Sefo Liufau had two turnovers against Oregon last week (Daily Camera)
Quarterbacks often get too much of the glory or too much of the blame for the teams they lead, but former Colorado linebacker Chad Brown says Sefo Liufau must improve if the Buffs are going to upset a Pac-12 opponent this season.
“Despite the defense being better, despite the running game being better, our quarterback — which was the best part of our team the last two years — has taken a step back,” Brown said on 104.3 The Fan this week. “Some of those untimely turnovers that he had last year, he still has those, but without the 3-400 yards passing that he had last year. If he can find a way to get it in rhythm, with the defense the way itap playing, with the number of running backs they have and their ability to run the ball — which is much better than last year — they will upset somebody.”
Brown, who played on CU’s 1990 national championship team and enjoyed 15 seasons in the NFL for Pittsburgh, Seattle and New England, said the defense is better because new defensive coordinator has had the same impact at CU that Wade Phillips has had with the Broncos. But he expects every other team in the Pac-12 South to finish the season ranked in the top 25 this season, making it that much harder for the Buffs to pull an upset win.
“Defense, better,” Brown said. “Running game, better. We’ve seen Sefo play at a much higher level than he’s playing now. If he can get back to that level, they will win games. But until Sefo can make that happen, the running game and defense is not going to be enough. We’re not going to be able to compete with perhaps the best quarterback in the nation at Cal (Jared Goff), a dual threat quarterback at Utah (Travis Wilson), all that talent at USC. UCLA had a disappointing loss to Arizona State, but they’re still going to put up 35-40 points a game.”
