College Football HQ

A Top Week 1 College Football Game Has Been Rescheduled

A Week 1 battle between two teams with plenty to prove has been shifted up two days to a Thursday night kickoff.
Joe Cox|
Deion Sanders and Colorado moved a Week 1 battle against Georgia Tech up to a Thursday kickoff.
Deion Sanders and Colorado moved a Week 1 battle against Georgia Tech up to a Thursday kickoff. | Scott Galvin-Imagn Images

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Georgia Tech Yellow JacketsColorado Buffaloes

In terms of college football news for February, this may be as good as it gets: it's two fewer days to an intriguing college football matchup than was previously thought. One of the top Week 1 matchups got a rescheduling that shifted it up to a Thursday night kickoff in Week 1.

There are currently four games set for Week 0 kickoffs on August 29th, and now one of the top matchups for Week 1's September 5th kickoff will now take place on September 3rd. That makes six games set for Thursday night, but the new match-up is the only one that will pit two Power Four teams head-to-head.

Thursday Night Battle

Colorado and Georgia Tech got the bump up to Thursday night. The Big 12 vs. ACC battle will still be in Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta and will still be a battle of two teams that each have plenty to prove.

Georgia Tech and Colorado's 2026 Outlooks

Georgia Tech has now had three straight winning seasons under head coach Brent Key, including a nine-win campaign in 2025 that puts the Yellowjackets on the map to contend in the ACC and perhaps earn a College Football Playoff slot in 2026.

But the Yellowjackets do lose multi-year starter Haynes King, who was a remarkable dual-threat QB. Either Indiana transfer Alberto Mendoza or a series of other candidates including true freshman Cole Bergeron will take over the QB1 role at Tech.

Mendoza
Indiana transfer Alberto Mendoza might get the call as QB1 for Georgia Tech against Colorado. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Colorado's trajectory is far less secure. While Deion Sanders made the Buffaloes relevant in terms of news-gathering potential, the on-field results have been more uneven. The Buffs are 16-21 under Sanders and both his first season and his third season looked markedly different than the 9-4 campagin in between. So far the book on Sanders is that when his offense features two of the half dozen most elite players in college football, things are pretty good. When not, things are not.

Colorado is always active in the transfer portal, and Sanders has 43 incoming additions, some of whom are likely to shine. Grabbing Texas WR transfer DeAndre Moore was a master stroke and Tennessee safety transfer Boo Carter could be another day-one standout.

Both teams will need to grab an early win as each faces a challenging 2026 schedule. Colorado also plays at Northwestern in a pre-conference battle and has conference games including a home game with Texas Tech and a road trip to Arizona State.

Georgia Tech will play Tennessee in its second game and has its annual year-ending battle with Georgia on the non-conference slate. ACC games including road matchups at Pittsburgh and Clemson could be tough.

In any case, the battle for a Week 1 leg up just moved two days closer.

Moore
Texas transfer DeAndre Moore should give Colorado a top receiver in 2026. | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images
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Joe Cox
JOE COX

Joe is a journalist and writer who covers college and professional sports. He has written or co-written over a dozen sports books, including several regional best sellers. His last book, A Fine Team Man, is about Jackie Robinson and the lives he changed. Joe has been a guest on MLB Network, the Paul Finebaum show and numerous other television and radio shows. He has been inside MLB dugouts, covered bowl games and conference tournaments with Saturday Down South and still loves telling the stories of sports past and present.

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