The and have found their seasons trending in opposite directions for the last three weeks. And for the first time this fall, the slumping Buffs have actually found themselves lapped by “little brother” in the new Denver Postap Best of the West college football top 25 poll.
CSU (4-5, 3-2 Mountain West), winners of three consecutive games, moved out of the new ranking’s bottom five after a 37-17 shellacking of woeful UNLV last Saturday, hopping from No. 22 to No. 19.
CU (3-6, 1-5 Pac-12), conversely, has now dropped five in a row, with a 31-14 setback at UCLA over the weekend knocking the Buffs from 19th last week to 20th in the poll released Monday.
The Best of the West top 25 power poll ranks the best teams in the FBS from the Front Range to the Pacific Ocean, as culled from the Pac-12, the Mountain West and BYU.
Post colleges writer Sean Keeler (@SeanKeeler), Post deputy sports editor Matt Schubert (@MattDSchubert) vote on the top 25 every Monday; this week’s guest voter was Post online producer Jeff Bailey.
The surging Rams have a bye this weekend before a showdown with the other hottest team in the state, No. 5 Air Force (7-2), in Fort Collins on Nov. 16.
The Falcons have won four straight after a 17-13 win over Army this past weekend and can claim the mythical state championship with a victory at Canvas Stadium. The Zoomies knocked off CU at Folsom Field in overtime, 30-23, back on Sept. 14.
The Buffs have a chance to right the ship at home Saturday when they host No. 11 Stanford (4-4, 3-3), which is coming off a bye. The Cardinal have won three out of their last four but also got whupped by UCLA recently, coming up on the wrong end of a 34-16 decision in Palo Alto on Oct. 17.
Nos. 1 and 2 in the poll remain unchanged, with both top-ranked Oregon (8-1) and Utah (8-1) picking up impressive road victories last Saturday over No. 7 USC and No. 4 Washington, respectively. We’ll find out on soon whether the College Football Playoff committee took notice; the CFP releases its debut rankings Tuesday.
The rest of the Best of the West follows, with in-state squads listed in bold:
THE DENVER POST BEST OF THE WEST TOP 25 POWER POLL — NOV. 4
1. Oregon (8-1) (3 first place votes) — Last week: 1; Up next: BYE
2. Utah (8-1) — Last week: 2; Up next: BYE
3. Boise State (7-1) — Last week: 4; Up next: vs. WYO
4. Washington (5-4) — Last week: 3; Up next: at OREST, Fri.
5. Air Force (7-2) — Last week: 7; Up next: at NM
6. San Diego State (7-1) — Last week: 6; Up next: vs. NEV
7. USC (5-4) — Last week: 5; Up next: at ASU
8. Wyoming (6-2) — Last week: 8; Up next: at BOISE
9. Arizona State (5-3) — Last week: 10; Up next: vs. USC
10. (4-4) — Last week: 9; Up next: at CAL
11. Stanford (4-4) — Last week: 13; Up next: at CU
12. BYU (4-4) — Last week: 15; Up next: vs. LIB
▲13. Oregon State (4-4) — Last week: 17; Up next: vs. WASH, Fri.
▲14. UCLA (4-5) — Last week: 18; Up next: BYE
▼15. Hawaii (5-4) — Last week: 11; Up next: vs. SJS
▼16. Utah State (4-4) — Last week: 12; Up next: at FRES
17. California (4-4) — Last week: 14; Up next: vs. WAZZU
18. Arizona (4-5) — Last week: 16; Up next: BYE
19. CSU (4-5) — Last week: 22; Up next: BYE
20. CU (3-6) — Last week: 19; Up next: vs. STAN
21. Fresno State (4-4) — Last week: 23; Up next: vs. USU
22. Nevada (5-4) — Last week: 21; Up next: at SDSU
23. San Jose State (4-5) — Last week: 20; Up next: at HAW
24. UNLV (2-7) — Last week: 24; Up next: BYE
25. New Mexico (2-7) — Last week: 25; Up next: vs. AFA
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The next Best of the West poll will post at 8 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 11.
