Colorado University Athletics
Liufau, Buffs Take Aim At Accuracy
October 07, 2015 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Coming off a year in which he launched an unprecedented assault on the Colorado record books, Sefo Liufau was expected to pick up this year where he left off in 2014.
But for a variety of reasons, it hasn't happened. While Liufau been an effective game manager and dramatically reduced his interceptions from a year ago — one of the points of emphasis when the season began — his numbers have been rather pedestrian this season.
In five games, Liufau has completed 91 of 155 attempts for 1,002 yards and five touchdowns, along with two interceptions. That's nowhere near his numbers after five games a year ago, when he had completed 156 of 239 attempts for 1,573 yards and 17 touchdowns —  along with six interceptions.
But this year, Liufau is 3-2 as a starter, the first time Colorado has had a winning record after five games since the 2010 season.
Still, he's not the Liufau most people expected to see this year — including Liufau. By his own admission, he's left some yards on the field every game, as his completion percentage has dropped this season (65.3 percent after five games in 2014 compared to 58.3 this year).
"I'm definitely struggling on some throws, which is frustrating," Liufau said. "We just have to go back and look at film, fix the corrections, and just try to be more fundamentally sound, so I can hit my receivers and continue drives."
A number of factors have contributed to Liufau's slow start. For the last three weeks, he's been dealing with a shoulder injury, suffered early in the game against Colorado State. He's also been under pressure more this year. He's already been sacked nine times and been under pressure much more often than a year ago.
But that doesn't explain all the missed receivers, throws that CU fans — and coaches — were accustomed to seeing Liufau complete.
"There's just a handful of throws each game when you watch the film, you say, 'He can make that throw. He's made it before,'" CU offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren said. "We've got to get him to be more consistent."
Lindgren can't fully explain the inconsistency. Part of it, he said, can be attributed to Liufau's shoulder injury, which has limited his throwing time in practice. Lindgren also pointed to pressure Liufau is getting in the pocket, noting, "you get hit a couple times, it gets a little bit tougher to stand in there and make those throws consistently every time."
But there are also some throws Liufau has simply missed — and no matter the reason, the Buffs know it's something they need to improve. With eight Pac-12 games remaining, the CU offense needs to establish a rhythm that so far has too often been missing.
They'd like to find that rhythm beginning Saturday in their 8 p.m. game at Arizona State (Pac-12 Networks).
"At times, we've been pretty sharp," Lindgren said. "In the Oregon game there were times when we were driving it and we felt really good. We were efficient with the ball and we were moving it. Then there were times where we stalled, and we stalled ourselves."
The Buffs did have some solid stretches in the 41-24 loss to the Ducks. In back-to-back possessions in the first half, CU put together scoring drives of 63 and 65 yards, using a total of 16 plays. On those drives, Liufau was 7-for-9 for 91 yards and a touchdown.
But in the same game, Liufau also missed a couple of big opportunities, when he either didn't see an open receiver or simply missed his target.
Lindgren, though, said the critics have been a little too harsh.
"I wouldn't say he's been losing us games," Lindgren said. "He's done a really good job of managing the game for us and he's done a really good job of taking care of the football. We've just got to get him to keep being more consistent with his accuracy. I think his percentage will go up and we'll start moving the ball more consistently."
Head coach Mike MacIntyre voiced the same confidence.
"Sefo feels a lot better today than he did last Tuesday," MacIntyre said at his weekly press conference. "I think that will help our rhythm with the different things that we're doing. One thing is that we had such high expectations for our offense, which we should. But, I think we'll end up reaching them."
BROADCAST TEAM: Saturday's Pac-12 Network broadcast team will consist of Kevin Calabro on play-by-play, Yogi Roth with color commentary and Lewis Johnson from the sideline. It's the second time the Buffs have had the crew this year; they also called the Nicholls State game.
INTERCEPTION STREAK: Ahkello Witherspoon's interception against Oregon gave the Buffs eight for the season and at least one pick in five straight games. The eight interceptions is tied for 14th in the nation, and the last time CU had at least one interception in six straight games was the final six contests of the 2004 season.
Seven different players have recorded interceptions for the Buffs this year. Last season, CU had just three interceptions all season — all by Tedric Thompson — and went the final eight game without an interception.
AFTER FIVE: The Buffs have outscored their opponents by a 167-107 margin this year. It's the first time since 2007 that CU has had a cumulative edge after five games.
LEFT TACKLE NO. 3: With Stephane Nembot slated to move from right tackle to left tackle Saturday, it will be Colorado's third starting left tackle in six games. Jeromy Irwin started the first two contests before suffering a season-ending knee injury. Sam Kronhage started the last three, but is not expected to play because of a concussion. Nemot will make the move from right to left, and redshirt freshman John Lisella is expected to get his first career start at right tackle.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
