Brooks: Liufau Wants To Find Passing Rhythm, Offers No Excuses

BOULDER – He's had the opportunity to roll them out, and no one would have raised a question or an eyebrow if he did. But Sefo Liufau doesn't like excuses.

"It's kind of how I've been raised and how I've brought myself up," the University of Colorado quarterback said Tuesday. "I don't like excuses for anything or any of my actions – not just in football, it's kind of everything in life.

"Pain is temporary; if you go out there you want to win and you might have a couple of bruises, but those wins and losses stick with a lot longer than bruises that you have."

That said, Liufau wouldn't say – at least not with much conviction – that his bruised right shoulder was affecting his first-half accuracy in last weekend's 48-0 rout of Nicholls State. But it was "just a little bit," which Liufau conceded afterward.

This week brings a bigger question for a bigger opponent on a much bigger stage for Buffs football: How's the shoulder now and how effective can he be in Saturday night's Pac-12 opener against Oregon (8 p.m., Folsom Field, ESPN)?

Obviously, the second part of that two-parter is TBD. As for the first part, Liufau said his shoulder is "feeling a lot better," then later called the pain, "Immense, (it) more it feels like a bruise I guess. It just really hurts to throw, I'll tell you that."

But he and his coach, Mike MacIntyre, said playing Saturday night is a given. MacIntyre said his QB threw much better in Tuesday's practice than in last week's early work for Nicholls State. He also said that the Buffs' offensive game plan for the Ducks will include Liufau and won't be altered because of any real or perceived Liufau limitations.

"It won't change one bit," MacIntyre said.

Liufau claimed his biggest handicap last weekend was more mental than physical. MacIntyre said a few of Liufau's first-half passes "sailed on him" before he "figured it out" and adjusted his throws.

Finishing 13-of-21 for 168 yards and one touchdown, Liufau was 9-of-17 in the first half and played only two series in the second half. He called perceptions of him struggling to find a rhythm through four games "a fair statement . . . for the most part I have had pretty good games in my estimation, but in terms of throwing the ball it has been hard to get into a rhythm, which is fine. You have to find a way to get the job done."

In Pac-12 QB ratings, Liufau ranks No. 10 in passing yards per game (192.8) but isn't among the league's top 12 in passing efficiency. He's completed 66-of-113 (58.4 percent), with four touchdowns and one interception. His NCAA efficiency rating is 125.6. USC's Cody Kessler is No. 1 in the Pac-12 at 201.2 (89-of-122, 15 TDs, 1 interception).

Liufau said that while his glitches in the passing game haven't yet cost the Buffs, finding his rhythm for Pac-12 play is critical: "I just have to go into games with a clear head and take it one play at a time, do my job for that play and have a quick memory if I miss something. Just trust my teammates, too, because we're going to be in some tough games this year. You just have to be ready for everything."

Having suffered his shoulder injury the previous week against Colorado State, he was asked Tuesday whether he should have played at all against Nicholls State. "I don't know," Liufau said. "I feel like we still did a really good job on offense. I think I obviously missed some throws, but I think for the most part getting out there and still being able to do a little bit is still positive for myself and for the team. I wouldn't allow myself to go out (of the game), it doesn't matter who we play.

"I was hoping that we would put a little more points on the board and get some other guys in there quicker, but that's all in the past now. We're focusing on Oregon and I'll be ready to go this week. I just go out there and play basically, if there's a will there's a way. It's a cliché saying, but if you want to go out there and play you have to will yourself to do it. Mentally you just have to fight through it all and go out there and play."

No excuses. Keep on battling.

Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU