BOULDER — Sefo Liufau allowed himself to simmer in the anguish and anger of mounting losses last season, but only in the immediate aftermath of each frustrating setback. The next morning, it was time to look ahead.
“You’ve got to flip the switch and start preparing for the next team, start watching film,” Colorado’s junior quarterback said this week. “You have to have a short memory to get ready for the next one, because it’s a long season. It’s like in a game, if you make a bad play, you’ve got to forget it and move on.”
The same could be said for picking through the pieces of last year’s 10 losses. Liufau tied or set 51 school records, but the Buffaloes went winless in Pac-12 play. CU’s record in games he has played is 4-16.
“We’re trying to put last season behind us,” said Liufau. “We felt like we played better than the year before, but now we feel like we can be a team that wins games.”
Four on the Floor:
The first test comes Thursday night at Hawaii, where the Buffs open coach Mike MacIntyre’s third season. MacIntyre has said repeatedly that he sees increased confidence in his players. Liufau agrees.
“We feel it,” he said. “We feel strong enough to take on any team in this country. He (MacIntyre) tells us every day that he believes in us. I think it’s helped a lot of guys believe in themselves.”
Liufau, 6-foot-4, 240 pounds, is big and tough, gets hit and doesn’t flinch. He has a chance to be really good, but only if he avoids the killer turnover. CU suffered four Pac-12 losses by a total of 15 points last season, all winnable games in which critical mistakes doomed the Buffs.
“We were on the cusp of winning games,” Liufau said. “I think we have the maturity now to win those games. Last year we made a mistake here or there deep in the fourth quarter, or even a couple overtime games, that cost us. I think we’re a lot more mature team now and we’re ready to perform in those situations.”
Some of those mistakes were on Liufau, but Mac Intyre spreads some blame to the other side of the ball.
“Yes, he’s got to make some better decisions, but really, we weren’t very good on defense,” MacIntyre said. “That put us in a play-calling situation and him in a situation to have to push. (If) we improve on defense, he’s not in that situation as much. We can be a little more conservative. He doesn’t have to force a ball. Plus his maturity — he knows when to throw it away a little more.
“The thing I keep telling Sefo: ‘You’re going to make some mistakes. Don’t worry about it. Don’t make that mistake compound into another one.’ That’s what you can’t do, and I don’t think he will.”
Liufau set six single-game CU records in a 59-56 double-overtime loss at California, completing 46-of-67 passes for 455 yards and seven touchdowns. But in another double-overtime loss, he threw an interception late in regulation in a 40-37 loss against UCLA.
“He was getting some pressure, and a lot of them were at the end of games because he was trying to make a play,” said receiver Nelson Spruce. “That’s what I like about him: He’s never afraid to go for it. I think this year, with those experiences he’s had, he’s going to be able to hold the ball if necessary or throw it away.”
Before Liufau could put 2014 behind him, he made a study of what went wrong.
“I looked at throws that I had, turnovers, what I could do to get out of those situations or make a different read,” he said. “Watched a couple quarterbacks — I won’t get into specifics on that — but mainly reviewing my season and how I did.”
Liufau has talented targets. Spruce, a senior, is widely regarded as one of the nation’s best. Shay Fields won the team award for outstanding freshman on offense last year, when he started 10 games.
“It’s like a security blanket. They’ll go out there and make a play for you,” Liufau said. “Both are fast, both run great routes, both (are) confident pretty much against any DB in the country. If you need them to go make a play for you, they’ll do that.”
Spruce is eager to see how well Liufau progresses.
“This is my third year with him, and every year he’s taken another step,” Spruce said. “I’m looking forward to see what he can do this year. The key is going to be eliminate some turnovers and take care of the ball, but I’m excited to play with him.”
John Meyer: jmeyer@denverpost.com or
Sefo file
A look at some key numbers regarding Colorado junior quarterback Sefo Liufau.
Has thrown 40 touchdowns, tied for third best in school history
Owns best CU career completion percentage (63.3)
Has thrown at least one touchdown pass in all 20 career games
Source: University of Colorado
