Dear Rick George, Colorado Athletic Director:
First, I want to congratulate you for the stellar performance you have put in since coming home to Boulder to take the reins as Athletic Director. Colorado Athletics have not been in such good hands since Bill Marolt. The facilities improvements are nothing short of phenomenal and are truly world class.
While most every CU fan has been reveling in the big blowout of Colorado State in the Rocky Mountain Showdown, I want to point out that there are serious issues simmering below the euphoria.
Head Coach Mike MacIntyre has done a good job of rebuilding a moribund program. Although the number of wins, especially in conference play, have not met expectations, the Buffs have been getting better since Mac took over.
The problem I see, is that Mac is supposed to be looking out for the long term health and growth of the program. That means that every position on the team needs to have competent and well trained backups. It also means that the coaches need to protect the health of their players.
For the most part, the Buffs have done that. The glaring exception is the most important player on the team -- the quarterback. Since senior captain Sefo Liufau became the starter his freshman year, the Buffs and Liufau have steadfastly REFUSED to give any meaningful reps to the backup quarterbacks.
What has been the result? When Sefo has gone down to injury, whoever was thrown into the games was in reality being thrown to the wolves.
In 2014, Jordan Gehrke got to start at #3 Oregon in the penultimate game of the season. As Sefo's primary backup in 2014, he attempted a grand total of 44 passes on the season. In 2015, he attempted 24 passes.
The 2015 main backup, Cade Apsay, attempted 92 passes for the season. All but 9 of those passes were attempted AFTER Liufau went down with a Lisfranc injury against USC. That means the primary backup was thrown to the wolves (Trojans, Cougars and Utes) with only 9 passes under his belt as quarterback. Needless to say, the Buffs lost all three games to end the season.
Early in the season, Liufau went the ENTIRE game against Massachusetts even though the Buffs won handily 48-14. The game was a PERFECT opportunity to play the backup (coming off a redshirt year) to get him some reps so that he would be more comfortable with the speed of the college game.
Mac and Liufau preferred to pad Liufau's stats instead of preparing the Buffs for playing with another quarterback. Against Nicholls State, Apsay got to throw 6 passes in the Buffs 48-0 victory.
Is it any wonder that neither the Gehrke nor Apsay were prepared when their numbers were called?
This year, the Buffs had their biggest winning margin over CSU in 60 years, 44-7. How many passes did backup Steven Montez get? ZERO. Even though Liufau got knocked goofy at the end of the third quarter running and diving (instead of the protected QB slide), Montez only came in with a couple minutes left, where he proceeded to hand-off to true freshman Beau Bisharat four times before time expired.
EVERYBODY knew that Sefo Liufau should have been out of the game (the announcers, the sportswriters, every fan commenting on web sites) but Mac kowtowed once again when Sefo had a tizzy fit on the sideline and threw his helmet when the medical staff wanted to keep him out of the game whose victory had long been determined.
After the game against Idaho State, the Buffs head into a brutal schedule that includes games on the road against Michigan, Oregon, USC and Stanford. These are not the teams you want to play against with a backup QB with NO MEANINGFUL EXPERIENCE.
If the Buffs and MacIntyre (and Liufau) hold form against Idaho State, Montez will get a handful of plays in a big win, playing only with the 2nd and 3rd string. They will head into the meat of their schedule with Sefo and no experience behind him.
Does Mac even realize that Sefo graduates this year? Does Sefo care about the Buffs nearly as much as his own stats and insistence on playing every down? If the Buffs make it to a bowl game this year, chances are that a backup QB will be called upon to save their butts if and when Sefo gets dinged up.
If the Buffs don't make it to a bowl game, chances are that MacIntyre will be looking for new employment, and Liufau will go down as the most losing quarterback in Colorado and Pac-12 history. Yes, football is a team sport and the quarterback is just a small part... but it is the most important part.
BUT... with the glory comes the blame when you fail to win when you are a QB or a head coach. Rewriting the record books doesn't mean anything if you can't win enough games.
It seems kind of fitting that many of the records that Liufau (under MacIntyre) has broken were set by Cody Hawkins, the son of former CU coach Dan Hawkins. Cody and Sefo are all over the record books, but no one with any knowledge of CU football history would have either of them anywhere near the top half dozen quarterback since the first Coach Mac (Bill McCartney) roamed the sidelines. And it hasn't been that long (34 years).
Mr. George, it is time that you let MacIntyre know that the best thing for Colorado is to prepare a backup QB so that he is ready when called upon. Even if Sefo stays healthy this year, he is gone after this season.
The Colorado Buffaloes need to prepare for a team without Sefo, and possibly, without Mike MacIntyre. The Buffs will go on without them, but next year (and maybe this year) will look a whole lot more promising with a well-prepared backup.
That is why I would suggest that both MacIntyre and Sefo Liufau sit out the first half against Idaho State. The Pac-12 has a history of eating up QB's who are thrown to the wolves.
As head coach, MacIntyre gets paid a lot of money to watch out for the entire team. As QB and a multi-year captain, Sefo Liufau needs to think about the entire team first instead of his own stats. A good message to both of them would be to have them sit out the first half against Idaho State.
The Buffs are in NO DANGER of losing no matter who plays QB. Therefore, let Montez play with the first string, and get a chance to work on his timing with the fast guys. He'll also be playing against the first string (An FCS first string, for sure, but better than FCS 3rd stringers). And no matter how well Montez plays against Idaho State, the speed at which the Trojans, Duck, Wolverines, and the Palo Alto Trees play will be eye opening if he is forced to play. Sort of like being fed to the wolves
Not much chance Mac and Sefo sitting out will happen, I realize, but I am waiting with bated breath for the other shoe to drop when the Buffs actually need a backup QB to win a game. I am quite sure there are coaches on the CU staff (other than Mac and Lindgren) who think the backup QB's should be prepared.
As always, GO BUFFS!
Mark Rubi
Boulderdevil
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