One of the biggest questions plaguing the Colorado Buffaloes heading into the 2025 season was at the quarterback position. Would Deion Sanders go with the four-year Liberty transfer, Kaidon Salter, or his new five-star recruit, Julian Lewis? After a lackluster showing in the season opener, Salter was granted another start against Delaware this week.
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Even though he provided the Buffaloes an early 10-0 lead, he was benched in favor of Lewis following an incomplete pass on third down. That didn’t last long either, however, as the eight-play drive from Lewis, which ended in an eight-yard sack, was the first and last that we saw of the rookie on Saturday.
Clearly dissatisfied with what he was seeing, Coach Prime opted for a third option, his in-house sophomore and perennial QB3, Ryan Staub. In typical college fashion, the unlikely candidate proved to be the spark that his offense needed, and he even paid homage to Shedeur Sanders with a wristwatch celebration as well.
RYAN STAUB DEEP TO SINCERE BROWN 🎯
The @CUBuffsFootball's third-string QB is on a roll pic.twitter.com/mUmeNvMjbs
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 6, 2025
Sanders’ homegrown sophomore proceeded to lead Colorado to a 31-7 victory against the Blue Hens, rattling off a pair of 21-yard and 71-yard touchdown passes in the process. Colorado’s QB1 competition is officially as wide open as it ever has been, and now, Sanders will once again be forced to figure out the time share before the team travels down to Houston, Texas, to take on Willie Fritz’ Cougars.
Salter was able to complete 13 of his 16 attempts for a total of 102, good for an average of 6.4 yards per completion. Unfortunately for him, that’s just not as exciting as Staub’s 70% completion rate, which led to 157 passing yards and an average of 15.7 yards per completion.
Of course, much of that is reliant on the 71-yard bomb to Sincere Brown, but it’s also Colorado’s biggest touchdown of the season so far, and that will likely hold some weight with a coaching staff that is looking for immediate production at the QB position. As far as the aforementioned five-star freshman is concerned, well, it’s safe to say that Staub has likely taken his place as the QB2 on the depth chart.
Lewis ultimately completed two of his four pass attempts for a total of eight yards. It wasn’t much, but it was enough for that to be his only series of the day, which is a rather telling sign.
Houston will be the first road game of the season for the Buffaloes, which could offer an improved testing ground for his quarterbacks should Sanders continue to work them through a rotation. Hostile territories often determine the who’s who of college football, so this could be an early chance for the NFL Hall of Famer to get a leg up on this issue that he’s having.
Nevertheless, until something better comes along, Staub is set to become the man on campus for the next few days.
