Colorado University Athletics
MacIntyre's Buffs Hold Steady At No. 9 In National Polls
November 27, 2016 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — For the first time in five weeks, the Colorado Buffaloes did not move up in the national polls.
Instead, Mike MacIntyre's Buffs remained firmly in the No. 9 spot Sunday, one day after their 27-22 win over No. 21 Utah.
The 10-2 Buffs made their debut this year in the Associated Press and USA Today/Coaches polls in early October, the first time they had been nationally ranked since late in the 2005 season. They slipped back out after a loss to USC, but returned to the top 25 in late October after a 10-5 win at Stanford.
CU then checked in at No. 21 in the AP poll, and has steadily climbed each week since, moving to No. 16, then No. 12 and finally No. 9 last week.
But Saturday, the only team ranked ahead of CU to lose was Michigan, which fell to Ohio State in overtime. The Wolverines slipped from third to fifth in the AP poll and from fourth to sixth in the coaches rankings.
The Buffs, winners of sixth straight, will face Washington on Friday in the Pac-12 championship game in Santa Clara, Calif. The Huskies, on the strength of a win over Washington State and Michigan's loss, climbed to No. 4 in both polls and could also find themselves in that position Tuesday when the College Football Playoff selection committee rankings are released.
Colorado is also No. 9 in the CFP rankings and is expected to maintain that position.
As for the rest of the Pac-12, Washington State and Utah both slipped out of the AP top 25 after after each suffered a second straight loss, but the Utes did stay in the coaches top 25 at No. 24. Stanford remained at No. 17 in both polls while USC, which has won eight straight games, climbed to 10th in the AP and 11th in the coaches poll.
Tuesday's CFP rankings are scheduled to be released at 5 p.m. The top four in the rankings will advance to the CFP semifinals, and the rankings will also have a bearing on other bowl pairings.
A win Friday would guarantee the Buffs of at least a berth in the Jan. 2 Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., against a representative from the Big Ten. Colorado also remains in contention for a CFP semifinal spot, although such an occurrence would require a number of scenarios to unfold.
Other possible scenarios for the Buffs include a berth in the Cotton, Alamo or Holiday bowls.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu