Colorado University Athletics
Buffs O-line Struggles In Loss To ASU
October 11, 2015 | Football
An hour after Colorado quarterback Sefo Liufau had absorbed perhaps the worst beating of his career, he said he was ready to go again.
Liufau took eight sacks and countless more knockdowns in Saturday night's 48-23 loss at Arizona State, and he was pressured on nearly every dropback. By the end of the night, the back of his white jersey was stained green, yet he was still ready to go.
"I feel good," he told reporters after the game. "If you guys want to play a couple more quarters, we can go."
It's remarkable that Liufau survived four quarters with a shoulder injury he's been nursing for three weeks and a makeshift offensive line.
Colorado's starting offensive line against ASU was one juggled significantly because of injury. Right tackle Stephane Nembot replaced the concussed Sam Kronshage at left tackle, and redshirt freshman John Lisella II filled in for Nembot. They faced an Arizona State defense that loves to blitz, and Saturday night the Sun Devils unleashed their pass rush with brutal ferocity.
"We were kind of playing behind the eight ball and they knew it so they could kind of attack it a little bit," Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre said.
The Sun Devils besieged Liufau incessantly. Linebackers Antonio Longino and DJ Calhoun were wrecking balls, combining for four sacks and six tackles for a loss.
The pressure came from the start. Liufau's accuracy suffered because he rarely had the time to make even quick throws. He had struggled with his command the last two weeks ' the injury caused him to miss throws high ' and that compounded with the constant pressure to create an environment in which Colorado's offense couldn't succeed.
"I'm not going to lie, it's tough but you just have to put it in the corner of your mind and push yourself and be tough," Liufau said.
Arizona State's pressure came from everywhere. Longino flashed past Lisella on the edge and strip-sacked Liufau. Liufau got drilled up the middle on his best throw of the night, a 68-yard rainbow to Devin Ross for a touchdown. Neither was Liufau blameless in the loss. He held onto the ball for too long on some of the few plays when he had a clean pocket, and got hit anyway.
Regardless of the cause, the result was the same ' Liufau slowly peeling himself off the grass, favoring his right shoulder, inspiring endless tweets that he should come out of the game for his own safety.
"We were trying to keep the ball moving, trying to keep going, so that's why we did it," MacIntyre said of the decision to leave Liufau in the game.
One substitution that MacIntyre did make was Shane Callahan for Lisella at right tackle. Callahan played better, though the Buffs still allowed two sacks after he took over at tackle.
