Colorado Playoff Dreams Are Just Three Games Away
ESPN is no stranger to unnecessary pageantry. They are the ones who televised LeBron James' decision to join the Miami Heat, and they set aside time every year for high school football players to try on baseball caps. It's no surprise then, that the entertainment network televised the first look at the 12-team college football playoff.
This is a list that will not only change completely by the end of the season, but it will change starting next Monday. A big question before the reveal was, "How bad will the NCAA screw the 9-0 Indiana Hoosiers?"
The answer ended up being, pretty hard. Overall they had the 8th spot in the playoff, despite having one of the nations best offenses and one of the nations best defenses. Should they finish the season undefeated, maybe the NCAA will do them a solid and move them to 7th. They definitely won't be favored over even the worst SEC team.
The biggest question of all was, "Where will Colorado be ranked?" The answer is 20th. Coach Prime and the Buffaloes have two losses, so unlike the ram-rodding of Indiana, their spot in the first rankings is quite fair. Despite that, fans and media alike are pulling for Shedeur Sanders and Colorado to find a spot into the top 12 by the end of the season.
The Dallas Cowboys are no longer America's team. That moniker belongs to the Colorado Buffaloes, and the NCAA needs to make sure, for ratings sake, they get at least the 12-seed. The team that call Boulder home has dominated the TV ratings in 2024, just like they did last season. They are averaging 3.64 million viewers per contest. By comparison, Oregon, the number one team in the land, averages 3.16 million (that's with 9.6 million they pulled against Ohio State).
Colonel Nathan Jessup might tell the NCAA, in regards to Colorado:
"Deep Down places you don't talk about at parties, you want them on the field--you need them on the field."
Colorado needs to make the NCAA's job easy for them though. That means winning he last three games of the season against unranked opponents. They face Texas Tech on November 9th. The Red Raiders are 6-3, averaging 36.4 points per game (20th in the nation), but they are giving up 34.4 points per game (121st).
On November 16th, the Buffaloes are home against the 4-4 Utah Utes. Kyle Whittingham's squad is averaging 22.8 points per game (105th in the nation), and giving up 16.5 (11th). Colorado will end their season, on the road, against the Kansas Jayhawks. Currently 2-6, coach Lance Leipold's team has the 53rd best scoring offense in the nation, and the 70th ranked scoring defense.
Should the Buffaloes finish 9-2, the most crooked organization in the land, only interested in padding it's pockets, will have no choice but to squeeze in a Colorado playoff. Some more deserving team will likely get the shaft, maybe even Indiana, but the TV God's have spoken. Fans want to see America's team.