Controversial Referee Decisions in Colorado vs. Georgia Tech Deserve Further Analysis

Colorado escaped Atlanta with a 14-13 win after two first-half rulings kept potential Georgia Tech takeaways off the board. Former NFL referee Terry McAulay explained why both remain debatable

Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes opened the season with a 14-13 win at Georgia Tech after two first-half officiating rulings drew scrutiny. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Georgia Tech safety Tae Harris was already in the end zone with an apparent fumble-return touchdown when the first major officiating argument of Colorado’s season began. Colorado running back Damian Henderson II lost the ball in traffic, Harris picked it up and ran it back, but officials ruled Henderson’s forward progress had stopped before the ball came loose.

The Colorado Buffaloes eventually left Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field with a 14-13 win Thursday night. Because the margin was one point, the Henderson play and a second-quarter replay reversal involving quarterback Julian Lewis were never going to disappear with the final whistle.

Terry McAulay, a three-time Super Bowl referee and NBC rules analyst, went on through both plays on X (formerly Twitter). His explanation of the first call was especially important because he did not simply argue that Georgia Tech’s touchdown should have counted. He said the ruling on the field determined what replay was allowed to do.

Terry McAulay says the first quarter call hinged on forward progress

Julian Lewis lost the ball on a second-quarter play that was initially ruled a fumble before replay changed it to an incomplete pass. | CU Buffs

The sequence started after Colorado recovered a Georgia Tech fumble at the Yellow Jackets’ 26-yard line. Henderson carried on the next possession, the ball came out, and Harris recovered before finishing the play in the end zone. The return never counted because the runner had been ruled dead.

“The Referee’s announcement is unclear, but it sounds like the runner was ruled down. If so, Replay should have reviewed. It’s obviously a fumble with a clear recovery by the defense who would be awarded possession at the spot of recovery,” McAulay wrote.

“If it was ruled the runner’s forward progress was stopped, then the play is not reviewable. The fact that the whistle was blown prior to recovery is irrelevant. If the official’s ruled it was an inadvertent whistle, Replay could review and award the ball to the defense.”

That distinction is what made the play confusing in real time. If officials ruled Henderson down before the fumble, replay could look at whether the ball came loose first because Georgia Tech has a clear recovery. If the ruling was forward progress, the potential fumble generally could not be created by replay.

The Referee’s announcement is unclear but it sounds like the runner was ruled down.

If so, Replay should have reviewed. It’s obviously a fumble with a clear recovery by the defense who would be awarded possession at the spot of recovery.

If it was ruled the runner’s forward… https://t.co/ybi9xwUyBw

— Terry McAulay (@tjmcaulay) September 4, 2026

McAulay also was not saying replay would have restored Harris’ return touchdown. Under the scenario he described, Georgia Tech would have been awarded the ball at the spot where Harris received it, and the advance after the dead-ball ruling would not have counted. Colorado kept possession instead and eventually was stopped on fourth and goal at the Georgia Tech 1.

Terry McAulay disagrees with replay on Julian Lewis’ second-quarter fumble

Sep 3, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach Brent Key during practice before the game at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The second controversy came with 2:03 left before halftime. Georgia Tech defensive end Brayden Manley pressured Julian Lewis at Colorado’s 25-yard line. The ball came loose; freshman defensive tackle Christian Speakman recovered it at the Colorado 17, and officials initially ruled it a fumble.

Replay changed the play to an incomplete pass. The ESPN broadcast said the ACC replay center has confirmed that Lewis’ throw was forward, which gave Colorado the ball back at its own 25 instead of giving Georgia Tech possession deep in Buffaloes territory.

McAulay, however, saw it differently after looking at other angles.

“This is a pass but other angles show the ball hit the ground behind the point of release making it a backward pass,” McAulay wrote. “Contact by the defender occurs after the passer lost control so that contact is irrelevant to the forward/backward ruling.”

The direction matters because a pass that first hits the ground behind the release point is backward and remains live. McAulay’s second point addressed Manley’s contact with Lewis. In his reading of the play, the defender arrived after Lewis had already lost control, so the contact did not turn the loose ball into a forward pass.

Under McAulay’s interpretation, Speakman’s recovery would have given Georgia Tech the ball at the Colorado 17. The official review produced the opposite result, and Colorado kept possession.

This is a pass but other angles show the ball hit the ground behind the point of release making it a backward pass.

Contact by the defender occurs after the passer lost control so that contact is irrelevant to the forward/backward ruling. https://t.co/t0UHe6bImg

— Terry McAulay (@tjmcaulay) September 4, 2026

Colorado Buffaloes still had to finish the game

The two rulings became larger because Colorado won by a point, but they do not explain everything that happened after them. Defensive coordinator Chris Marve’s unit held Georgia Tech to 51 rushing yards on 30 carries after the Yellow Jackets ran 47 times for 320 yards to win in Boulder last year.

Junior defensive lineman Lamont Lester Jr. recorded all three Colorado sacks of Georgia Tech quarterback Alberto Mendoza. Chris Marve’s defense also kept the Yellow Jackets’ offense out of the end zone. Georgia Tech’s only touchdown came on Rahkeem Smith’s 100-yard kickoff return.

Colorado then had to survive the final 1:40. With no timeouts, Lewis drove the Buffs 75 yards and found tight end Charlie Williams for a 20-yard touchdown in the final minute. Georgia Tech answered with a 42-yard completion from Mendoza to Dalen Penson, but defensive back Boo Carter came off the left edge and blocked Aiden Birr’s 45-yard field goal attempt as time expired.

“It looked like they were in man. We saw man. He tried to hold onto the tight end,” Lewis said. “Coach Marion beat them with the play, I beat them with the ball. It’s just how ball works. Charlie made a great catch, touchdown.”

Sep 3, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Colorado Buffaloes tight end Charlie Williams (87) reacts after the game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Terry McAulay criticized this matchup last season, too

McAulay was questioning an officiating decision involving these same programs 12 months ago, only that ruling went against Georgia Tech. With the2025 game tied 20-20 and 2:34 remaining, the Yellow Jackets were charged a timeout under college football’s injury rule after a player went down.

Georgia Tech went on to win that game 27-20, but McAulay criticized the Big 12’s handling of the stoppage. Deion Sanders and Colorado benefited from the two disputed rulings in this season’s rematch.

“The Big 12 doubles down on being ridiculously over officious regarding the new injury rule. Again, this player was clearly injured at the end of the play, and yet the offense was still charged a TO,” McAulay wrote at the time.

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