CU Buffs receive one vote in AP preseason top-25 rankings

After narrowly finishing the 2024 season in the AP's top-25 rankings, Coach Prime and CU found themselves on the outside looking in to start their 2025 campaign

BY TRENT FINNEGAN

Aug 11, 2025, 11:34 AM Updated: 1:04 pm

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College football season is just around the corner, and the official Associated Press top-25 rankings were finally released on Monday, just 12 days before the official start of the season. The usual suspects from the SEC and Big 10 were towards the top while the Big 12 Conference didn’t get the respect it deserves, just like every other week throughout the season. For the Colorado Buffaloes, they didn’t make the cut but did receive a small amount of love.

After finishing the 2024 season at No. 25 in the rankings, just the fourth time this century that CU finished a season in the top 25 (2001, 2002 and 2016), the Buffs dropped out to kick off their 2025 campaign. They have only been ranked in the preseason poll twice this decade (2000 and 2002).

This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone, as CU lost Shedeur Sanders, Travis Hunter, and plenty of other talented players to both the NFL and the transfer portal over the offseason. However, they did receive one singular vote in the inaugural poll, which slots them in at No. 48.

The 2025 AP preseason poll pic.twitter.com/9W8a5baO1M

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) August 11, 2025

CU’s Week 1 opponent, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, received 63 votes, good enough for No. 31 on the list.

The Buffs have a lot of questions surrounding the team heading into this season. Coach Prime is not giving even the slightest of hints as to who will be the starting quarterback between Kaidon Salter and Julian Lewis, the offensive line has to improve, the linebackers have to reload after losing Lavonta Bentley and Nikhai Hill-Green, and both the offense and defense have to find out how to replace Hunter.

Similar to last season, they are in a prime position to win a couple of games early on and vault themselves into the top 25. They will have to beat Georgia Tech to open the season and then also take down BYU at home in Week 5 to do so, but a 5-0 Buffs team with two good wins should be more than enough to get some recognition (the games against Delaware, Houston and Wyoming should not be an issue — if they are, this Buffs team does not deserve to be ranked at all).

BYU was the first team left out of the rankings. The Buffs will play against three ranked teams in conference play this year in No. 22 Iowa State (Oct. 11), No. 11 Arizona State (Nov. 22) and No. 17 Kansas State (Nov. 28).

CU’s season opener kicks off from Folsom Field on Friday, Aug. 29 at 6:30 p.m. MDT and will be broadcast on ESPN.