Colorado University Athletics
Buffs Tabbed 15th In Season's First College Football Playoff Rankings
November 01, 2016 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — The Colorado Buffaloes' turnaround season took another major step Tuesday when the first College Football Playoff rankings of the season had the Buffs at No. 15.
It's the first time the Buffs have been mentioned in the rankings in the three years of the CFP's existence.
The 6-2 Buffs (4-1 Pac-12) re-entered the weekly national polls earlier this year after an 11-year absence. Currently leading the Pac-12 South, the Buffs are ranked No. 20 in the USA Today/Coaches poll and No. 21 in the Associated Press poll.
But the CFP ranking is the highest the Buffs have been in a national ranking of significance since the Buffs finished the 2002 regular season ranked 14th in the AP and coaches polls and 13th in the final BCS standings.
"The ranking is great, but we have a lot of season left to play and a lot of goals ahead of us," CU head coach Mike MacIntyre said. "But it also shows how tough our schedule has been and how good the Pac-12 Conference is and the competition we play week in and week out."
The Buffs play again Thursday when they play host to UCLA in a 7 p.m. game at Folsom Field (Fox Sports 1). It is their first of their four final regular season games, with three of them at home.
"Now, we have to keep climbing up the ladder," MacIntyre said. "It's great to be acknowledged, but that ranking doesn't win any games for you. We have to do it each and every game ahead of us in November — starting Thursday night against UCLA."
After UCLA, the Buffs play their final road game of the year Nov. 12 at Arizona. Then then return home for their final two regular season games, Nov. 19 against Washington State and the Nov. 26 finale with Utah.
A mild surprise of the first CFP rankings was Washington — one of four remaining unbeaten Power Five conference teams — being ranked only fifth. Along with Washington and Colorado, other Pac-12 teams ranked were Utah at No. 16 and Washington State at No. 25.
The top four teams in the final CFP ranking will advance to the national semifinals. The top four in this week's rankings were Alabama, Clemson, Michigan and Texas A&M.
The Buffs have played one team in the CFP top 25, a 45-28 loss to Michigan in a game the Buffs led 28-24 early in the fourth quarter.
The 28 points scored by the Buffs in that game are still the most given up by the Wolverines this season.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu