With the news today that the ACC has accepted California and Stanford into its ranks, the Pacific-12 Conference will cease to exist by Fall 2024. It’s been a crazy time for the Conference of (real NCAA) Champions, and we don’t intend to ignore the elephant in the room: the most successful college athletics league ever put together has been killed by the corruption and greed of college football grifting.

So, with college football season kicking off, pun intended, this holiday weekend in full swing, we offer this miniseries looking at the best football teams of each current Pac-12 member, starting with the “worst”: the Colorado Buffaloes. Each Friday from now until December, you’ll get a look at the usually grand history of the conference’s schools and their best squads, in the order we ranked the campuses last week. Enjoy!

5. 2013

The pickings are slim here, of course, and this team makes the list … despite its 4-8 record. These Buffaloes did play the No. 16 SOS in the nation, though, going 3-0 out of conference with victories over two small schools. The lone conference win came against California, but Colorado did have a bright star in freshman quarterback Sefo Liufau (128.3 QB rating) who would start 35 games for the Buffs from 2014 to 2016.

4. 2020

When one of the “best” teams in the school’s Pac-12 history is the Covid year, you know it’s not really a good thing. The Buffaloes posted a 4-2 record under first-year Head Coach Karl Dorrell, which included a 3-1 record in conference play. League offensive MVP Jarek Broussard ran for 895 yards in just 6 games, as Colorado started the shortened season with four straight wins. Alas, the Buffs lost the Alamo Bowl, though.

3. 2018

Colorado posted just a 5-7 record, but QB Steven Montez threw for 19 touchdowns and only 9 interceptions as a bright spot on the roster. Head Coach Mike MacIntyre saw his tenure in Boulder come to end, as he was let go with one game left on the schedule. However, the Buffs posted victories over Colorado State, Nebraska, UCLA, and Arizona State that led to a 5-0 start and a No. 19 ranking in the Associated Press poll.

2. 2019

Head Coach Mel Tucker spent just one season with the Buffaloes, but it was a sabermetrically solid one despite another 5-7 record. Playing the No. 14 SOS in the nation, Colorado posted a 3-6 record in the conference as well, beating Arizona State, Stanford, and Washington. The Buffs lost three games by a combined 16 points, so the team was that close to turning it around and producing a winning season.

1. 2016

The best Colorado team by far during the team’s Pac-12 residency, this group won the South Division to reach the conference championship game. With the No. 14 SRS ranking overall in the country, the Buffaloes posted a 10-4 record despite losing the Pac-12 title game and the Alamo Bowl by a combined 79-18 score. Colorado was ranked as high as No. 9 in the AP poll, too, after its 10-2 regular-season effort. Ralphie Roamin’!