Woelk: Buffs A Reflection Of Liufau's Resilience, Leadership

BOULDER — For the second game in a row Thursday night, Colorado quarterback Sefo Liufau endured a sub-par game — and for the second game in a row, the 7-2 Buffaloes (No. 21 AP) collected a win over a Pac-12 foe they had not beaten since joining the conference.

No doubt, Colorado's defense proved to be the difference maker in both games. CU's defense allowed just three points by Stanford's offense in a 10-5 win; against UCLA, a mere 10 points in a 20-10 win.

The offense, meanwhile, struggled. Against Stanford, Liufau missed eight passes as the Buffs finished with just 135 yards passing. Against UCLA, he threw his first and second interceptions of the year and CU tallied just 160 yards in the air (17 of those from Steven Montez when Liufau was out with an injury).

But after the win over UCLA, Colorado safety Tedric Thompson made it quite clear who the Buffs want calling the signals for their offense.

"I'll take our offense over any offense in the nation," Thompson said in front of his locker. "And I'll take Sefo over any quarterback in the nation. We know what he can do, we believe in him and he's going to take us where we want to go. What he's done to get here, to get us here, is amazing."

As Thursday night's game at Folsom Field unfolded, the social media world — where no good deed goes unpunished — quickly came alive with criticism of Liufau.

Many of those folks, of course, are the same people who were singing Liufau's praises earlier this year when he threw three touchdown passes against Michigan and threatened to lead the Buffs to an upset win over the No. 4 team in the country before an ankle injury sent him to the sidelines. They were also the same folks who moaned the following week that Colorado had no chance against Oregon without Liufau (they were, of course, wrong, as Steven Montez proved to be a more than able backup).

The viewpoint from this corner?

I'll take Sefo. I'll take him next week, the week after, the week after that and however many games the Buffs may play in the postseason.

Not because he deserves it (although, if anyone deserves the chance to play this season after what he's been through to get to this point, it would be him).

I'll take him because I've seen how good he can be when he has time to make plays, as he showed with three picture-perfect touchdown passes against one of the best defenses in the nation at Michigan. I'll take him because I've seen how he can make plays when his protection isn't there — as he did Thursday vs. UCLA, when he converted a third-and-7 into a 29-yard gain to help keep alive a drive that produced the go-ahead field goal.

On that play, he literally carried a UCLA player on his back, turned his head toward the official so he could see the player had his facemask — and then delivered a 14-yard pass to Phillip Lindsay. It was vintage Liufau.

But most of all, I'll take Liufau because his teammates believe in him with every fiber of their being.

I saw last spring how they watched in admiration as he worked daily to come back from a Lisfranc injury. I've seen how they respect him on the field and in the locker room. They trust him, they believe in him and they have complete confidence that he will accomplish whatever necessary to take them to their stated goal.

This is, quite simply, Liufau's team. It is a perfect reflection of his resilience, a team that has grown up with him and will put its fortunes in his hands. He has endured difficult times, made great plays and bad plays, been injured and come back — time and again — and now, these Buffs have become a team built in the image of their quarterback.

They don't quit. As head coach Mike MacIntyre is fond of saying, "They don't blink."

It's who their quarterback is. No matter how life has conspired to stop him, he's refused to back down. He keeps coming back because more than anything else, he wants one thing.

He wants to win. He wants to be part of a team that leaves a legacy at Colorado, a team people will remember as the one that turned the Buffs' fortunes back in the right direction — and he's convinced every one of his teammates to adopt that philosophy. They've bought in wholeheartedly, and what you are seeing this season is the result.

A year from now, it's quite possible that Montez will be putting up numbers Liufau could only dream of. We've seen what the young El Paso gunslinger is capable of doing. I've been a fan since the first time I saw him flick his wrist and throw a 20-yard dart as a true freshman scout team quarterback against CU's No. 1 defense.

He has the chance to be good — very good. But his time will come.

This is Liufau's team. It's his team because he's willing to run the ball 23 times with a banged up body (as he did against UCLA) to improve to 5-1 as a starter this year and 5-0 in games he's finished.

It's his team because he never complains and never points fingers.

His analysis of Thursday's performance? It had nothing to do with getting sacked four times, hit a half-dozen more and spending much of his time running from a fierce pass rush.

Rather, he pointed the finger at himself. He admitted to missing open passes — and he never mentioned the dropped passes and missed blocks.

He never does.

"It starts with me," he said simply. "I'll be the first one to say it and the first one to take the blame. It's not the coaches' fault, it's not the O-line's fault. It's my fault."

It is yet one more reason his teammates respect him and believe in him. They know when they win he'll spread the praise. When things go wrong he'll shoulder the blame and shelter his teammates.

It's who he is. It's an innate leadership that has helped build a quiet confidence that flows throughout the program.

The Buffs believe in Liufau because he's believed in them for the last three years. He's sacrificed everything possible in order to get them to this point.

But maybe most importantly, now the Buffs believe in themselves.

They learned that from their quarterback.

It's why this is Sefo Liufau's team.

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu