POSTGAME QUOTES -- California
USC vs. California
LA Memorial Coliseum | Los Angeles, Calif.
Thursday, Nov. 13, 2014
Sonny Dykes, California Head Coach
"We clearly didn't convert on third downs and it’s something our offense has struggled with all year and it put us in some third and longs. And we had too many penalties which hurt us. The penalties we got seemed to really have an impact. We need to address that. It really hurt us. We have to play clean. We played hard and never gave up. We played hard the entire game but not well enough to beat a good team.
"Both teams had a lot of penalties. It was not a clean game and it was pretty chippy out there. I talked to the team about the discipline we have to have to beat a good team on the road and not getting involved with extracurricular stuff."
On handling Cody Kessler and USC’s passing game …
“We struggled with the pass rush all season. We tried to blitz a lot tonight and we had some success at times, and at times we didn’t. Again, if you blitz, you can’t double people and that leaves you in 1-on-1. You’re darned if you do, darned if you don’t.”
Jared Goff, Quarterback
On whether it's more discouraging because of the start or encouraging because of the close finish…
"It's discouraging because we lost. We played very well at times but worse more times. It was so close at the end and knowing we had so many mistakes and still had a chance at the end is frustrating."
On the slow start…
"Sometimes that happens. They schemed us well in the first half. I missed some throws and we had some costly penalties that held us back. If you want to beat a team like USC or any good team you can't do that. The second half we played well but it was too little, too late."
Hardy Nickerson, Linebacker
On his interception…
“It was a play-action play and I knew they’d take a shot, so I dropped deep and I don’t think he saw me and he threw it right to me.
On the defense in the second half…
“We’ve got to get off the field on third downs. We had some critical third downs and we have to improve on that going into next week."
On the big deficit in the first half…
“It happens in football and we have to bounce back and play the next play. It’s the little things going on but we came in at the half and got it corrected and for the most part, in the second half we stopped them.”
On Nelson Agholor…
“We prepared for him and he’s just a great player who made some great plays. He’s shifty but also fast and we had our hands full with him and some of the other guys on the team. “
