Steven Montez shines against Oregon

Rewind to two Saturdays ago. Colorado RS-Freshman Quarterback Steven Montez was 0-7 and had a passing rating of 0.5 against Michigan in the Buffs 45-28 loss. When Montez was unofficial named No. 1 on the Colorado depth last Tuesday in place of starter Sefo Liufau who is dealing with what we believe to be a severe ankle sprain, there were mixed reaction, most of them negative by the Colorado fan base.

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"He took most of the reps in the spring practice and did a good job there, in fall camp he did good, he's played in all three games so far and so I think his feet are wet so to speak, it's not going to be like he's jumping out there for the very first time. I definitely think Steven is capable of making plays and moving the offense, he has a good arm and can run, so I think he'll do well when he gets in the game if he had a chance to get in there."

Montez came out Saturday against Oregon on fire. After the defense forced an Oregon punt, the 6-foot-5, 235 pound pro-style quarterback out of El Paso, Texas would get his opportunity to prove himself. He was 3 for 3 on the opening drive, then after a Phillip Lindsay touchdown and a Chris Graham Field Goal, Montez would hit Shay Fields for a 7-yard touchdown pass. It was on.

Montez ended the first quarter 12 of 13 passing for 113-yards. In the second quarter Montez called his own number and ran for a 5-yard touchdown, he would finish the game rushing 21 times for 135-yards. Montez was an incredible 17 of 18 passing for 217-yards as Colorado took a 26-17 lead over Oregon at halftime.

Montez would enter the second half still ablaze and throw a 48-yard touchdown to Devin Ross for 48-yards, which would put Colorado up 33-17 with 12:59 in the game. Then Montez would throw two interceptions, which both led to Oregon touchdowns and swing of momentum gave Oregon their first lead of the game at 38-33 going into the 4th quarter.

"We stumbled a little bit in the third quarter, threw two picks which we cannot do but after that, I talked to Sefo, I talked to my teammates, they said they believed in me, coaches believe in me so that just pushed me forward and keep going and finish that game, finish strong," Said Montez.

Mid 4th quarter Montez would hit Bryce Bobo in the corner of the end zone for a 31-yard touchdown reception that had to be reviewed by the officials. The throw and catch was among the most viewed plays via social media.

MacIntyre on Montez's late game performance, "The way he came back from the two picks being a redshirt freshman in this sense (was impressive), because he could have just crumbled and said I just screwed it up for all of us, he just kept playing."

Montez would finish the game 23 of 32 passing for 333-yards with 3 touchdowns, 2 interceptions, and would rush for 135-yards and a score. That is 468-yards of offense and 4 touchdowns. Not a bad debut.

Will there be a battle at quarterback forthcoming? Not really sure, we know this: Sefo needs to get healthy and Montez is capable of leading this team. So, you ride the momentum of the young-gun into the Oregon State game and make sure the starter (Liufau) is good to go for USC on October 8th. Few teams have high-quality depth at the quarterback position, Colorado just proved they are one of them.

2016 Quarterback Stats

SR., Sefo Liufau - 54 of 76 passing for 768-yards (71.1 %) with 6 TDs and 0 INTs

RS, FR., Steven Montez - 29 of 49 passing for 450-yards (59.2%) with 5 TDs and 2 INTs

Colorado will graduate Quarterbacks Sefo Liufau and Jordan Gehrke after this season. The returners at the position include: Steven Montez, Redshirt Sam Noyer, and the Buffs have Servite, California Quarterback Tyler Lytle committed from the Class of 2017. Lytle is a 6-foot-5 pro-style quarterback that has thrown for 83 of 114 passes for 5 touchdowns and 0 ints this season. This past Friday in a 55-0 win over Garfield, Lytle was 7 of 13 passing for 2 touchdowns.

Folsom104

Should have been 4 passing TDs. Bobo was robbed!

AuntEm

What a game! Montez... AMAZING! Del Valle Conquistadores QB... Yes sir!!

SFBuff2000

The boy crushed it tonight. I'll admit, although I didn't think he was dead in the water after last week, I was a little pessimistic for next year. Montez came out firing, looked poised and held his ground on the road in Oregon. Hats off to the guy, he is where the bar has been raised for CU recruits. He may not be a heisman, but we are recruiting winners from here forward.

Buff182

I think the most impressive thing for me was last week the coaches they would have him ready to play this week, and they did! Pretty darn cool!

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