Deion Sanders watches his team seize a much-needed moment in thriller over Georgia Tech

Deion Sanders watches his team seize a much-needed moment in thriller over Georgia Tech

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Deion Sanders watches his team seize a much-needed moment in thriller over Georgia Tech
Deion Sanders

Deion Sanders watches his team seize a much-needed moment in thriller over Georgia Tech originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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ATLANTA – Deion Sanders knows about moments. He had plenty in this city as a member of the Falcons and Braves. Thursday night, he saw his quarterback have a moment, then his team have a moment, and then his family have a moment.

“A moment could change everything, man,” a smiling Coach Prime said in his postgame press conference Thursday night after a 14-13 win over Georgia Tech that came down to the game’s final play. “And I'm proud of the kid because he didn't shrink in that moment. He didn't shrink. He stood up and did his thing.”

The ‘he’ Sanders was referring to was quarterback Julian Lewis, a former four-star QB who is in his first year for the Buffs as a full-time starter. He was back in his hometown of Atlanta to kick off his second season, and things did not go well for a majority of the game. Fumbled snaps, overthrown balls, dropped passes. The CU staff seemed to want to keep the ball out of his hands in the fourth quarter, running 10 straight times at one point that led to a third-and-12 where the Buffs … ran it again, and then missed a field goal.

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But after Georgia Tech pushed a 10-7 lead to 13-7 with under two minutes to play, the game was back on Lewis’ right arm. And he was ready for the moment.

“At halftime, I addressed it in front of the whole team,” Sanders said of Lewis’ play. “You that man. We believe in you. Let’s go. I challenged him in front of the whole team and he went and did his thing.”

Lewis was 10 for 21 for 64 yards before taking over at his own 25 yard line with 1:40 to play and no timeouts. He completed a gorgeous 16-yard pass to Joseph Williams on 3rd-and-11 in the middle of the drive, then had what turned out to be the game-winner four plays later – a stop-and-go to Charlie Williams for a 20-yard touchdown with 37 seconds left.

Georgia Tech struck back right away thanks to Alberto Mendoza, who put together a 17-for-23, 237-yard debut performance. The Yellow Jackets had a 45-yard kick to win it by the normally reliable Aidan Birr on the final play, but Boo Carter blocked it and set off a wild celebration on the Colorado sideline.

It was a moment Sanders acknowledged was needed for a program that was 3-9 last season and had lost the steam of the Coach Prime/Shedeur/Travis Hunter hype train that barrelled through college football in 2023 and 2024.

“Our guys were resilient,” Sanders said. “I’m proud of them. We didn’t have many flights back home in victory (last year) or any flight, but this is going to be a wonderful flight.”

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Indeed, Colorado had lost seven straight games away from home and were a play away from falling to a Georgia Tech team that at times showed promise and others some weaknesses that need to be shored up. One thing Sanders can take back to Boulder is the knowledge that he may finally have a running game after finishing 104th and 134th the last two seasons in rushing yards per game. Five different running backs combined for 197 yards and a touchdown on 42 carries as Colorado won the toughness battle against a coach in Georgia Tech’s Brent Key who prides himself on his team’s ability to win in the trenches (GT running backs ran for 78).

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After Lewis had his moment and the Buffs had their moment, Deion got to walk off the Bobby Dodd Stadium field with his arm around Shedeur, who came in from Cleveland and spent the evening on the Colorado sideline supporting his dad. The final question of Sanders’ 17-minute press conference was about what it felt like walking off the field with his son.

“Trying to make me cry, man,” Sanders said. “Sometimes you know what y'all forget. I'm a father. I think y'all forget that. Y'all see a coach, you see Prime, you see you know someone that has dabbled with success in certain areas of life. Someone who made a multitude of mistakes as well, but y'all forget like I'm a real loving, caring father, and that's my son, man. So I feel him, and for him to, you know, get out of practice and make it to this game. And I think he's gonna fly back with us because he wants to spend a couple days with his dad, like I love that, man.”

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