For the second-straight year, Jackets and Buffs will open the season under the lights on ESPN
(AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
THE FLATS – 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.
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.
2026 GEORGIA TECH FOOTBALL SEASON TICKETS
Georgia Tech 2026 football season tickets are available now. The Yellow Jackets’ highly anticipated 2026 home schedule features all seven home games being played at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field, beginning with premium non-conference showdowns versus Colorado (Sept. 3) and Tennessee (Sept. 12), and also including Atlantic Coast Conference battles against defending ACC champion Duke (Oct. 10) and 2025 bowl winners Louisville (Nov. 7) and Wake Forest (Nov. 21).
To renew season tickets for 2026 (renewal deadline: TODAY, Monday, Feb. 16), click HERE.
To become a new season ticket member in 2026, click HERE.
One limited-edition Buzz/Ramblin’ Reck bobblehead will be gifted to each season ticket account.
The Jackets’ 2026 roster features five returning all-ACC performers from last year’s 9-4 squad (PK Aidan Birr, OL Malachi Carney, LB Kyle Efford, RB Malachi Hosley and OL Ethan Mackenny) and 19 highly touted incoming transfers, headlined by RB Justice Haynes and QB Alberto Mendoza.
The first opportunity for fans to see the 2026 Yellow Jackets in action comes on Saturday, April 18 when Georgia Tech holds its 2026 White & Gold Game at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. The Jackets’ annual spring game kicks off at 1 p.m. and admission is FREE.
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.
For the latest information on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, follow us on X, Facebook, Instagram and at www.ramblinwreck.com.
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