Deion Sanders, Colorado Ranked for 1st Time in 2024 AP College Football Poll

The Colorado Buffaloes keep winning football games. The Associated Press voters have finally been moved.

Deion Sanders' charges were ranked for the first time this season in the Week 10 AP Poll, coming in at No. 23.

The Buffs won their second straight game on Saturday, defeating Cincinnati 34-23 behind Shedeur Sanders' 323 yard and two touchdowns, while Travis Hunter added nine receptions for 153 yards and two touchdowns on offense and two touchdowns on defense.

The win made Colorado bowl-eligible with four games remaining in the season and kept the Buffaloes firmly in the Big 12 title race, currently behind only the undefeated pair of BYU and Iowa State as well as Kansas State (7-1 overall, 4-1 in conference).

"It's cute. It really is," the head coach said of becoming bowl eligible. "Because we really want that, but that's not all we're after. That's one of the hurdles that we're jumping over and going over. That's a tremendous hurdle that we're happy, we're excited, but that's not the end goal for us. That's the beginning, but we are thankful and appreciative that the hard work is going noticed."

As for Colorado's absence from the polls until this point, Sanders said he was more than happy to remain unranked.

"Don't rank us, please," he told reporters after Saturday's win. "We don't like that. We'd rather be in the back in the dark, just chillin'."

Voters didn't comply, however. Colorado will now face Texas Tech in two weeks, followed by matchups with Utah, Kansas and Oklahoma State. Should they continue collecting wins, the Buffs have the chance to climb the polls and perhaps even make noise in the Big 12 title race.

Sanders and his team certainly remain confident.

"We're on a wonderful journey," he said Saturday. "We know the direction we're going."