Colorado Buffaloes starting quarterback Sefo Liufau suffered an ankle injury against the No. 4-ranked Michigan Wolverines during the third quarter of last Saturday’s game. Liufau didn’t return to the game and was replaced by freshman backup quarterback Steven Montez who struggled in his debut.
But who wouldn’t, considering it was his first game ever and in front of 110,000 people at “The Big House”?
Montez didn’t complete one pass in seven attempts and had zero yards while Michigan ramped up their defensive attack and took over the game midway through the third quarter.
But that’s the life of a backup quarterback: be prepared.
“That’s your job as the No. 2 quarterback,” Montez explained. “You have to go in and be prepared whenever they call your name up, and I’ll be ready on Saturday if my name is called.”
If Montez is asked to step into Liufau’s shoes, he’ll have a lot to live up to. Before Liufau left the field, he completed 16 of 25 pass attempts for 246 yards and three touchdowns and had the Buffaloes leading the Wolverines. It was a stat line that was Heisman worthy, especially against a defense that features some of the best players in the country in Jabrill Peppers and Rashan Gary (the No. 1 recruit in this year’s class).
According to head coach Mike MacIntyre, though, there is a chance Sefo will be ready to play come Saturday.
“Yeah, I am encouraged,” MacIntyre said. “You never know how he’s going to recover tonight, and he’s still a game-time decision. He’s got a good ankle sprain … He’s practiced a little bit. Yesterday he did a little bit, and today he moved around a little bit more.”
Without their star quarterback, the Buffs might not stand a chance against the rugged Pac-12. Saturday, will mark their first road conference game on the schedule and the coach understands how hard hard it is to play at Autzen Stadium, home of their opponents and Pac-12 rival Oregon Ducks.
“Autzen is a tough place to play, and of course they got a good crowd that sits on top of you,” MacIntyre said. “And the other thing that makes it a tough place to play is the players on the field.”
Hopefully, Liufau will be able to give it a go on Saturday. Before the injury, he has proving to be one of the best players in all the Pac-12 and one of the most consistent and trustworthy quarterbacks in the whole nation. He hasn’t thrown an interception in his last 89 pass attempts.
On another note, the Buffs lost kicker Diego Gonzalez and linebacker Derek McCartney for the rest of the season. Gonzalez, a senior out of Mexico, tore his achilles and McCartney, one of the leaders of the defense, tore his ACL. The coach told reporters that the kicking competition is still taking place, and we will wait until Saturday to see who replaces Gonzalez.
Cool Stat of the Day: Sefo Liufau became the first quarterback in Colorado’s history to record 8,000 passing yards. He passed Cody Hawkins as the all-time leader during the first game of the season against the CSU Rams.