By Coloradoan staff

After reeling off eight straight wins to improve to 9-1, the CSU football team finally cracked both major top 25 polls.

The Rams are ranked No. 23 in the AP Top 25 and No. 25 in the USA Today Amway Coaches Poll, which were released Sunday.

"As I've said all along, it's pretty cool that people are taking note of the good things happening at Colorado State University," third-year head coach Jim McElwain said in press release. "This is just another step in the climb, and I just can't tell you how proud I am of this team. We have a long way to go, but I'm happy for our fans, for this university and the people in the state of Colorado."

The last time the Rams, who beat Hawaii 49-22 Saturday night at Hughes Stadium, were ranked was Aug. 24, 2003, when they were picked No. 23 in the AP poll.

Last week, the Rams were one place out of the top 25 in the AP poll and two places outside of the coaches poll.

Oklahoma, which was ranked No. 16 last week in the AP poll, lost 48-14 to Baylor to drop out of that poll. The win vaulted Baylor from No. 10 to No. 6. West Virginia, which was ranked No. 24 last week in the AP poll, lost 33-16 to Texas to drop out of the poll.

In the coaches poll, No. 22 Utah lost 51-27 to Oregon to drop out of the poll.

The Rams now wait to see if they will be ranked in the College Football Rankings, which come out Tuesday. The Rams have a bye this week before hosting New Mexico, which nearly upset Boise State on Saturday, on Nov. 22.