Contact CU Independent Sports Writer Jake Mauff at jacob.mauff@colorado.edu
There has been talk in the Colorado Buffalo fan base this season about what would happen if junior starting quarterback Sefo Liufau were benched.
Against USC, fans got to find out.
Liufau went down with an apparent Lisfranc (foot) injury at the end of the first quarter. Redshirt freshmen quarterback Cade Apsay came into the game to start the second quarter. On his first play as quarterback, Apsay was sacked. He recovered on his next drive. Colorado went up 14-3 when he threw a bullet to senior wide receiver Nelson Spruce for a nine-yard touchdown. It was his first pass attempt on the night.
From there, the freshman’s night went on a roller coaster ride. Apsay was sacked four more times.
There were also good moments. He looked accurate, but this may be a bit misleading. Apsay completed a high percentage of throws, but for a small amount of yardage. The night ended with him compiling 7.1 yards per completion. That is less than half off the 15.7 yards per completion that Liufau had for the night before he was injured. Opposing redshirt senior quarterback Cody Kessler had 12 yards per completion.
Still, Apsay threw for two touchdowns. He kept the team in competition.
The offense faces a tough decision moving forward. There are two games left and there is still the tiniest shred of hope for a bowl game. Junior quarterback Jordan Gehrke is also on the roster. Without Liufau playing, the quarterback position is more of a mystery.
“If I said it today, it’d probably be Cade,” head coach Mike MacIntyre said about the matchup next week. “But we’ll see how a week in practice goes.”
Say what you will about this performance, the freshman is the best option for this offense going forward.
Apsay first saw significant time against Nicholls State, a pretty weak opponent. He threw six passes, completing four for 48 yards.
In the blowout loss to Stanford, the quarterback came in relief of Liufau, who was not injured. In the short time he was on the field, Apsay completed three of the five passes he threw for 23 yards. He also threw an interception and was credited with negative four yards of rushing on four attempts. The tough outing was also highlighted by three sacks.
Against USC, Apsay only missed five passes, completing 18 of 23 passes for 128 yards. In a week span, he looked very much improved. Having a week to prepare for him as the starter allows for him to grow that much more confident, especially with the playing time he has gotten in recent weeks.
With the way the season has gone, it also can’t hurt to groom the player who will most likely take the reins from Liufau when he graduates after next season. Especially with the timeline given for Liufau’s injury, it might be best to look toward the future.
