On Saturday, Sept. 6, CU Boulder football delivered a commanding 31–7 victory over Delaware. All eyes were on the quarterbacks for this game, as both Kaidon Salter and Juilian Lewis would play. The conversation in Boulder revolved around who the permanent starting quarterback would be: Salter, the transfer out of Liberty, or Lewis, the freshman phenom. What no one was expecting was that Ryan Staub, CU’s third-string quarterback, would be the dark horse that led the Buffs to victory.
Staub threw for 157 yards and two touchdowns. He put on a show for the Buff fans, throwing a 21-yard touchdown with 9 seconds left in the first half and another 71-yard touchdown right after halftime. His performance did not go unnoticed by the CU fanbase or by CU’s head coach, Deion Sanders.
“Staub don’t trip… he’s just unflappable, man,” Sanders commented in a post-game interview.
This Friday, the 12th, the Buffs will take on Houston, and Sanders confirmed that Staub will be the starting quarterback for this game. This moment was a long time coming for Staub. The past two years; he’s taken residence as the backup quarterback to Shedeur Sanders. He did however, get to learn the plays and the process inside and out. Staub even spoke on this in his post-game interview, saying: “It’s crazy to be rewarded this way. But it’s been a couple of years just working and waiting and working.” Even though he slipped to second backup this year, he ultimately made the wise choice to stay with CU Boulder instead of entering the transfer portal, as he now gets the chance to lead his team this Friday.
For those less familiar with football, here’s a quick analogy for you. Staub getting a starting spot from Sanders is like getting a rose on The Bachelor. It means that the girl is the frontrunner in the Bachelor’s mind because she did well throughout the week. This is essentially what is happening with Staub — he got the rose, or in this case, the starting spot, from Sanders, who is the Bachelor. Now, as we know, just because the Bachelor picked a girl to get the rose one week, they may not get it next week. The same can be said of Staub. It’s apparent that the starting quarterback position in Boulder is still up for grabs. Just because Staub is starting on Friday does not mean he will be the starter forever— it just means he gets his moment in the spotlight.
Staub showed out on Saturday, and Buff fans are looking forward to seeing how Staub can perform on Friday against Houston, and just how the quarterback situation in Boulder will shake out.