Kaidon Salter's performance against Iowa State was even better than you think

It hasn't been the smoothest of transitions for Kaidon Salter from Liberty to Colorado. He's struggled to operate the offense the way Deion Sanders and OC Pat Shurmur have wanted, and his status as the team's starting QB coming into Saturday's game against Iowa State was tenuous at best.

Following last week's three interceptions in the loss to BYU, there were calls for Coach Prime to make a change at QB with the Buffs at 2-4. With a bye week looming, the matchup against Iowa State was a final opportunity for Salter, or a change seemed likely.

With his back against the wall, Salter "stood up and stood out" with his finest performance so far in Boulder.

Salter threw for 255 yards on 16-of-25 completions with two touchdowns. He added 57 yards on the ground, picking and choosing his moments to make plays with his feet. It was Salter's most impressive game as a passer. He consistently made terrific throws.

Early in the season, it looked like Shurmur was afraid to let Salter throw the ball down the field. That's no more, as the Liberty transfer was slinging it all over against Iowa State in leading the Buffs to a critical 24-17 win that keeps bowl hopes alive.

Salter's performance was even better than the raw numbers show. According to PFF, no QB in the country in Week 7 performed better as a passer than the Colorado signal-caller:

Kaidon Salter named to PFF's college 'team of the week'

Performances like that change everything for Salter and the Buffs moving forward. This version of Salter is exactly what Colorado hoped to be getting when it landed him out of the Transfer Portal.

Salter was the top QB in the country against Iowa State, which placed him on PFF's team of the week. He was joined by Colorado safety Tawfiq Byard:

Things looked bleak for Colorado after the loss to BYU dropped them to 2-4. It's amazing what one week can do. Colorado needed the win over Iowa State in the worst way, and with Salter and the whole team's back against the wall, the Buffs performed.

Big 12 title hopes are long gone, but Colorado is a team that was never as far off as their record showed. They're going to be a team that no one wants to play down the stretch, and Coach Prime will relish the role of spoiler as the Buffs look to get to bowl eligibility.