There is work to be done, but it is better to be among the haves than the have nots. Tuesday evening the College Football Playoff selection committee debuted its first CFP rankings revealing the top 25 teams vying for the coveted 12 spots in this season's playoff.

Colorado still has some work to do before it can move into position to secure one of the spots, but the Buffs were represented with release of the rankings. CU checks in at No. 20 in the initial release as the Buffs head into the home stretch of the regular season with a 6-2 overall record and in a tie for second place in the Big 12 with a 4-1 conference mark.

BYU checks in at No. 9 in the first ranking followed by No. 17 Iowa State and No. 19 Kansas State when it comes to Colorado's counterparts in the Big 12. Based on how the bracket will work, BYU would slide into the No. 4-seed based on the first ranking as the fourth highest-rated conference champion.

The next four weeks will tell the story for the Buffs, who don't completely control their own destiny yet for a spot in the Big 12 title game.

Because of that, CU head coach Deion Sanders has continued to downplay the importance of seeing his team ranked, whether it be in the Associated Press Top 25 poll or now the College Football Playoff rankings.

“Rankings can fool you,” Sanders said Tuesday. “... So, we can’t be fooled for that foolishness. That’s why I said ‘don’t rank us, we’re better without it.’ I don’t want these young men and these coaches and the staff members thinking you’ve arrived just because you’ve got a number by your team’s name.”

The Buffs checked in at No. 21 in this week's AP Top 25, which represented a move up two spots in the poll from last week.

CU was last part of the CFP rankings in 2020 when the Buffs reached as high as No. 21 that season. Prior to that, the only other time Colorado was represented on the list was in 2016 when the team spent several weeks ranked and reached as high as No. 8 that year.

The Buffs next head to Lubbock to take on Texas Tech (6-3, 4-2 Big 12) looking to extend their current two-game winning streak.