Even though No. 21 Colorado didn’t play last week, the Buffs secured some important results to set themselves up for a pivotal November.

The Buffs are now tied for second in the Big 12 with previously undefeated No. 17 Iowa State after losing to Colorado’s opponent this Saturday, Texas Tech. No. 22 Kansas State also took a loss against Houston, and now, the Buffs' path to the Big 12 title game appears to be more clear.

In addition to the significant losses, the College Football Playoff rankings were announced on Tuesday and Colorado checked in at No. 20, which is the highest CFP ranking for the Buffs since landing 10th in the final rankings in 2016. However, Colorado has work to do this November to even bring a CFP seeding to fruition.

The Buffs look to commence a successful November in Lubbock this Saturday against the Red Raiders. On Nov. 2, head coach Joey McGuire and the Red Raiders gave Iowa State its first loss of the season in a 23-22 win on the Cyclones' turf. Running back Tahj Brooks and wide receiver Josh Kelly, Texas Tech’s leaders in rushing and receiving, led the charge in Ames, Iowa, and those two are looking to help the Red Raiders keep the momentum going against CU.

With Colorado ranked for the second week in a row and the excitement of the CFP rankings, head coach Deion Sanders and the Buffs are staying locked in to begin what they hope is an undefeated November and secure their fourth straight win on the road.

“Every game is a playoff game to us,” Sanders said. “It's been that way all season. I think Shedeur [Sanders] made a comment early … every game we play is like a durn Super Bowl to people, not only to them, but to us, and it is.

“So that's the way we're going into it. Every game is a playoff. It's a single-elimination tournament, and we plan on approaching all of them with passion, with purpose, with consistency, with focus, and that dog-like attitude.”

Here’s what CU Sports Report's Nikki Edwards and Troy Finnegan are watching in the Buffs' first matchup against Texas Tech in 14 years:

Troy: The biggest concern for the Buffs in this one is staying sharp after a week off. Colorado was very sloppy after its first bye week against Kansas State. The Buffs didn’t play poorly in that one, but the little things really hurt them: fitting the wrong gaps, protection breakdowns, and especially missed tackles.

Deion Sanders and company cannot afford to have the same kinds of mishaps in a hostile environment on Saturday. This is a good matchup for the Buffs, but they need to be sharp and execute with precision on both sides of the ball come Saturday.

Nikki: The Buffs defense is going to face a similar style running back to Kansas State’s DJ Giddens, who posted 182 rushing yards against CU, in Tahj Brooks. Brooks is currently second in the Big 12 with 1,047 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns. Brooks’ is a patient and calculated running back similar to Giddens as Brooks is able to evade and break tackles on his carries.

Brooks also secured the winning touchdown against Iowa State last week on a 5-yard rush. He’s one of, if not the, most reliable playmaker for the Red Raiders as he is averaging 130.88 rushing yards per game. As the Buffs had their share of difficulties stopping Giddens back in October, Colorado is preparing to keep Brooks at bay.

“He presses the hole and he has some very similar footwork to No. 31 from Kansas State,” linebackers coach Andre’ Hart said on Tuesday. “I think he’s a bigger back so there’s that part of it that you have to make sure you get their gain tackle wrap and try to get knock back at the line of scrimmage.”