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The Fourteeners
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If you’ve ever spent any quality time in the state of Colorado, you are probably familiar with the term “Fourteener” (or “14er”).
There are almost 100 mountains in the United States with an elevation above 14,000 feet, with over half of the nation’s “Fourteeners” located in the state of Colorado.
Avid hikers talk about how many Fourteeners they have summitted. Personally, for me that number is two: Mount Evans (14,255) and Pikes Peak (14,115) … which coincidentally happen to be the two Fourteeners you can reach by car.
For our purposes, the Fourteener Club is one which, much to the chagrin of Buff fans, is one to which CU belongs.
It’s preseason college football magazine time, which means it’s time for the annual predictions of how poorly the Buffs will fare in the upcoming campaign.
In its 2026 College Football Preview, Athlon magazine has Colorado as the No. 14 team in the sixteen team Big 12, ahead of only UCF and Iowa State:
- No. 1 – Texas Tech (No. 12 nationally)
- No. 2 – BYU (No. 16)
- No. 3 – Houston (No. 19)
- No. 4 – Utah (No. 20)
- No. 5 – Kansas State (No. 31)
- No. 6 – Arizona (No. 32)
- No. 7 – Arizona State (No. 35)
- No. 8 – Oklahoma State (No. 36)
- No. 9 – TCU (No. 37)
- No. 10 – West Virginia (No. 50)
- No. 11 – Kansas (No. 52)
- No. 12 – Baylor (No. 62)
- No. 13 – Cincinnati (No. 63)
- No. 14 – Colorado (No. 64)
- No. 15 – UCF (No. 65)
- No. 16 – Iowa State (No. 70)
While Athlon does have the Buffs ranked near the bottom of the conference, the magazine’s write up wasn’t completely negative.
In its “Final Analysis”, Athlon had this to say about CU:
“The honeymoon is most certainly over for Sanders, and the Buff Nation wants wins and a bowl game. There are no big stars on hand, but it’s a roster filled with enough talent to exceed expectations. The early season schedule is difficult, but if this group comes together, it could pull off a surprise or two and build some momentum”.
Not exactly high praise … but not a eulogy for the Coach Prime era, either.
With Colorado bunched so closely with other Big 12 schools in Athlon’s rankings (Baylor, Cincinnati, Colorado and UCF are all ranked between No. 62 and No. 65 nationally), it seems to me that the separation nationally is not so much between the top and bottom of the Power Four conferences as it is a growing separation between the Power Four conferences and teams from the Group of Six.
In Athlon’s national rankings, only three Group of Six teams are rated better than Colorado. UNLV (No. 59), Navy (No. 60) and New Mexico (No. 61) come in higher than the Buffs at No. 64 … but just barely.
Which led me to wonder how Athlon perceived the other “Fourteeners” in the Power Four conferences.
Let’s take a look:
Big Ten rankings …
- No. 10 – Nebraska
- No. 11 – Minnesota
- No. 12 – UCLA
- No. 13 – Wisconsin
- No. 14 – Northwestern (No. 57 nationally)
- No. 15 – Maryland
- No. 16 – Rutgers
- No. 17 – Michigan State
- No. 18 – Purdue
2025 record: 7-6, 4-5 in Big Ten (defeated Central Michigan in the GameAbove Sports Bowl).
So what does Athlon have to say about the Wildcats?
Final analysis: “(Chip) Kelly’s arrival and the October opening of the $862 million brand-new Ryan Field fuel excitement. Northwestern is investing in football, and (head coach David) Braun wants to become a College Football Playoff contender. His plan might take time, though, as Northwestern visits Indiana, Oregon and Ohio State, and hosts Penn State and Iowa. A third bowl appearance in four seasons is a reasonable goal.”
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ACC rankings …
- No. 10 – Cal
- No. 11 – Florida State
- No. 12 – Wake Forest
- No. 13 – Duke
- No. 14 – North Carolina (No. 56 nationally)
- No. 15 – Syracuse
- No. 16 – Boston College
- No. 17 – Stanford
2025 record: 4-8, 2-6 in the ACC
The bloom has fallen off the Bill Belichick rose even faster than what happened with Coach Prime in Boulder. Both coaches went 4-8 in their first season at their new schools, but the attention given nationally to North Carolina and its GOAT (at least in the NFL) head coach have dropped to next to nothing.
So what does Athlon have to say?
Final analysis: “The offense has upside within (offensive coordinator Bobby) Petrino’s system, but early-season matchups against top defenses could mask progress while the offensive line and quarterback position settle. Defensively, improvement is more about execution, with (defensive end) Abou Jaoude providing a reliable anchor.
If the offensive line develops quickly and the quarterback situation stabilizes, UNC has the coaching to outperform last year’s 4-8 mark. If not, inconsistency – particularly early – could again define the season.”
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SEC rankings …
- No. 10 – South Carolina
- No. 11 – Missouri
- No. 12 – Auburn
- No. 13 – Mississippi State
- No. 14 – Vanderbilt (No. 45 nationally)
- No. 15 – Kentucky
- No. 16 – Arkansas
2025 record: 10-3, 6-2 in the SEC (lost to Iowa in the Reliaquest Bowl)
Despite being on the cusp of a College Football Playoff berth last December, not much is expected from the Commodores this fall, at least by Athlon. That being said, Athlon, despite having Vanderbilt as the No. 14 team in the SEC, projects Vandy will earn a bowl bid, facing off against Tulane in the Birmingham Bowl.
Final analysis: “Despite efforts to assemble an experienced supporting cast, Vandy has questions to answer. A potentially improved defense could help ensure that (quarterback Jared) Curtis isn’t regularly facing huge deficits, but are likely to be growing pains. If Curtis has a true freshman campaign similar to Trevor Lawrence’s at Clemson in 2018, that would change the outlook”.
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So, what do we take from this list of “Fourteeners” and how it should shape our view of CU’s chances at success in 2026?
While I first found it to be depressing (although not unexpected) to see the Buffs ranked near the bottom of the Big 12 in Athlon’s preview magazine, the writeup (“a roster filled with enough talent to exceed expectations”) was more positive than I had anticipated.
I also took solace in the names of the other “Fourteener” teams in the Athlon projections. Northwestern and Vanderbilt both had winning seasons in 2025, a season which witnessed CU stumbling to a 3-9 record. North Carolina has significantly more resources at its disposal (and a proven head coach), but gets no more love from Athlon than does Coach Prime and the Buffs.
The bottom line for me is the proximity CU has in Athlon’s projections to many of the teams on its schedule. In addition to the one (presumably) gimme against Weber State, the Buffs’ schedule shakes out like this:
- Georgia Tech (No. 41 nationally)
- Northwestern (No. 56)
- Baylor (No. 62)
- Texas Tech (No. 12)
- Utah (No. 20)
- Oklahoma State (No. 36)
- Kansas State (No. 31)
- Arizona State (No. 35)
- Houston (No. 19)
- Cincinnati (No. 63)
- UCF (No. 65)
As Athlon sees it, Colorado will face only three Top 25 teams in 2026, with all three of those games (Texas Tech, Utah, and Houston) being played at Folsom Field. On paper, the toughest road games are against Georgia Tech and Arizona State, games which will be difficult – but not impossible – to win.
The path to a successful season is right there in front of the Buffs. Play as well as CU fans believe they can, the Buffs will surprise the pundits with a winning season and a bowl bid. Regress to old habits, and the Buffs will find it a struggle to find wins against this schedule.
Bottom line … Buff fans should not be surprised by the placement by Athlon as the No. 14 team in the Big 12, but the ranking should not be seen as an intentional slight, either. The Buffs went 3-9 last season, and have much to prove with their new lineup.
Hopefully, this time next year, we won’t be talking about CU as a “Fourteener” in its own conference, but a “Fourteener” in the national Top 25.
Dare to dream …
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