Deion Sanders, Colorado Jump into Top 20 In Week 12 AP College Football Poll

Colorado continued its climb up the rankings this week.

The Buffaloes, fresh off a 41-27 victory over Texas Tech, were ranked No. 18 in the latest Associated Press Top-25 poll on Sunday, jumping up three spots from last week. Colorado didn't crack the poll until Week 10, debuting at No. 23, and has now improved that ranking in each of the past two weeks.

Colorado is now 7-2 (5-1 in the Big 12) on the season and is second in the Big 12 behind only the undefeated BYU Cougars (9-0, 6-0). Should the Buffs win out—matchups against Utah, Kansas and Oklahoma State remain—they would secure a spot in the conference title game. And a win in that game would guarantee them a berth in the College Football Playoff.

Heady times in Boulder, indeed.

"We don't change with the stakes," head coach Deion Sanders told reporters regarding the team's standing in the Big 12. "You guys (in the news media) change with the stakes. We don't change with the stakes. What we're doing right now, we planned on it."

"We're not looking down the street and down the road to the championship," he added.

The Buffs got off to a slow start on Saturday, trailing 13-0 after one quarter as the tortillas rained down. But Colorado turned it on from there, led by star quarterback Shedeur Sanders (30-of-43 for 291 yards and three touchdowns; 16 rushing yards and a score) and two-way phenom Travis Hunter (nine catches for 99 yards and a touchdown).

The win has the Buffaloes in position to make serious noise in the school's first year back in the Big 12, and potentially in the first year of the expanded CFP. Not too shabby for Sanders' second year on the job.