Alabama, Ole Miss drop as South Carolina climbs in latest CFP Rankings
USA TODAY Sports’ Dan Wolken breaks down the fourth edition of the College Football Playoff rankings.
Sports Pulse
This is it for Travis Hunter and the Colorado Buffaloes – the regular-season finale at home against Oklahoma State. The Buffs (8-3) still will play in the postseason, possibly in the Alamo Bowl or Holiday Bowl next month − or maybe even the College Football Playoff if enough dominoes fall their way in other games on Saturday.
But today’s game at noon ET on ABC will be the last time Heisman Trophy voters will get to watch Hunter before Heisman ballots are distributed to those electors on Monday.
Hunter, the star cornerback-receiver, is the current favorite to win the award, according to BetMGM. The problem for Hunter is that oddsmakers don’t select the Heisman winner. Fickle sports journalists do, along with former Heisman winners.
In a bit of a shocker, Hunter was not even named one of three finalists for the Jim Thorpe Award, which is given annually to the nation’s top defensive back.
The lesson learned from that might be to not take anything for granted, especially today against the Cowboys (3-8), who have lost eight straight games and rank 133rd out of 134 major college teams in total defense with 503.3 yards allowed per game. Hunter could use another big performance in the national spotlight to boost his Heisman candidacy. Colorado coach Deion Sanders also needs to win this game to boost his team’s standing for the postseason.
Follow along here for game updates, highlights and news.
When is the Oklahoma State-Colorado game?
Kickoff is at noon ET Friday from Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado.
How to watch the Oklahoma State-Colorado game
The game will be broadcast on ABC. Mark Jones, Roddy Jones and Quint Kessinich will call the game.
How to stream the Oklahoma State-Colorado game
The Cowboys-Buffaloes game can be streamed on Fubo.
Yes, but the Buffs need to beat Oklahoma State today and then need help from at least two other Big 12 teams on Saturday. After suffering a damaging loss against Kansas last week, they are in a four-way tie for first place with BYU, Iowa State and Arizona State, each with a 6-2 record in league play with one regular-season game remaining.
The Buffs would get into the Big 12 championship game Dec. 7 if they beat Oklahoma State and at least two of those other first-place teams lose Saturday: BYU at home against Houston, Iowa State at home against Kansas State and Arizona State at Arizona.
Or if BYU loses and Texas Tech beats West Virginia, the Buffs also would get into the league title game even if they are in a three-way tie for first place with Iowa State and Arizona State. In that scenario, Colorado wins the tiebreaker by virtue of the fact that Texas Tech will be a second-place team that was beaten this season by Colorado but not by Arizona State or Iowa State. But if Tech loses in this case, the Buffs would not make it.
Yes, but it’s a longshot. The Buffs ranked 25th in the latest playoff rankings. The five highest-ranked conference champions get automatic playoff berths, along with seven at-large teams.
To get into the playoff, the Buffs would need to get into the Big 12 championship game (see above) and win that game Dec. 7. But winning the Big 12 still might not be enough for Colorado to move high enough in the rankings to get an at-large berth. It also might not be enough to outrank any of the other five league champions to get an automatic berth.
Teams from five other leagues currently outrank Colorado, though No. 17 Tulane of the American Athletic Conference suffered a loss Thursday to Memphis that will drop Tulane in the rankings.
Final playoff pairings will be announced Dec. 8.
The Colorado Buffaloes are favorites to defeat the Oklahoma State Cowboys in Friday’s college football matchup, according to the BetMGM college football odds. Looking to wager? Check out the top college football betting apps in 2024 offering the top NCAA football betting promos and bonuses in 2024.
- Spread: Colorado (-16.5)
- Moneyline: Colorado (-750); Oklahoma State (+525)
- Over/under: 66.5
If they fail to make the Big 12 championship game, the Buffaloes will fall to a non-playoff bowl game, likely the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio Dec. 28 or the Holiday Bowl in San Diego Dec. 27.
This story spells out why the Alamo Bowl might take the Buffs.
Ballots are distributed to electors on Monday. The deadline for Heisman ballots to be submitted is Dec. 9. Travis Hunter also will find out if he is one of four Heisman finalists Dec. 9. The Heisman winner is announced Dec. 14.