Colorado a surprise in Pac-12 game
For a team picked to be at the bottom, ninth-ranked Colorado sure made a quick ascent to the top.
No wonder the Buffaloes used “The Rise” as one of their motivational mantras.
Head coach Mike MacIntyre and the Buffaloes (10-2, 8-1 Pac-12) have turned into one of the biggest surprises of the season. Picked last in the South Division during the preseason media poll, the resurgent Buffs reeled off six straight conference wins to earn a spot in the Pac-12 championship game Friday against No. 4 Washington (11-1, 8-1) at Levi’s Stadium.
That “Make CU Great Again” slogan plastered across the front of hats worn by Colorado players might need a little revising, because the Buffs are well on their way.
“We’re getting there,” receiver Devin Ross said after beating Utah on Saturday. “We’re close. ... We still have a lot of work left to do.”
The Buffaloes play a Washington team that wasn’t a total surprise to win the North, even if Stanford was forecast in the preseason poll. The Huskies sealed their spot in the league’s title game by routing Washington State 45-17 in the Apple Cup on Friday.
“Hopefully, we’ll show up and play our best game of the year,” Washington head coach Chris Petersen said of the Pac-12 title game.
AP poll: Stanford was among six teams to enter the Associated Press Top 25 poll Sunday, jumping from unranked to No. 17 in the second-to-last poll of the season. It was the latest in the season that many teams had entered the rankings and only the fourth time six teams jumped into the rankings in one week since the poll expanded to 25 teams in 1989. Stanford had started the season ranked seventh before dropping out after being routed at home by Washington State in Week 7.
More coaching news: Nevada and head coach Brian Polian have parted ways after four seasons of not breaking .500 in
Mountain West games. Nevada finished 5-7, 3-5 this season. Polian, the son of former NFL executive Bill Polian, was 23-27 since replacing Hall of Fame head coach Chris Ault, who retired after the 2012 season. .... UCLA fired offensive coordinator Kennedy Polamalu . ... Charlie Partridge is out at Florida Atlantic, after all three of his seasons leading the Owls ended with 3-9 records . ... Nebraska head coach Mike Riley fired special-teams coordinator Bruce Read . ... LSU head coach Ed Orgeron says he is replacing special-teams coordinator Bradley Dale Peveto.
Ratings on Michigan-Ohio State: ESPN says the Michigan-Ohio State double-overtime thriller drew a 10.4 overnight rating, the best for any game this season across its networks. The rating was the second-best for a game on ABC, topped only by the 2006 Michigan-Ohio State game, and the best for a 9 a.m. Pacific Time kickoff for any game on an ESPN network. The 2006 game was a No. 1-No. 2 matchup that earned an 11.5 overnight rating. No. 2 Ohio State beat then-No. 3 Michigan 30-27 in Saturday’s game.