Jordan Gehrke looks to throw the ball in Autzen Stadium facing the No. 2 Oregon Ducks. (Ryan Kang/The Daily Emerald)
Well, Jordan Gehrke had his chance.
The sophomore quarterback started his first collegiate game on Saturday in a 44-10 loss to No. 2 Oregon. Sure, the Ducks are great competition, but that didn’t make Gehrke miss multiple throws by five yards or more. Most of his passing yards came from short passes too, and he finished with just 64 yards on 9-18 throwing.
“It was a good experience,” Gehrke said. “I need to work on some things and get the nervousness out.”
Liufau replaced Gehrke midway through the third quarter for the Buffaloes (2-9, 0-8). It would be hard to describe Liufau’s play as stellar, but he at least led Colorado on its only touchdown drive in the third quarter. He still only went 7-14 for 41 yards.
“It’s obviously different coming in the second half than starting the game, but every time you go out there you want to try and get better,” Liufau said. “Obviously, it was a rough day but there’s definitely things we can learn from.”
Gehrke took a total of 40 snaps and Liufau had 22.
But Coach Mac isn’t ready to throw Gehrke under the bus after the performance.
“I still believe in Jordan Gehrke,” MacIntyre said. “Sefo wasn’t as sharp in practice and I thought it was time to give Jordan a shot. We’ll go back as a staff and discuss it and decide what to do [at quarterback] for next Saturday.”
Colorado kept it interesting early with a successful onside kick to open the game.
“I wanted to show our team that we came here to win,” MacIntyre said.
But that was the best play CU would have, at least in the first half. At halftime the Buffs trailed 30-3, and were out-gained 341-93 in total offense.
Head coach Mike MacIntyre had high praise for the Ducks.
“I think they’re the best football team [in the country],” MacIntyre said. “I don’t care what anybody says, because [Mariota] is the best quarterback in the nation. When you have the best quarterback with the talent they’ve got and the defense, they’ve got a chance to be really, really, really good I hope they go win it all.”
Nelson Spruce caught his 100th pass of the season (only the sixth time in Pac-12 history that’s happened), but easily had his worst game statistically this year. He finished with two catches for 16 yards. It was Spruce’s first game this season without at least six catches and 60 yards.
Junior Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota tore apart the Colorado defense—no surprise here. His 46-yard touchdown run that put the Ducks up 13-0 in the first quarter reminded fans why he is so good. Mariota, one of the Heisman Trophy frontrunners, finished with 323 passing yards, 73 rushing yards and four total touchdowns.
This might have been the last time we see Mariota play an Oregon home game. Signs point to him leaving school a year early to enter the NFL Draft, where he would likely be a top pick. Ducks head coach Mark Helfrich pulled Mariota out of Saturday’s game in the third quarter and the Autzen Stadium crowd gave him a standing ovation.
Running backs Phillip Lindsay and Christian Powell were two of the few Buffaloes that looked like they belonged on the same field with Oregon. They combined for 100 rushing yards on just 16 carries. Lindsay led the team with four receptions and also averaged 20.3 yards on kick-returns.
The injury bug continued to nag the Colorado secondary as safeties Tedric Thompson, Evan White and Chidobe Awuzie (out for the season) missed the game. Freshman walk-on Ryan Moeller got his first start as a defensive back to fill the gap.
Going forward, the Ducks kept their national championship dreams alive. If they win out they would likely be placed in the College Football Playoffs, which takes the top four teams in the country. Oregon plays in-state rivals Oregon State next week and then awaits the winner of the Pac-12 South in the conference championship game on Dec. 5.
The Buffs play their last game next Saturday at home against Utah. The game will be broadcast on Pac-12 Networks and will have either an 11 a.m. or noon start. Last year the Buffs gave the Utes a scare and hope to play the spoiler role again as the 2014 season comes to a close.
Notes: Freshman wide receiver Donovan Lee caught his first career touchdown pass in the third quarter. Colorado native Evan Baylis (Centennial) caught a touchdown pass for Oregon. Vegas lines had the Buffs losing by 33. They lost by 34. Mariota set the Pac-12 Conference record for total touchdowns in a season with 42. Senior cornerback Greg Henderson made his 44th start Saturday, the most by a defensive back in CU history.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Jared Funk-Breay at Jared.funkbreay@colorado.edu and follow him on twitter at @jaredfunkbreay.
