ESPN's Stanford Steve lays out College Football Playoff path for Colorado, Deion Sanders

Colorado was ranked No. 20 in the initial College Football Playoff rankings, which were released earlier this week. Still, ESPN gambling analyst “Stanford” Steve Coughlin believes the Buffaloes can make a run to the CFP.

Stanford Steve joined SportsCenter on Friday and explained how Colorado and Deion Sanders were big winners last week, despite being on a bye.

“Well, it goes back to last week, because Colorado is a team that didn’t play,” Coughlin said. “They were on a bye week. Travis Hunter came to GameDay. It was great to have him on the show. But when you look at what happened in the Big 12 last week, Iowa State lost. And then a team that beat Colorado, who they needed to lose to get back atop the standings was Kansas State.

“So Colorado got so much help without even playing a game.”

After last week’s Big 12 results, BYU is atop the league’s standings at 5-0, while Colorado and Iowa State are both tied for second at 4-1. Colorado has an easier schedule down the stretch, though, which could help the Buffaloes sneak into the Big 12 title game.

With Colorado’s explosive offense and the way the Buffaloes have been playing as of late, Stanford Steve believes Colorado would have a good chance of winning the Big 12 title game if it makes it.

“Now there’s a path for them. Win out,” Coughlin said. “They’re going to be favored in every single game the rest of the way. If they win out, they’re going to the playoff and winning the Big 12.

“So Colorado was the biggest winner. I know they’re all the way down at 20. But there is a path for them to make the playoff.”

Colorado has a big game coming up this weekend as the Buffaloes are playing at Texas Tech. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.