Biggest Winners and Losers From Georgia Tech's 14-13 Loss To Colorado

Who stood out the most from last night's loss to Colorado?

Sep 3, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets wide receiver Jordan Allen (4) makes a catch against the Colorado Buffaloes during the second half at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Georgia Tech dropped its first game of the season vs Colorado after suffering a 14-13 defeat. Today we're looking at the biggest winners and losers from Thursday night's loss.

Biggest Winners 

Tae Harris 

Probably the biggest winner of them all was Harris. He was easily the best defensive player for the Yellow Jackets on Thursday night. He made several plays and was all around the ball. Harris finished with nine tackles and even had a fumble return for a touchdown, but it was overturned earlier in the game. Georgia Tech hasn’t had a safety of this caliber in quite a long time who can play anywhere and make plays whether it is blitzing, playing in the box, or covering at a high level. He was matched up with speedy slot receivers and tight ends throughout the game and didn’t give up a big play in coverage. This will be valuable moving forward. After playing a reserve role as a freshman, Harris showed he can be a difference-maker defensively and one the Yellow Jackets can lean on. 

Jordan Allen

It was an up-and-down night for Allen on Thursday night, with a couple of fumbles, a drop, and being down on the ground a few times after big hits. However, he improved as the game went on and became a factor in the passing game for the Yellow Jackets, especially in the second half. His connection with Alberto Mendoza was clear and helped the offense get things going in the fourth quarter. He was definitely a drive starter and a go-to player. Allen finished with eight catches for 113 yards. If he can clean up some of the small things, he has a chance to have a big year on the Flats. 

Kevin Roche Jr 

Roche Jr followed up a strong spring and fall camp and was a factor in multiple phases of the game. On special teams, he came up with a huge field goal block that looked to give the Yellow Jackets the knockout blow if they could have scored a touchdown on the ensuing possession. His field goal block prevented Colorado from tying the game. On offense, Mendoza began to look for him more and more as the game dwindled, and he showed up ready to go. Roche Jr finished with four catches for 37 yards. The future is bright for him, and he showed in this new era of the Yellow Jackets that he can be a factor in multiple facets of the game. 

Alberto Mendoza 

While the offense struggled and was inconsistent on Thursday night, Mendoza kept coming up with big plays and didn't get rattled despite facing a lot of pressure. He was sacked three times by Lamont Lester Jr. It didn’t matter. He continued to deal. One of his best plays of the night came on a 3rd and long. Mendoza had to buy some time, improvise, and avoid multiple defenders in the process. He did, finding Jordan Allen for a long reception that got the Yellow Jackets to the goal line. That play was a glimpse into his ability and what he can do when he has the chance. Mendoza finished 17-for-23 for 237 yards and a 160.5 passer rating. 

Losers 

Offensive Line 

Collectively as a unit, the Georgia Tech offensive line simply didn’t get it done. The Yellow Jackets only had 51 net rushing yards on the ground. The rushing attack was supposed to be the strength of this team, but instead it was a weakness. It took Justice Haynes 19 carries to get 84 yards. Simply put, the push upfront just wasn’t there, and there were not enough open holes for the running backs to run through. They had to make multiple defenders miss to have a chance in the run game. Also, the offensive line didn’t do a good job protecting their quarterback, who was sacked three times, all by the same player. They got pushed around and didn’t assert their dominance on Thursday night, which is something we are used to seeing. 

"I wouldn't say concerning is the right word. To me concerning means you can't fix it. It can't be fixed. There were a couple of drives in the second quarter where I thought a couple of the guys on the D-line got knocked off the ball. The number of times that we tried to make a play instead of doing our job, we busted a gap. How many times did you guys see, and I'm sure the same as me, the time that we weren't down in our stance on the defensive line waiting for the call? Concerning means probably to me that it can't be fixed. I don't have a crystal ball, but I'm still bullish on this team. I'm very confident in this football team,” said Key. 

Georgia Tech Run Defense 

The Yellow Jackets gave up a total of 183 rushing yards on Thursday night. The yards were evenly split between Damian Henderson, Micah Welch, and Jaquail Smith. At one point, Colorado ran the ball exclusively, daring the Georgia Tech defense to stop them. While no one reached 100 yards, Georgia Tech still gave up gaping holes, and the offense moved the sticks to put the team in a good position. Henderson II was the most efficient, averaging 5.4 yards per carry, followed by Welch at 4.5 and Smith at 4.2. This was expected to be fixed in 2026. The linebackers played much better, but the front four couldn’t stop the run consistently.