BOULDER — To no one's surprise, the Colorado Buffaloes took another step up in the national polls on Sunday.

The Buffs moved up to No. 16 in the Associated Press poll (up from No. 21 last week) and to No. 15 in the USA Today/Coaches poll (up from No. 20 last week). It's the first time since early in the 2003 season that the Buffs have been among the nation's top 20, just the latest step forward for a team that has already established a long list of such moments in this turnaround season.

But the rankings that matter now are those that come out Tuesday, when the College Football Playoff committee releases its weekly rankings. Those are the rankings that will go a long way in determining where the 7-2 Buffs (5-1 Pac-12) will ultimately end up for their bowl game.

The Buffs, who lead the Pac-12 South, are still among the favorites to earn a berth in the Dec. 2 Pac-12 championship game, and have at least a mathematical chance of still being one of four teams selected to play in the national semifinals. Bowl committees pay close attention to the CFP rankings and Colorado was ranked No. 15 in the first list released last week and is expected to move up another notch or two when the next list is released Tuesday afternoon.

With five conference wins this season, the Buffs have now matched their total number of Pac-12 wins from their first five seasons in the conference. They'll aim to surpass that total on Saturday, when they play an 8 p.m. game at Arizona (FS1).

Colorado beat Arizona, 49-28, in CU's first year in the Pac-12. But since then, the Wildcats have won four straight, including last year's 38-31 win in Boulder, when the Buffs let a 24-17 lead early in the fourth quarter slip from their grasp.

Colorado has already beaten Oregon, Arizona State, UCLA and Stanford this season, Pac-12 teams that owned a composite 18-0 record against the Buffs in previous Pac-12 games.

The Wildcats (2-7, 0-6), have lost six straight, including Saturday's 69-7 drubbing at the hands of Washington State.

The Buffs are coming off a 20-10 win over UCLA, a game that included another sparkling effort by CU's defense. Colorado now boasts the ninth-ranked defense in the nation (yielding just 296.9 yards per game, best in the Pac-12) and the 12th-ranked scoring defense, giving up just 17.2 points per game.

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu