Georgia Tech-Colorado Week One Matchup Flexed To Thursday Night Primetime Game

Georgia Tech will face Colorado in week one and just like last season, they are going to do so in primetime

Aug 29, 2025; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Members of the Colorado Buffaloes line across from the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets during the fourth quarter at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Who is ready for another Georgia Tech-Colorado matchup in primetime in week one?

For the second-straight season, Georgia Tech and Colorado will open 2026 in the national spotlight, as the opener between the Yellow Jackets and Buffaloes at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field has been flexed to Thursday, Sept. 3. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN and kickoff time will be announced at a later date.

Big chance for viewers

Aug 29, 2025; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach Brent Key following the game winning touchdown by quarterback Haynes King (10) (not pictured) in the fourth quarter against the Colorado Buffaloes at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Georgia Tech opened the 2025 season with a 27-20 win at Colorado on the Friday night of Week 1 (Aug. 29). The Yellow Jackets’ triumph was watched by 3.74 million viewers on ESPN, which was ESPN’s ninth-highest viewership for any game during the 2025 regular season, and its second-most-watched weeknight broadcast of the season (Labor Day and Black Friday notwithstanding). The Yellow Jackets went on to be the Atlantic Coast Conference’s second-most-watched team in 2025 (33.8 million viewers in 10 games on Nielsen-rated networks) and ranked in the top 20 nationally in total viewership.

Georgia Tech also has a storied tradition of Thursday night games, especially under the Midtown Atlanta skyline at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. This season’s opener will be the Yellow Jackets’ 30th Thursday night home game since joining the ACC in 1983, and its 41st Thursday night game over in that 44-season span. The Jackets are 16-13 under the Thursday night lights on The Flats since ’83, including memorable wins over No. 16 Maryland in 1995 (31-3), No. 22 North Carolina in 2001 (28-12), No. 23 Miami in 2008 (41-23) and a thrilling 30-29 come-from-behind triumph over NC State in its most recent Thursday night game in 2024.

Last year’s season-opening victory over Colorado helped spur Georgia Tech to a 9-4 overall record (tied for the 10th-most victories in Tech’s 133-season football history) and No. 24 final national ranking. The Jackets rose to as high as No. 7 in the national rankings in ‘25 and were ranked in the final 14 national polls of the season, which is their longest streak since Tech was ranked in all 16 polls in 1999.

Georgia Tech also went 6-2 in Atlantic Coast Conference play in ‘25, which was good for a tie for second place in the 17-team conference. The Yellow Jackets are the only ACC team that has finished in the top four of the conference standings each of the last three seasons.

The Yellow Jackets and Buffaloes are going to look much different than when they last met. Who will come out on top?