BYU, Oregon rank No. 1 and 2; CU Buffs climb after 2- 0 start
Oregon and BYU continue to pull ahead of the pack. And the CU Buffs, even after a COVID- 19 cancellation, keep climbing under new coach Karl Dorrell.
The Cougars ( 8- 0) and Ducks ( 2- 0) again rank No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in The Denver Post Best of the West College Football poll released Monday at DenverPost. com while CU climbed all the way to No. 4.
BYU, which hosts winless North Alabama on Saturday, was idle this past weekend.
Oregon, which picked up a 14point win at Washington State for a second straight victory, hosts UCLA ( 1- 1) next. The Cougars received two of three first- place votes, while the Ducks got the other.
In the meantime, only coronavirus cases have slowed the Buffs ( 2- 0), who won at Stanford over the weekend, 35- 32, but on Sunday saw a showdown with Arizona State ( 0- 1) called off because of COVID- 19 positives within the Sun Devils’ football program.
CU debuted at No. 9 last week after beating UCLA in Dorrell’s first game as Buffs head coach.
Among other local schools, the CSU Rams ( 1- 2) dipped from No. 17 to No. 21 after getting blown out at No. 5 Boise State.
Air Force ( 1- 2), which was idle, remained at No. 19. Wyoming ( 1- 2) slipped from 21st to 22nd.
UCLA, ( 1- 1) which knocked off Cal by 24 points, and Arizona ( 0- 1), which fell by four at home to the USC Trojans, were the poll’s biggest climbers from Week 1 to Week 2.
The Best of the West College Football poll each Monday ranks the top 25 FBS programs from the Front Range to the Pacific Ocean, as culled from the Pac- 12, the Mountain West and BYU.
Post columnist Sean Keeler ( @ SeanKeeler), Post deputy sports editor Matt Schubert ( @ MattDSchubert) and Post reporter Kyle Frederickson ( @ KyleFrederickson) vote on the top 25.
The Denver Post Best of the West Top 25 Poll
In- state squads listed in bold:
1. BYU ( 8- 0) ( 2 first- place votes) — Previous: 1 // Up next: vs. NO. ALA
2. Oregon ( 2- 0) ( 1 first- place vote) — Previous: 2 // Up next: vs. UCLA
3. USC ( 2- 0) — Previous: 3 // Up next: at UTAH
4. CU ( 2- 0) — Previous: 9 // Up next: ASU GAME CANCELLED
5. Boise State ( 3- 1) — Previous: 8 // Up next: at HAW
6. San Jose State ( 4- 0) — Previous: 6 // Up next: at FRES
7. Washington ( 1- 0) — Previous: 12 // Up next: vs. ARIZ
8. Arizona State ( 0- 1) — Previous: 4 // Up next: CU GAME CANCELLED
9. Washington State ( 1- 1) — Previous: 5 // Up next: at STAN
10. Nevada ( 4- 0) — Previous: 7 // Up next: vs. SDSU
11. San Diego State ( 3- 1) — Previous: 11 // Up next: at NEV
12. Fresno State ( 3- 1) — Previous: 15 // Up next: vs. SJS
13. UCLA ( 1- 1) — Previous: 20 // Up next: at ORE
14. Utah ( 0- 0) — Previous: 10 // Up next: vs. USC
15. Arizona ( 0- 1) — Previous: 22 // Up next: at WASH
16. Hawaii ( 2- 2) — Previous: 14 // Up next: vs. BOISE
17. California ( 0- 1) — Previous: 13 // Up next: at OREST
18. Oregon State ( 0- 2) — Previous: 16 // Up next: vs. CAL
19. Air Force ( 1- 2) — Previous: 19 // Up next: vs. NM, Fri.
20. Stanford ( 0- 2) — Previous: 18 // Up next: vs. WAZZU
21. CSU ( 1- 2) — Previous: 17 // Up next: vs. UNLV
22. Wyoming ( 1- 2) — Previous: 21 // Up next: vs. USU, Thu.
23. New Mexico ( 0- 3) — Previous: 23 // Up next: at AFA, Fri.
24. UNLV ( 0- 4) — Previous: 24 // Up next: at CSU
25. Utah State ( 0- 4) // Previous: 25 // Up next: at WYO, Thu.