Buffs O-Line Enjoys Up-Tempo Pace; Liufau Honored By Pac-12

BOULDER — Throughout spring ball, summer workouts and fall camp, the Colorado Buffaloes worked on increasing the tempo of their offense.

Fast meant going even faster. Huddles became a thing of the past. The strategy became quite clear: snap, go, line up and snap again. Don't give the defense time to adjust, let alone substitute.

There may have been doubters beforehand, but Friday night's public unveiling of the up-tempo pace created plenty of believers. Even CSU head coach Mike Bobo, who last week said he wasn't too concerned about CU's up-tempo pace ("We'll be ready to adjust," Bobo promised. "We go no-huddle in practice against our guys,") admitted after the 44-7 CU win that the Buffs' offense took its toll.

"We couldn't not settle down defensively," Bobo said. "They were going extremely fast and we weren't getting lined up. … We weren't getting adjusted."

No doubt, the Rams were on the heels from the beginning. As Buffs running back Phillip Lindsay said after Monday's practice, "Our first drive set the tone. They'd never seen anything that fast. They weren't able to get lined up, they were out of breath. That whole drive set the tone and took the air out of them."

But maybe the biggest converts to CU's rapid-fire offense — literally and figuratively — are the Buffs' own offensive linemen. After experiencing what kind of effect the tempo can have on an opponent, they arrived at Monday's practice ready to take their scheme to the next level.

"You could tell today that they got to see for themselves the way it can work in a game if you do a good job with it," offensive line coach Klayton Adams said. "Honestly, I felt even a little more urgency from them today. They saw what it can do. I don't think they still fully understand what we want in terms of getting up, getting the call and snapping the football, but they're moving in the right direction. I think they're starting to see what we can do if we execute it right."

What the offense can do — what it is designed to do — is run long, sustained drives without a huddle, mixing run and pass plays at will. It requires the quarterback to make numerous checks and changes at the line, and if executed correctly, keeps a defense a half-step behind.

In the long run, it also exhausts a defense, something the Buffs said they saw against Colorado State. Along with allowing just one sack of quarterback Sefo Liufau, the Buffs' offensive line also opened up holes for 260 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.

"I think we came strong, got our tempo going and were able to play physical," said Buffs guard Gerrad Kough. "I think (the Rams) started to get a little tired If we can do that and improve on it, it's something that's going to benefit us. If we can keep working at our tempo and our speed, and keep improving, I can see how it's going to be a big asset."

Colorado put together four scoring drives of at least 10 plays against the Rams, beginning with an 11-play, 73-yard march to open the game and ending with an 11-play, 50-yard drive for the final score of the night.

Now, Adams said, the goal is to correct the errors that ended some of their other drives prematurely.

"We still had too many lapses in technique or lapses in focus," Adams said. "We had some mental errors, times that we made it harder on ourselves than it needed to be. We had four penalties. Those are the things that we need to clean up. Not to dwell on them, but those are the things that you focus on after a game — and it's a lot easier to focus on fixing things when you've been successful."

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Colorado quarterback Sefo Liufau, who played in his first game since being sidelined by a Lisfranc injury last season, was named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week for his performance against CSU.

The CU senior was 23-of-33 for 318 yards and one touchdown passing, and he rushed for 66 yards on 14 carries. He also became CU's all-time leader in passing yards during the game (7,515) as he chalked up his 10th career 300-yard passing game.

"It's a great feeling, but it's a testament (to his teammates," Liufau said. "(Bryce) Bobo made a great play, Devin (Ross) made a big catch, Shay (Fields), the O-line did really well. If anything, it's just a testament to how well the offense played."

Liufau said he was "satisfied" with the way he played in the opener, but did add that his two fumbles were "pretty frustrating."

"For the most part, I was satisfied with how I was running the ball, passing, making checks and everything," Liufau said. "There's room to improve but I was definitely satisfied with Week 1."

Head coach Mike MacIntyre agreed, noting that while they'll work on the fumbles, it was also the first time Liufau has taken a full-contact hit since his Nov. 13 injury against Southern California.

"He played really well," MacIntyre said. "You always want things to be perfect, and he had a couple throws, if he would've made those, he might have had a couple more touchdowns. But he made a lot of plays, too. He got us into a lot of the right situations, made some good checks. I was pleased with the way he played. Coming back off the foot and everything he did, I thought he did an excellent job."

LINDSAY PRAISES O-LINE: Lindsay, a Denver native, finally scored a touchdown at Sports Authority Field in his third game there. The Denver South prep product finished with 95 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries, a total MacIntyre said could have been much greater if Lindsay had played the entire game.

Lindsay, though, said the most important result was the win — although he admitted it was nice to finally score a touchdown in Denver.

"For me to get into the end zone a couple times in front of my home state, it's a proud feeling," he said.

Lindsay also had kind words for his offensive line, a group he said has improved significantly compared to a year ago.

"It's a lot of attitude," Lindsay said. "Coach Mac made it known that CSU for the past couple years handled us up front, both offensively and defensively. This year, we came out with a little bit more attitude, a little bit more funk. That's what we need to continue to do, is swagger. That's how it is. It's about confidence. Our offensive linemen are confident, they're in shape. They're ready to move the ball and they love running the ball."

FIRST START FOR LAGUDA: CU junior Afolabi Laguda made his first career start Friday, joining redshirt freshman guard Tim Lynott Jr. in that category.

Laguda moved up in the lineup early in camp when regular starting free safety Ryan Moeller suffered a sprained ankle. Moeller is recovered and is playing again, but the CU coaching staff started Laguda as they are bringing Moeller back slowly. Laguda had five tackles in the game while Moeller was credited with two.

"I didn't think I did too well," Laguda said. "But that comes from me setting my bar high. My parents always held me to a higher standard. They watched the game, and I made some plays, but they were dogging me about the ones I missed. That's who I really want to please — as well as Coach Mac and the coaching staff. I carry my father's name on the back of my jersey, so his opinion is very high up there."

INJURY UPDATE: CU center Alex Kelley and safety Tedric Thompson suffered slight injuries in Friday's game, but MacIntyre said he expected them both to be back for Saturday's game vs. Idaho State.

Kelley suffered a slight ankle injury while Thompson, MacIntyre said, "kind of got whiplashed." Thompson has passed all concussion protocol.

"Right now, as of today, it looks like they'll both play," MacIntyre said.

TICKETS AVAILABLE: Tickets still remain for Saturday's home opener against Idaho State, set to kick off at 3:30 p.m. at Folsom Field. For information, go to http://www.cubuffs.com/sports/2016/6/26/football-tickets.aspx or call 303-492-8337.

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu