Colorado
Steppe’s Week 12 AP ballot: Ole Miss, Colorado among teams to make big jumps
Indiana moves up to No. 5 after improving to 10-0 with win over Michigan
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IOWA CITY — College football’s small pool of remaining undefeated teams in 2024 got even smaller.
Miami (Fla.) suffered its first loss of the season, leaving Oregon, Indiana, BYU and Army as the final four FBS teams with unblemished records.
The Hurricanes still are the strong favorite to win the ACC, but their loss to unranked Georgia Tech was enough to bump them out of the top 10 of my ballot. As for the teams that remained undefeated, Oregon is No. 1, Indiana is No. 5 and BYU is No. 8 on my ballot.
The one undefeated team outside of my top eight is Army at No. 18. The Black Knights’ only wins against teams with winning records were against East Carolina and North Texas — far from football juggernauts with their 5-4 overall records in the American Athletic Conference.
Ole Miss had the biggest jump of any team on my ballot — from No. 16 to No. 10 — after its comfortable 28-10 win over then-No. 2 Georgia. It was the biggest margin of victory for any team against Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs since the 2019 SEC title game.
Colorado moved up five spots on my ballot from No. 22 to No. 17. Deion Sanders’ group had an impressive 41-27 win over Texas Tech, and the Buffaloes have better resumes than Army and Washington State at this point.
Week 11 delivered reality checks for some teams in the latter half of the poll, including LSU, Iowa State, Pittsburgh and Vanderbilt. I have been higher on South Carolina than many of my colleagues, but that still does not excuse how uncompetitive Vanderbilt looked against the Gamecocks.
LSU fell from No. 14 to No. 20 after its blowout loss to Alabama. Iowa State, Pittsburgh and Vanderbilt fell off my ballot entirely. Missouri and Kansas State, both 7-2, rejoined my ballot, and Arizona State is on my ballot for the first time this season.
The decision between Arizona State and Iowa State for the No. 25 spot was close. Both teams have two losses, and their singular ranked wins have lost plenty of luster. But the Cyclones’ loss to Kansas — a team that was 2-6 until this weekend — ultimately was too much of a red flag to overlook.
Here is my full ballot ahead of the poll’s release on Sunday afternoon:
John Steppe’s Week 12 AP ballot
- Oregon
- Ohio State
- Texas
- Tennessee
- Indiana
- Penn State
- Notre Dame
- BYU
- Alabama
- Ole Miss
- Georgia
- Miami (Fla.)
- SMU
- Boise State
- Texas A&M
- Clemson
- Colorado
- Army
- Washington State
- LSU
- South Carolina
- Louisville
- Missouri
- Kansas State
- Arizona State
Also warranting consideration: Iowa State, Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh
Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com
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Hunter and Sanders close successful chapter at Colorado despite blowout loss to BYU in Alamo Bowl – WTOP News
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — On the scoreboard, Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders went out with a whimper at Colorado. But…
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — On the scoreboard, Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders went out with a whimper at Colorado.
But their lasting impact in Boulder — both on the field and off — was probably immeasurable.
With two dynamic stars playing their final college game, the 20th-ranked Buffaloes were blown out 36-14 by No. 17 BYU in the Alamo Bowl on Saturday night.
Hunter, the Heisman Trophy winner and two-way sensation, caught four passes for a game-high 106 yards and a touchdown. His 43-yard scoring grab from Sanders cut Colorado’s deficit to 27-7 with 6:14 left in the third quarter.
The lockdown cornerback also made four solo tackles.
Sanders, the son of Colorado coach Deion Sanders, was 16-of-23 passing for 208 yards with two TDs and two interceptions.
Hunter and Shedeur Sanders are both expected to be picked high in the NFL draft next spring.
Nothing’s been the same at Colorado since the school hired Deion Sanders as head coach in December 2022 — and that was the idea.
Along with the hype and hoopla surrounding the arrival of Coach Prime from Jackson State, the former NFL superstar brought a talented group of transfers to the Rocky Mountains — most notably his quarterback son and Hunter. Together, they helped transform the Buffaloes (9-4) from a national afterthought to one of college football’s greatest shows and hottest tickets.
And while Hunter and Shedeur Sanders certainly didn’t have the send-off they were hoping for, the Buffaloes are still excited about a bright future.
“I don’t look forward to it, but I do because that means they are going to another level, another chapter of life, and they’re going to soar,” Deion Sanders said before the game. “I’m thankful that I feel we’ve equipped them with all the tools necessary to be successful.”
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Colorado
Avalanche Acquire Parssinen From Nashville | Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche Hockey Club announced today the team has acquired forward Juuso Parssinen and a seventh-round pick (previously acquired from the New York Rangers) in the 2026 NHL Draft from the Nashville Predators in exchange for forward Ondrej Pavel and Colorado’s third-round pick in the 2027 Draft.
Parssinen, 23, has suited up in 15 games for the Predators in 2024-25 and registered five points (2g/3a). Four of those five points came over a four-game point streak from Nov. 6-11 while also scoring in back-to-back games to begin that span. The forward also played in his 100th career NHL game on Nov. 17 in Vancouver.
A native of Hameenlinna, Finland, Parssinen has registered 42 career points (16g/26a) in 104 NHL games from 2022-25, all with the Predators. His 2022-23 saw him post season-highs in games (45), assists (19), points (25) and game-winning tallies (3), while last season he registered eight goals to set a personal-best. Parssinen also suited up in Game 6 of the First Round in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, his lone NHL postseason appearance.
Additional professional experience for Parssinen includes 46 AHL games with the Milwaukee Admirals over parts of the 2021-24 seasons as well as four Liiga campaigns for TPS from 2018-22, competing in 134 regular-season contests. The 6-foot-3, 212-pound forward has registered 34 career AHL points (9g/25a) and suited up in 14 Calder Cup Playoff tilts last season, chipping in nine points (1g/8a) to rank tied for second on the club in assists.
On an international level, Parssinen captured bronze at the IIHF World Junior Championship with Finland in 2021. He was originally selected by the Predators in the seventh round (210th overall) in the 2019 NHL Draft.
Pavel signed with Colorado as a college free agent on March 30, 2023 and appeared in two NHL games for the Avalanche (Nov. 7, 2023 and March 6, 2024). He suited up in 77 games for the Colorado Eagles (AHL) over parts of the 2022-25 seasons and tallied 12 points (6g/6a).
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