Colorado football faces a tough season opener this year in what will be a national spotlight game on a Friday night at home against Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets are on the upswing, with back-to-back 7-6 seasons. Georgia Tech narrowly missed a major upset of rival Georgia on the road to finish the 2024 regular season, falling in overtime by two points.
Georgia Tech will be looking to make an early road statement against a Colorado team that won nine games a year ago, but is undergoing some major changes after losing two legends of the program in Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders. Deion Sanders won't have to wait long to find out what his team is about this season; Georgia Tech will tell him everything he needs to know.
One thing working in Colorado's advantage (not really) could be Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key being starstruck when he sees Coach Prime.
Brent Key paid Deion Sanders many compliments at ACC Media Days
Key spoke at ACC Media Days this week and mentioned how big a fan he was of Sanders growing up. Key was a two-sport athlete playing baseball and football in high school before playing offensive line for the Yellow Jackets in the late 1990s. He idolized Sanders and Bo Jackson, like so many from his generation.
"Hopefully -- I'll ask for [a] selfie pregame and shake his hand or I'll bring his rookie card out there with me and see if he'll sign it." Key said. "He's a legend of our game, so it's exciting all across the board."
I'm not sure we've ever seen a coach ask another coach pregame for his autograph, but most coaches didn't have the playing career Deion Sanders had, either. He's the greatest cornerback in NFL history, and one of the all-time great athletes ever.
Key was obviously joking, but he was also complimentary of the job Sanders has done in Colorado and mentioned how he hopes his program can take the kind of leap that Sanders led the Buffaloes to a year ago.
"We haven't arrived. We're not there yet," Key said. "So we look at every opportunity as a chance to improve as a team and get to what our goals are internally -- not externally, what the media thinks, but internally."
Coach Prime and Colorado will stand in Georgia Tech's way at Folsom Field, hoping instead to gain some early momentum and surprise the many who doubt their place as a legitimate contender in a post-Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders world.