Georgia Tech coach Brent Key did not need the field goal to decide how he felt about his team’s night. Before Key reached his postgame press conference, he asked his players whether a made kick would have changed what they had put on tape across the rest of the game.“Look, if that ball goes in at the end and everybody’s in here cheering and having fun, does that really change how we played 130 other plays in the game?” Key said he asked them.The kick never made it through. Colorado defensive back Boo Carter blocked Georgia Tech placekicker Aidan Birr’s 45-yard attempt as time expired, giving the Colorado Buffaloes a 14-13 win Thursday night at Bobby Ddd Stadium at Hyundai Field. Key said the result did not change his view of the game.Brent Key credited Colorado’s plan and executionColorado offensive coordinator Brennan Marion’s Go-Go offense ran 76 plays and held the ball for more than 34 minutes against Georgia Tech. | Samantha Laurey / Argus Leader / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn ImagesKey’s first point about Colorado was direct. He thought the Buffaloes arrived with a good plan and carried it out better than Georgia Tech did.“At the end of the day, they played a really good football game. We did not play a good football game,” Key said. “Win’s a win and a loss is a loss and congratulations to Colorado and their coaching staff for having a good game plan and coming out and executing it. We did not execute.”The rushing numbers backed him up. Colorado ran 49 times for 183 yards while Georgia Tech managed 51 yards on 30 carries. Colorado running back Michah Welch scored the Buffaloes’ first touchdown and finished with 58 yards, while running back Damaina Henderson II led the team with 65.Key said he measures a team’s identity by whether it can run the ball and stop the run. Colorado won both of these battles in Atlanta.Brent Key says Colorado’s tempo limited Georgia Tech’s defenseA reporter asked if the humid Atlanta night had affected Georgia Tech. Key rejected the weather as an excuse and pointed instead to Colorado’s pace."I would say if you said anything, the fact that we weren’t able to control the tempo of the game offensively and the defense was on the field way too much," said Key.“It doesn’t matter how many people you have when you can’t sub if they’re some form of a tempo and they’re not subbing.”Colorado offensive coordinator Brennan Marion used that pace in the debut of his Go-Go offense. Colorado held the ball for 34:09 and ran 76 plays. Key later said he wished the Yellow Jackets had been able to substitute more often and noted communication issues while matching Colorado’s personnel.Brent Key kept coming back to Colorado’s run gameThe rushing gap bothered Key even more. When a reporter described Colorado’s advantage on the ground as roughly four to one, he answered, “Seemed like a lot more than that too, didn’t it?”Key said Georgia Tech defensive linemen were knocked off the ball on some second-quarter drives, but he focused more on players leaving their assignments while trying to make plays. Colorado kept finding cutback lanes when the Yellow Jackets lost their gap discipline.“Not having the eyes in the right spot and chasing something up the field, and the ball winds back. That’s what happened in the first half,” Key said. “The ball cut back…probably 12, 15 times. And that’s a responsibility thing.”Colorado did it with several backs. Welch, Henderson, running back JaQuail Smith and running back DeKalon Taylor contributed to the 183 yards total.Colorado defensive back Boo Carter blocked Georgia Tech placekicker Aidan Birr’s 45-yard attempt as time expired. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters ConnectBrent Key also pointed to Colorado’s defensive pressureKey’s Colorado comments were not limited to just the offense. Georgia Tech quarterback Alberto Mendoza completed 17 of 23 passes for 237 yards in his first collegiate start, but Key said the Yellow Jackets had trouble handling Colorado’s changing looks upfront.“There were, in the second half especially, in the first half, some varied fronts and different blitzes and pressures,” Key said. “That’s back to us really trusting what we’re supposed to do up front, executing it, and not freezing in the, not hesitating when the ball snapped.”Colorado defensive coordinator Chris Marve got three sacks from defensive lineman Lamont Lester. In his Buffaloes debut, and Georgia Tech did not score an offensive touchdown. Wide receiver Rahkeem Smith produced the Yellow Jackets’ only touchdown with a 100-yard kickoff return on Colorado Kicker Daniel Gerlach’s kickoff.Georgia Tech still had special teams chances. Tight end Ken Riche Jr. blocked a Colorado field goal in the fourth quarter, and wide receiver Dalen Penson caught a 42-yard pass on the final possession to set up Birr’s last attempt. Carter blocked it.Brent Key did not use the final Kick as an excuseSep 3, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Julian Lewis (10) drops back to pass against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the first half at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectKey praised his secondary’s coverage and said he still has full confidence in his team. He also refused to let the blocked field goal become the explanation for his side’s loss.Colorado quarterback Julian Lewis finished 14 of 27 for 124 yards, but 60 came on the final 75-yard drive. Lewis found tight end Charlie Williams for a 20-yard touchdown with just 37 seconds left, and Gerlach’s extra point put Colorado ahead 14-13.Key finished where he started, with the result separated from his evaluation of the night.“Congratulations to Colorado for playing a heck of a football game,” Key said. “It’s not a great feeling; it's a horrible feeling, but at the end of the day, whether the ball goes through or not, I got the same feeling.”Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook for the latest news.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow