The Colorado Buffaloes (7-2, 5-1 Big 12) now control their destiny this season after taking care of business in Lubbock, Texas, on Saturday with a 41-27 victory over Texas Tech (6-4, 4-3 Big 12). The Buffs seemed to make this game much harder on themselves by giving up 13 early points and then failing to secure the game away late.
What really went the Buffs’ way were the outcomes of their competitors in the conference. Iowa State (7-2, 4-2 Big 12) was tied for second in the Big 12 with Colorado prior to the start of the week but was upset by Kansas (3-6, 2-4 Big 12), dropping the Cyclones below Colorado in the standings. This means that the Buffs can go as far as they allow themselves to, be it a bowl win, a conference title, or even the National Championship. Colorado doesn’t need to rely on any other team to win or lose to help their standings, they only need to beat whoever is in front of them.
As things currently stand, Colorado has a spot in the Big 12 Conference Championship game against the No. 9 ranked BYU Cougars (9-0, 6-0 Big 12), who narrowly avoided an upset against Utah Saturday. Had Utah pulled out the win, it would have done wonders for the Buffs' chances as they’d have tied BYU in conference record. But as long as the Buffaloes maintain their level of play for the rest of the season, they’ll have a chance to dethrone the Cougars.
Furthermore, winning a Power Four conference ensures a top-four seed in the playoffs alongside a first-round bye. It once seemed like a pipe dream but now Colorado has a real shot at making some noise with a playoff run on the national level beyond the conference.
But the breaks didn’t end there as the entire top 25 was shaken up on Saturday with top teams like No. 2 Georgia, No. 4 Miami, and No. 14 LSU losing. With their win, Colorado improved three spots to 18th in the AP Poll rankings (they were ranked 20th in the College Football Playoff rankings), but the lack of stability from the top teams gives them more ground to continue moving up.
The Buffs have three games remaining on their regular season schedule, none of which are against teams currently above .500: at home against Utah on Saturday, at Kansas in Arrowhead Stadium next week and at home against Oklahoma State on Black Friday. Deion Sanders and company can’t afford to get complacent after the upsets and near upsets to conference contenders, but as long as they take things one week at a time then they’ll be favorites in each contest.
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