Colorado Scored One of the Goofiest Touchdowns You'll Ever See on Ryan Staub Scramble

The sophomore quarterback started for the Colorado Buffaloes Friday and helped score a wild touchdown to trim the Houston Cougars' lead before halftime.

Colorado quarterback Ryan Staub helped the Buffs score a wild touchdown Friday / Screengrab via ESPN

It's Ryan Staub time for Colorado.

The redshirt sophomore quarterback got the start for Deion Sanders's Buffaloes against Houston Friday night after he impressed against Delaware last week. Against the Blue Hens, he threw two touchdown passes as the Buffs rotated quarterbacks behind starter Kaidon Salter, who led the team during its opening-week loss to Georgia Tech.

Staub, who backed up Shedeur Sanders over his first two seasons, got the call to start Friday just a week after he was Colorado’s third quarterback to enter the game. The Buffs fell behind by 13 points to the Cougars in the second quarter before Staub helped make things interesting before halftime.

Colorado got on the board with a 38-yard touchdown rush by Simeon Price. Houston followed that with a field goal before Staub was able to lead a successful two-minute drill in electric fashion. He ended the drive with a 19-yard run to the end zone, but he absorbed contact at the goal line which caused a fumble that tight end Zach Atkins was able to recover to secure the six points.

Take a look at the wild play below:

Ryan Staub rushing TD for the Buffaloes 🔥

(via @espn)pic.twitter.com/qjVtPiH8UI

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) September 13, 2025

If you look closely at the play, it’s up for debate if Staub actually fumbled as his elbow may have been down before the ball popped out. But even then, the ball may not have crossed the plane.

The play was officially ruled a 19-yard rush and fumble by Staub, which was recovered successfully by Atkins for the touchdown. No matter how it was scored, it was an insane touchdown for the Buffs which helped them trim Houston’s lead to two points at the break.

Colorado’s new starter was absolutely pumped following the score, immediately popping up and lifting his helmet off to let out a roar. In case you were curious about Atkins’s stat line as a rusher following the score: zero carries, zero yards, one touchdown.

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