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The Buffs won even on their bye week.
The Colorado Buffaloes were idle this past weekend, but everything went their way as conference rivals lost, higher ranked teams fell, and the Buffs rose in both the Big 12 standings and in the Top 25 rankings.
The Buffs now sit #21 in the AP Poll, rising two spots from last week’s edition. They jumped Pitt and Kansas State, the latter upset by the mediocre Houston Cougars. Colorado is also ranked 24th in the Coaches Poll after being unranked, but we don’t recognize the coaches’ votes since the 1990 polls.
Only once since 2005 have the Buffs been ranked this many games into the season. That one season was 2016, when CU reached #8 in the College Football Playoff rankings and competed in the Pac-12 Championship.
Speaking of the conference championship, the Buffs now control their own destiny. Both Kansas State and Iowa State lost over the weekend, meaning the Buffs (and the BYU Cougars) would reach the championship game if they win out. The Cyclone are still ahead on overall record, but if the Buffs beat Texas Tech next week, Colorado will hold the tiebreaker based on wins against common opponents.
After the Red Raiders, Colorado will host Utah, play Kansas at Arrowhead Stadium, and then host Senior Day against Oklahoma State. That schedule looked menacing when all three were in the preseason Top 25, but they’ve combined for a 2-15 record in Big 12 football.
by Sam Metivier
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