The Colorado State Rams on Sunday boosted their position in both college football polls after a dominating performance the day before.
The Rams jumped to No. 21 in the Associated Press poll and in the USA Today coaches poll after .
CSU (10-1) moved up Marshall (11-0), which struggled to get by Alabama-Birmingham, dropped one spots to No. 19. CSU is one spot behind Oklahoma (8-3).
But , CSU is now one spot behind Marshall, after the Thundering Herd dropped two spots.
The Rams are four spots ahead of No. 25 Boise State (9-2) in both polls. The Broncos entered the AP and coaches poll after routing Wyoming in Laramie on Saturday.
With one game remaining on its regular-season schedule — at Air Force on Friday — .
The highest-ranked conference champion from a nonpower conference in the College Football Playoff rankings will qualify for a major bowl game.
The next CFP rankings will be released Tuesday at 5 p.m. MT. At the moment, no nonpower conference teams are within the CFP rankings. But it’s likely a three-way race between Colorado State, Boise State and Marshall.
The Rams, though, still need to beat Air Force on Friday and hope for a Boise State loss against Utah State on Saturday in order to earn a spot in the Mountain West championship game.
The Mountain West is tied to six bowl games in 2014, in order from top to bottom by pick: the Las Vegas Bowl; Poinsettia Bowlin San Diego; Idaho Potato Bowl in Boise; New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque; Hawaii Bowl in Honolulu; and the New Orleans Bowl.
But both CSU and Boise State hold on to a chance at a CFP access bowl. The Cactus Bowl in Tempe also remains a longshot chance if a Big 12 team isn’t available.
Nick Groke: ngroke@denverpost.com or twitter.com/nickgroke
Below is the latest AP poll:
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| TEAM | RECORD | POINTS | PREVIOUS RANKING | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Florida St. (37) | 11-0 | 1,458 | 1 | ||
| 2. Alabama (21) | 10-1 | 1,445 | 2 | ||
| 3. Oregon (2) | 10-1 | 1,393 | 3 | ||
| 4. Mississippi State | 10-1 | 1,301 | 4 | ||
| 5. Baylor | 9-1 | 1,234 | 6 | ||
| 6. TCU | 9-1 | 1,233 | 5 | ||
| 7. Ohio State | 10-1 | 1,163 | 7 | ||
| 8. Georgia | 9-2 | 1,002 | 9 | ||
| 9. UCLA | 9-2 | 998 | 11 | ||
| 10. Michigan State | 9-2 | 971 | 10 | ||
| 11. Kansas State | 8-2 | 898 | 12 | ||
| 12. Arizona | 9-2 | 807 | 15 | ||
| 13. Arizona State | 9-2 | 790 | 13 | ||
| 14. Wisconsin | 9-2 | 764 | 14 | ||
| 15. Auburn | 8-3 | 597 | 16 | ||
| 16. Georgia Tech | 9-2 | 581 | 17 | ||
| 17. Missouri | 9-2 | 525 | 19 | ||
| 18. Mississippi | 8-3 | 398 | 8 | ||
| 19. Marshall | 11-0 | 384 | 18 | ||
| 20. Oklahoma | 8-3 | 363 | 23 | ||
| 21. Colorado State | 10-1 | 346 | 22 | ||
| 22. Minnesota | 8-3 | 232 | 31 | ||
| 23. Clemson | 8-3 | 198 | 27 | ||
| 24. Louisville | 8-3 | 191 | 28 | ||
| 25. Boise State | 9-2 | 96 | 28 | ||
| Others receiving votes: Arkansas (6-5) 40; LSU (7-4) 39; Nebraska (8-3) 14; Utah (7-4) 14; Duke (8-3) 9; Southern California (7-4) 8; Memphis (8-3) 3; West Virginia (6-5) 2; Texas A&M (7-4) 2; UCF (7-3) 1 | |||||
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| USA Today Coaches’ Poll, Week 14 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | 1st Place Votes | Prev. |
| 1. | Alabama | 10-1 | 1,474 | 25 | 2 |
| 2. | Florida State | 11-0 | 1,462 | 30 | 1 |
| 3. | Oregon | 10-1 | 1,431 | 6 | 3 |
| 4. | Mississippi State | 10-1 | 1,323 | 0 | 4 |
| 5. | TCU | 9-1 | 1,259 | 0 | 5 |
| 6. | Baylor | 9-1 | 1,242 | 0 | 6 |
| 7. | Ohio State | 10-1 | 1,191 | 0 | 7 |
| 8. | Michigan State | 9-2 | 1,052 | 0 | 9 |
| 9. | Georgia | 9-2 | 1,002 | 0 | 10 |
| 10. | UCLA | 9-2 | 963 | 0 | 12 |
| 11. | Kansas State | 8-2 | 912 | 0 | 11 |
| 12. | Arizona | 9-2 | 818 | 0 | 13 |
| 13. | Arizona State | 9-2 | 783 | 0 | 14 |
| 14. | Wisconsin | 9-2 | 758 | 0 | 15 |
| 15. | Georgia Tech | 9-2 | 615 | 0 | 16 |
| 16. | Auburn | 8-3 | 565 | 0 | 17 |
| 17. | Missouri | 9-2 | 560 | 0 | 20 |
| 18. | Oklahoma | 8-3 | 420 | 0 | 22 |
| 19. | Mississippi | 8-3 | 390 | 0 | 8 |
| 20. | Marshall | 11-0 | 383 | 0 | 18 |
| 21. | Colorado State | 10-1 | 304 | 0 | 23 |
| 22. | Minnesota | 8-3 | 256 | 0 | 30 |
| 23. | Louisville | 8-3 | 208 | 0 | 31 |
| 24. | Clemson | 8-3 | 203 | 0 | 27 |
| 25. | Boise State | 9-2 | 85 | 0 | 29 |
| Others receiving votes: LSU 43; Nebraska 41; Arkansas 19; Utah 19; Stanford 7; Cincinnati 7; Louisiana Tech 7; Duke 5; Texas 4; Texas A&M 4; Southern California 4; Northern Illinois 3; Notre Dame 1; Iowa 1; Utah State 1. | |||||
