in the ACC. The Yellow Jackets are well coached by Brent Key, who returns a solid combination of veteran talent on both sides of the ball. The offense should be in particularly strong shape, with dual threat quarterback Haynes King back under center. Jamal Haynes also returns to lead a strong backfield, along with top pass catcher, Malik Rutherford. Tech lost some talent at wide receiver, but transferred in what should be seen as an upgraded unit.
Against a pretty soft Colorado defense, I expect the Yellow Jackets’ playmakers to be ready to go under the bright lights in Week 1. Meanwhile, we could be in for a more shocking drop off on offense than anyone is anticipating from the Buffs. As long as Georgia Tech can be solid defensively, it’ll have a chance to build up momentum and run away with a victory to start the season.
CFB Pick: Georgia Tech -4 (-112) 1-unit
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