Colorado got a star performance out of its backup quarterback Saturday.
It wasn’t the backup that everyone expected to star, however.
Third-stringer Ryan Staub threw a pair of touchdown passes as the Buffaloes rolled past Delaware 31-7 in front of 50,341 fans at Folsom Field.
On Tuesday, CU head coach Deion Sanders vowed that 17-year-old star recruit Julian Lewis would get into the game against the Blue Hens. He was never asked about Staub, though, and it was the third-year sophomore who stole the show in helping the Buffs (1-1) secure their first win of the season.
After senior Kaidon Salter staked the Buffs a 10-0 lead and Lewis sputtered in his two possessions, Staub got the call and seized the moment.
With CU holding a slim, 10-7 lead when he entered the game, Staub threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to DeKalon Taylor just 9 seconds before halftime. He then found Sincere Brown wide open for a 71-yard touchdown pass on the third play of the third quarter to put the Buffs ahead 24-7.
Staub led the Buffs to a third touchdown – a 10-yard run by Micah Welch – giving them a 31-7 lead early in the fourth quarter, before departing. On the day, he completed 7 of 10 passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns.
Salter was 13-of-16 for 102 yards and ran for a score, while Lewis finished 2-for-4 for eight yards.
Coming off a 27-20 loss to Georgia Tech last week, CU gave Salter the start again. He and the defense got the Buffs going out of the gates.
After a Delaware punt, Salter led the Buffs on a 12-play, 87-yard drive, capped by him scoring on a 9-yard run. Salter completed 6 of 6 passes for 46 yards and ran for 29 yards on the drive.
Delaware failed on a fourth-down attempt on its next possession, and CU followed with a 12-play, 43-yard drive that stalled at the 10, but resulted in a 28-yard Alejandro Mata field goal.
CU’s defense continued to stuff the Blue Hens, and the Buffs decided to then let Lewis loose. The 17-year-old, five-star recruit in the 2025 class led two drives, but both ended in punts.
Delaware then responded by getting itself back into the game. Minicucci hit Jake Thaw for 45 yards to start an 80-yard drive. It was capped by Minicucci finding running back Jo Silver for a 4-yard touchdown just 45 seconds before halftime.
Rather than sit on the 10-7 lead going into the locker room, CU sent Staub to the field and let him sling it. The sophomore led CU to touchdowns on three of his four possessions.
Brown caught four passes for 120 yards after not having a catch in the opener.
Colorado 31, Delaware 7
Delaware 0 7 0 0 — 7
Colorado 7 10 7 7 — 31
First quarter
COLO Ka.Salter 9 run (Mata kick), 5:33.
Second quarter
COLO FG Mata 28, 13:03.
DEL Silver 4 pass from Minicucci (Reed kick), :45.
COLO Taylor 21 pass from Staub (Mata kick), :09.
Third quarter
COLO S.Brown 71 pass from Staub (Mata kick), 13:46.
Fourth quarter
COLO Welch 10 run (Mata kick), 14:13.
DEL COLO
First downs 19 21
Total net yards 396 398
Rushes-yards 30-84 39-131
Passing 312 267
Punt returns 1-13 1-7
Kickoff returns 0-0 0-0
Interceptions ret 0-0 1-2
Comp-att-int 18-36-1 22-31-0
Sacked yds lost 2-5 5-30
Punts 4-30.75 5-50.2
Fumbles-lost 2-1 0-0
Penalties-yards 3-31 4-40
Time of poss 27:03 32:57
INDIVIDUAL Stats
Rushing — Delaware, Silver 11-47, Ellison 6-17, St. Fleur 1-10, Tyree 3-9, Minicucci 7-5, (Team) 1-(minus 1), Spiller 1-(minus 3). Colorado, Price 9-55, Taylor 7-48, Ka.Salter 9-25, Welch 7-14, D.Miller 1-3, Staub 2-(minus 2), (Team) 3-(minus 4), Lewis 1-(minus 8).
Passing — Delaware, Minicucci 18-36-1-312. Colorado, Staub 7-10-0-157, Ka.Salter 13-16-0-102, Lewis 2-4-0-8, (Team) 0-1-0-0.
Receiving — Delaware, Thaw 4-85, Silver 4-12, Kelly 2-83, Wilson 2-47, Patterson 2-26, Ellison 1-28, Tyree 1-16, Duplessis 1-13, Witthoft 1-2. Colorado, S.Brown 4-120, J.Williams 4-55, Taylor 4-49, Hardge 3-21, Gibson 2-8, Price 2-1, Atkins 1-7, H.Williams 1-5, D.Miller 1-1.
Missed field goals — Delaware, Reed 28.
