No. 14 Houston is firmly in the hunt for a College Football Playoff spot as it prepares to face Colorado on Friday night in Big 12 play in Boulder, Colo.
The Cougars (7-2, 4-2 Big 12) moved up three spots after last week's 31-24 home victory over Cincinnati and are one of five teams tied for third in the conference standings.
Houston has never been ranked higher in the CFP era and will finish the regular season with road games against the Buffaloes and West Virginia and a home contest against Baylor.
Cougars coach Willie Fritz sees a big opportunity for his team.
"You want to be relevant," Fritz said before the latest rankings were revealed Tuesday night. "We certainly want Houston to be out there front and center as much as possible, so that's great.
"But you've got to finish the year, and you've got to keep playing well," Fritz continued. "Being ranked right now doesn't mean a whole lot. You want to be ranked as high as we can at the end of the season. That means we've accomplished some things."
Colorado (3-6, 1-5) doesn't have to worry about rankings, but the job status of coach Deion Sanders has become a major topic with three games remaining.
The Buffaloes lost 20-10 to Arizona State on the road last weekend for their sixth loss in seven games.
"We're just not getting it done," Sanders said. "I'm just not getting it done. Don't say we. I'm sorry. Scratch that -- I'm not getting it done. All the way around. All the way around. Offensively, defensively, special teams, all the way around."
Sanders guided Colorado to a 9-4 record in 2024, his second season, but the Buffaloes have since gone 6-15. He is 19-27 overall with the program.
According to reports, Colorado would owe more than $25 million if it moves on from Sanders after this season.
Sanders insists he's not concerned about his job security, but he also knows he's in a results-based business.
"The season doesn't look good," Sanders said. "It doesn't look good. I'm not crazy. I can see clearly. You think I'm happy? I'm not happy with the outcomes. I'm not a loser by any means, and I hate the fact that we're coming up on the short end of these games."
Despite the disappointing season, Colorado linebacker Gideon Lampron continues to excel. He had a career-best 18 tackles against Arizona State and leads the team with 99 stops, including 16 tackles for loss.
"I'm glad I'm putting those numbers up there," Lampron said. "But you know, I literally don't care if we're not winning games. It doesn't matter. I came here to win games, and that's why they brought all of us here."
Houston has scored more than 30 points in three of its past four games as quarterback Conner Weigman continues to perform at a high level.
Weigman has passed for 2,280 yards and 22 touchdowns and has been intercepted just twice in 257 attempts. He also has rushed for a team-high seven touchdowns.
In 22 games with the Cougars, Weigman ranks eighth all-time with 47 touchdown passes.
While Weigman passed for 227 yards and two touchdowns against Cincinnati, Re'Shaun Sanford II also stood out with a career-best 126 rushing yards, including a 51-yard go-ahead touchdown run. It was Sanford's second 100-yard rushing performance of the season.
"He's not going to get complacent," Weigman said of Sanford. "He's been out here working hard all week and he'll be ready to go to put up another good performance on Friday."
Weigman rushed for two touchdowns last season when the Cougars earned a 36-20 home win over Colorado.
--Field Level Media