Sefo Liufau and Nelson Spruce are one touchdown away from becoming the best quarterback-wide receiver combination in Colorado football history.
Saturday, they flipped the script.
Receiver Spruce connected with Liufau on an end-around option touchdown pass in the second quarter, a play that tied the game at 14.
Spruce said the play was installed during the week of practice leading up to 38-20 loss to No. 21-ranked UA at Arizona Stadium.
It was a dandy of a play. It showed all that Liufau, a threat with his arm and legs — and apparently his hands — can do.
The previous two drives, though, showed what Liufau needs to stop doing.
Colorado’s QB fumbled on consecutive drives in his own territory, the first caused by Anthony Lopez and returned for a touchdown by Tre’Mayne Bondurant, and the second forced and recovered by Jared Tevis.
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The second turnover led to a UA touchdown pass on the following series.
It was the yin and yang of life with a young quarterback leading a young team.
On top of the world one minute — or 11 seconds, more specifically — as Liufau opened the game with a 75-yard scoring bomb to Shay Fields on the game’s first play from scrimmage, the fastest score in program history. Down in the dirt the next.
Liufau exited the game in the fourth quarter after taking a crushing hit from UA defensive lineman Sani Fuimaono. The extent of his injury, and what it means for Colorado’s season, was not immediately known.
“He’s just got to play better,” Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre said. “He’s thrown a lot of touchdowns, he’s done a lot of good things for us. But he’s got to play better. He’s shown a lot of good progress, a lot of promise. He’s done a lot of good things. He’s got to battle through these different things and hopefully we can get it rectified.”
Liufau — who finished 24-of-33 passing for 252 yards, one score and two interceptions against the Wildcats — has been hot and cold throughout his second season at Colorado, his first as full-time starter.
Against Oregon State, he led the Buffaloes to a late touchdown but faltered at the end with four consecutive incompletions on a potential game-winning drive. Two weeks later against UCLA, he threw a devastating fourth-quarter interception but led the team down for a game-tying field goal on his next drive.
If and when the Buffaloes improve to anything more than a gnat on the collective backs of the rest of the Pac-12, it’s going to be because of Liufau. His emergence would mask a lot of the youth that has plagued the team all year.
“It’s little things all over the place,” MacIntyre said. “The receiver running an incorrect route caused one interception. There are just so many little things that end up being big things. As the kids play more, they’ll correct more and more.”
There have been times this season when Liufau has appeared more than able to lead Colorado from the depths. He passed for 455 yards and seven touchdowns and ran for another 72 yards more in a 59-56 double-overtime loss to Cal; he threw a pair of second-half touchdowns to lead Colorado from behind against Massachusetts in Week 2.
But he’s not there yet, and neither are the Buffaloes.
Exhibit A: With 11:16 left, Liufau took the snap and nearly immediately faced pressure. Staring down Fuimaono, he let the ball fly directly into the hands of cornerback Devin Holiday. It was a horrific pass, inexplicable — and, potentially, catastrophic.
Liufau was taken into the locker room after the play after being smashed into the ground, and did not return. It was a reminder that with a young quarterback, you have to take the bad with the good.
“It’s the same thing over and over,” Spruce said. “The theme is we’re just making the penalties, turnovers that are giving up the game. Physically, we’re staying toe-to-toe with these teams, we’re just making mistakes.”
MacIntyre echoed his star receiver’s comments.
“We can’t turn the ball over in the Pac-12 and expect to win,” he said. “We’ve got to find a way to quit shooting ourselves in the foot.”
