Before the hollow thud was hammered home from another dispiriting defeat, before the chaos of the Keystone cops finale and even before the early, game-changing swing on special teams that set the tone, one of the Buffaloes' leaders had a chance to make a play.
Sefo Liufau simply didn't get it done.
There was blame aplenty in the aftermath of CU's shockingly listless season-opening loss at Hawaii late Thursday night, from turnovers to ill-timed penalties to often porous blocking up front. Yet the template for this one, a loss that immediately set the Buffs behind the eight-ball in a season that was supposed to showcase marked improvement, didn't occur when Hawaii blocked CU's first punt attempt of the season.