As Colorado begins Big 12 play vs. Houston, the Buffs will have a new starter at quarterback in Ryan Staub. Although he started the season as Colorado's third-string quarterback, he's been elevated to the No. 1 spot on the depth chart.
The decision comes as the Buffs are 1-1 to start the year, with a Week 1 loss to Georgia Tech and a home victory over Delaware.
Let's take a look at Deion Sanders' decision to start Staub in Week 3, and what it could mean for Colorado moving forward.
Why is Ryan Staub starting for Colorado?
The decision to switch to Staub appears to come after a strong performance against Delaware. Sanders played all three of his quarterbacks in Julian Lewis, Kaidon Salter and Staub. Although Staub came into the game last in the group, and late in the second quarter, he had the strongest performance of the quarterbacks.
First, he led a six-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to give Colorado a 17-7 lead at halftime. During Colorado's opening drive of the third quarter, he added a 71-yard touchdown pass to Sincere Brown. After the throw, he even hit a Shedeur Sanders touchdown celebration:
Colorado’s THIRD-STRING QB Ryan Staub threw a DART 🤯🎯
— The College Sports Company (@CollegeSportsCo) September 6, 2025
HAD to hit the Shedeur Celly after ⌚️🔥
pic.twitter.com/EWE6qn7j7O
Staub led the Buffs to a third scoring drive late in the quarter, but that was largely helped by Delaware defensive penalties. On the day, the quarterback finished with seven completions for 157 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 15.7 yards per throw.
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Who is Ryan Staub?
Ryan Staub is a redshirt sophomore with the Buffs. He signed with Colorado in 2023, recruited by then-Buffs offensive coordinator Sean Lewis. A former three-star quarterback recruit per 247Sports, he was the No. 36 ranked quarterback that year.
He played high school football in Stevenson Ranch, Calif. out of West Ranch High School. Over two seasons tracked by MaxPreps, he threw for 5,422 yards with 58 touchdowns and just 15 interceptions.
After he got to Colorado, he was largely a backup behind Shedeur Sanders. He played in just three games in 2023, making a start against Utah at the end of the season in place of an injured Sanders In Colorado's 23-17 loss, he threw for 195 yards with a touchdown. Last season for the Buffs he had just four passing attempts with zero completions.
After Saturday's win, Staub said in his postsgame interview with Coach Sanders about waiting for his opportunity:
"All I needed was that opportunity."
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 6, 2025
Ryan Staub and @DeionSanders speak after @CUBuffsFootball's win vs Delaware 🦬 pic.twitter.com/KMECkJkD9J
Tuesday before the Houston game, although Coach Prime didn't outright name Staub the starter, he had high praise for his quarterback.
"He's the ultimate teammate," Sanders said via ESPN. "He's the ultimate character guy. Those are the type of guys that we're looking for," Sanders said Tuesday. "Oftentimes, those guys don't come with the three, four or five stars that you guys get excited about. I'm looking more at, 'Can they play here? Do they fit who we are?'"
Colorado is listed as a 5.5-point underdog against the home Houston Cougars.
Colorado QB depth chart
Here's a look at Colorado's presumed depth chart with Staub as the QB No. 1:
| Position | QB |
| 1 | Ryan Staub |
| 2 | Kaidon Salter |
| 3 | Julian Lewis |
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