BOULDER — For the first time in the Deion Sanders era, Colorado is 0-1.

Thanks to a 45-yard touchdown run by Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King in the final minutes, the Buffaloes fell by a final of 27-20 in the 2025 season opener on Friday night at Folsom Field.

Without the stars of the last two years, Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders, CU wasn’t able to put enough points on the board to keep up with the talented Yellow Jackets rushing attack, losing the time of possession battle 32:23 to 26:33 and being outgained 463-294.

Here are three takeaways from the Buffs’ first home loss since Kansas State last October:

Georgia Tech dominates on the ground

The Buffs were not surprised by the Georgia Tech game plan. They knew the Yellow Jackets were going to lean on the standout backfield duo of quarterback Haynes King and running back Jamal Haynes, there was just nothing CU could do to stop it.

Georgia Tech amassed 320 yards on the ground on the way to controlling the game for much of the night, even if the Buffs were able to tie things up in the fourth quarter.

The Yellow Jackets did what they do best all night and rode their ground game to the game-winning score by King, who finished with 156 yards on his own.

Buffs fail to capitalize on early turnovers

It’s almost like Georgia Tech wanted to keep CU in the game early.

The Yellow Jackets coughed the ball up on their first three possessions (two fumbles recovered by linebacker Martavius French and one interception by DJ McKinney), but it only resulted in seven Buffs points.

Kaidon Salter and the offense quickly went down the field after the first fumble, scoring a touchdown on a five-play 36-yard drive that ended with an 8-yard pass from Salter to running back DeKalon Taylor. But that’s all the Buffs could do with those turnovers, and it led to a halftime deficit, rather than what should have been a halftime lead, despite the domination on the stat sheet by Georgia Tech.

CU special teams show promise

Notice anything Friday night?

No kickoff returns for either team. The Buffs’ long nightmare on special teams was solved for one night as Louisiana Tech transfer Buck Buchanan was a perfect 5-for-5 on touchbacks in his Buffs debut.

Also, Kansas transfer Damon Greaves did his part in the punting game with two punts of 50 or more yards and two inside the 20-yard line.