The Colorado Buffaloes have accomplished something no one ever thought any team would in the state of Colorado: they Trumped the Denver Broncos.

The top sports story in the state of Colorado is the Bad Boy Buffaloes. Yes, the bullish Broncos have to crawl to the bench and let the young ones in Boulder sit up front. The Buffs, who last year lost 28-20 to the Rainbow Warriors of Hawaii, are now driving their way to glory and have surpassed the Super Bowl Champion Denver Broncos in terms of interest and relevance. This week, the Bad Boy Buffs are driving the story.

This is in no way due to a lack of a storylines in Broncos Country: All-word-backer-buster Andy Janovich is now on IR after ankle surgery; quarterback Trevor Siemian, who played well against the Chiefs in a crushing defeat, is now in a protective boot recovering from a foot injury; and first round draft pick Paxton Lynch (remember him?) could be forced into the starting role. And who knows? He might NEVER give the job back.

Yet, the quarterback on everyone’s mind doesn’t wear orange or blue, but rather is a 22-year-old kid born in Fort Lewis, Colorado named Sefo.

Sefo Liufau, a battered Buffalo who has been through thick and thin with this CU team, is the embodiment of the program. Sefo has had the proverbial stuffing knocked out of him since his redshirt was lifted six games into his freshman season. He has been beaten, he has been broken, he (like Coach MacIntyre) has been on the hot seat, and yet Sefo is still there, now smiling, as the Bad Boy Buffs are right there with him.

They are all together in the Pac-12 Championship game, playing at the very same place (Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, CA) those Denver Broncos played and won Superbowl 50. How fitting, how perfect, how unlikely.

Part of the reason why the Buffaloes have earned front-page attention is because of the unlikelihood of the happening itself. NO ONE, and I mean NO ONE, saw this coming, but we sure enjoy the narrative. Most of us scoffed at the rise, but it became real. The Buffs are the perfect underdog-come-from-nowhere story, wrapped in a perfect black (and gold) Friday package. Simply, it’s magical, and we want to be part of it!

The Broncos owned every story in 2015 and had that perfect Disney-style formula: Peyton coming back into the lineup wearing his white hat and blue glove, yelling Omaha Omaha to save the day; Von Miller and the defense had their part as they foiled the plans of the evil Panthers; Kubiak came home; Wade finally got a ring; and John Elway forever solidified his place in history, not as player, but rather as a GM (or whatever he wants to be called).

But now it’s the kid’s turn. It’s the Buffs’ try at history, at redemption, at the Hollywood ending. But none of this Buffs success came by way of free agency or draft; it came the hard way.

These Buffaloes, this team of misfits, is not made up of top recruits and child prodigies. Rather, they were the passed-over, the fat kid in gym class getting called last in dodgeball. Most were not offered scholarships from SEC schools, or even other Pac-12 schools. This team is mostly comprised of two-star athletes who took a shot on Colorado, just as Colorado took a shot on them. They’ve been coached up, battle tested and are now the Bad Boy Buffs, stampeding their way into the Pac-12 Championship Game. They are the ultimate team, and this TEAM has written their own destiny.

One might say: “Well, this will end soon. After all, this is a Broncos town?”

The story of the Colorado Buffaloes is setting up to be more like War and Peace than Dr Seuss. And the Pac-12 Championship is only the beginning.

The Buffaloes have used this platform and will continue to use this platform to gain talent and players. In recent years, the best-of-the-best Colorado preps have left and gone to other programs with more prestige. Who could blame them! CU hasn’t been ideal for much of anything other than skiing for a few years.

Now, the story has changed and the script has flipped. In-state football studs like Heston Paige (OL Thunder Ridge), Jonathan Van Diest (LB/DE Cherry Creek), and Ohio State-flip Jake Moretti (OL Pomona) are all in on being a part of the Colorado Buffs program. This story, could be never ending.

Scoot over, Broncos fans. Scoot over, writers and sports casters. There’s a new tale to tell, and a new hero in town. The CU Buffs have proved their place, they have gained our respect and now they have earned the right to be on the same page as the Denver Broncos.

Clear the way, Thunder, Ralphie is coming through.