The expansive roster overhaul overseen by first-year head coach Deion Sanders was enacted in order to bring respectability back to Colorado football.
According to the Pac-12 Conference preseason media poll, that respect still has to be earned.
On the eve of the league’s football media day, the Pac-12 released its preseason poll on Thursday, with the Buffaloes checking in at No. 11. In a vote by 36 of the league’s media members, USC collected 24 first-place votes to lead the poll with 413 points heading into its final season in the conference, outpacing Washington (367) by 46 points.
Utah collected six first-place votes, the second-highest total of the poll, but finished third with 359 points. Oregon (344) and Oregon State (309) rounded out the top five.
The Buffs earned 98 points, trailing 10th-place Arizona State by 24 points while finishing 44 points ahead of last-place Stanford. Colorado finished 12th in last year’s poll with 58 points.
Sold out
Also on Thursday, Colorado announced that two home games for this season have already been sold out.
The home opener on Sept. 9 against Nebraska and a Friday night matchup with Stanford on Oct. 13 have both been sold out. The Stanford game falls on Family Weekend, which typically has high attendance.
CU has not had a sellout since Oct. 5, 2019, against Arizona. That game was played on Family Weekend. The 2019 season was also the last time CU had two sellouts in one season, as the Week 2 matchup with Nebraska sold out.
From 2006-2022, CU sold out just four of 95 home dates (not counting three home games during the 2020 season when fans did not attend games because of the COVID-19 pandemic).
The Buffs have not had more than two sell outs in one season since 1996 (four). Ticket sales for trending for CU to have three or more sellouts among the six home games at Folsom Field this year.
Pac-12 football preseason media poll
(First-place votes)
1. USC (25) 413
2. Washington (4) 367
3. Utah (6) 359
4. Oregon (1) 344
5. Oregon State 309
6. UCLA 248
7. Washington State 186
8. Arizona 176
9. California 132
10. Arizona State 122
11. Colorado 98
12. Stanford 54
Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.
