Colorado quarterback Sefo Liufau was CU’s second-leading rusher at Hawaii last week. AP Photo
Boulder — Colorado tailback Michael Adkins II was CU’s leading rusher in the season opener at Hawaii last week, picking up 90 yards on 22 carries. That was good.
Quarterback Sefo Liufau was the team’s second-leading rusher, gaining 81 yards on 18 carries. That was good, too, but CU coach Mike MacIntyre doesn’t want Liufau to make a habit of it.
“No, because some of them were scrambles that he had to get out of the way of a rush,” MacIntyre said. “But his ability to run adds a different dimension to the defense. Now the defense can’t just play coverage. They’ve got to have someone to spy on him. They’ve got to make sure they rush the lanes, they can’t just get exotic — wide splits and try to run by us — because they know he can run now. That helps us. That helps you in the red zone, because if they widen out and try to double your wide receivers, he’s able to run it in.
“No, I don’t want him to run as much but I am glad he can run.”
Liufau had a shaky first half but played better in the second.
“He had to move in the pocket a little earlier in the game than I think that he thought (he would),” MacIntyre said. “Your (throwing) windows and your pocket is a little messed up, so you’re having to throw the ball from different angles. Once he kind of got a rhythm of feeling that, and we had a little bit better protection at times, he was a little bit more accurate. His competitive spirit showed through and he just kept trying to find a way.”
