Sept. 1, 2012

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CALIFORNIA HEAD COACH Jeff Tedford

On the Cal offense's slow start:

"We missed a couple balls on the first possession of the game, but it wasn't completely (Allan) Bridgford. We were out of sync on some communication."

On playing the first game in newly renovated Memorial Stadium:
"Obviously coming into the stadium, there was a lot of hype and energy, as to be expected. It was great to be home, but you want to come out and play better and win the football game, and we didn't get that done. We tried to keep our guys' emotions under control. It was great to see a great crowd. I'm sorry we didn't play better and let the fans down. We have to get back to work now."

On Cal's offense:
"We had too many mistakes, communication breakdowns, and we didn't take care of the football very well. We couldn't get off the field defensively. Early in the game, we were in too many third-and-long situations. You cannot run in a game being in third and 15, third and 12. Nevada played hard and made more plays than we did. We couldn't convert third down and stay on the field, and they could."

On the offensive challenges:
"We are running a new offense with a piece of the no huddle. Games are different than practice. We worked out some kinks early; after that we were fine, but we made too many mistakes."

On Nevada's offense:
"They have you spread all over the field. You need to be disciplined with your role. Their quarterback played very well, especially on third down. He made some big plays and kept the chains moving. He threw with confidence and accuracy. Their guys made some great catches as well. It comes down to making plays, and we didn't."

On TBs Isi Sofele and C.J. Anderson:
"Both (Isi Sofele and C.J. Anderson) are slash. Coach Gould keeps his finger on the substitutions. He does a good job getting those guys in and out. It just worked out that when C.J (Anderson) was in there, a lot of the reads were hands instead of keeps by the quarterback."

On Starting QB Allan Bridgford:
"(The decision to star Allan Bridgford was made) back in early June; we knew that Zach (Maynard) wasn't going to start the game. Zach did some decent things, but there are other areas he needs to improve with. He threw some good balls, but there are some open guys he needs to hit. He is better than what he played today."

On Freshman WRs Chris Harper and Bryce Treggs:
"I thought (Chris Harper and Bryce Treggs) played decent for their first game. Treggs dropped a ball, and we need to get Harper to secure the football. (Harper) made a really nice run on that one play, but the ball came out at the end. For young freshman receivers, they came in prepared. Treggs made a nice catch on the touchdown. Those guys have a bright future."

CALIFORNIA PLAYERS

Zach Maynard, QB

On the game:
"It was a hard-fought game. There were a lot of ups and downs to the game. It was a usual first game. Both teams had big plays. Nevada just had more than we did."

On his first quarter suspension:
"Anytime you come into the game a little cold and not knowing when you're going to come into the game, it takes the rhythm away from you a little bit. Allan Bridgford did a great job starting the game for us. Then, I came in and did what I could do to get the ball in the end zone."

On the loss and mood in the locker room:
"Everybody was pretty down. It was our first game and we worked so hard to get to this point. To come away at home with a loss is pretty tough on everybody. We have to be safe tonight and come back ready to work. We have another big game next week. It's the next game, so it's the biggest game, and we've got to come prepared."

On Nevada's defense:
"The defense didn't do much of anything that was unexpected. It was lot of cover 4. They didn't do anything out of the ordinary. They didn't blitz as much as I thought they were going to. They stayed in zone a lot and sat on a lot of routes. We knew about everything that they were doing. We just have to find a way to execute better."

Bryce Treggs, WR
On the mood before and after the game:
"Now, the mood is very, very quiet. For me, I started off with a little bit of the jitters because it was my first college game. Before the game, there was a lot of excitement and things like that. At halftime we were down. But no one was really stressing. We were relaxed. We just knew we had to come back strong in the second half."

On his first collegiate catch, a touchdown:
"It was a route that was a fake and a post outside. Keenan [Allen] had a route inside and he was actually the first read. So I just ran my route and Zach [Maynard] saw me late. He threw it up, and I caught it. It was something I've been working a long time for."

NEVADA HEAD COACH CHRIS AULT

General comments:

"That was a great game for the Pack. It's a great win for our university, our football program and this young football team. As I said out there, we have a lot of no-names playing for us this year. Like I told them at the end of last year, we want to put plates on the back of their jerseys."

On if he was surprised with how strong the team came out:
"It's probably been the toughest camp I've had in the last five years. There are a lot of unknowns, no question about it. Cal has terrific players. We shot ourselves in the foot because we thought we had some opportunities that we gave them that put us in a predicament. But I think that good teams find a way to try and overcome adversity. I'm not saying we're a good team at this particular time, but we did overcome some adversity."

On what he thinks his team can do this year:
"You open up against a team like Cal on the road with, again, the inexperience that we have, you really look for more than anything - certainly execution - but for guys to play hard. We just told them, `If you play hard, you'll have a chance. But you're going to have to play hard.' And they did. We made some dumb mistakes on our special teams, unbelievable mistakes, but the kids stayed together and found a way."

On heart in the fourth quarter:
"We practice every day, as the press knows, we practice what we call the last drive on every single day of most practices. That team all during the game, and in particular that last three minutes, showed a lot of heart. I thought Cody Fajardo played one of the best games of the last three to four year's opener that we've had. Colin Kaepernick was certainly outstanding, but the only home game was against Eastern Washington, and he played well but it wasn't against a team like this. Cody was outstanding. He was like another coach on the field."

On if the win over Cal in 2010 affected the team:
"We didn't talk much about the 2010 game, we really didn't. It was a great win and terrific for that, but it was two years ago. That was a different team and a whole different football culture at Nevada, as I've said all along. We do a lot of things differently. I know one thing - they knew that you can beat a team like Cal if you play well. How well you're going to play the first game, who knows. I just thought our conditioning was good. I think in the fourth quarter, our defense got worn down a little bit because we let them stay on the field too much, and our offense took care of business by keeping the ball."

On if beating a team like Cal with the coaching changes and young players could happen so fast:
"I think those coaches in that locker room right now in shock. They were as excited as the kids. It was a great feeling on that sideline. They've been in shock all camp. You come to Nevada, that's a whole different animal. They were instant help in all situations, but players win games. They had to execute, and boy there were some big plays - [Zach Sudfeld's] catch at the end there, Cody's run, those are big-time plays at the right time."

NEVADA PLAYERS

Cody Fajardo, QB

On playing a team like Cal in his first game of the season:
"It was dream-like. You can only think about having the ball with two minutes left [and] driving down and scoring. You can only dream of that and it became reality for us. We were really proud that we could do that. Offensively, we knew if we had that ball [in] our last possession we were going to put it in so [having] confidence was big thing on our last drive."

On deciding to go for a TD instead of just a field goal:
"Our offense was doing really well and our defense was doing really well also. Coach [Chris] Ault had a good game plan installed so we had all of the confidence. No matter what he said, no matter what he called, we didn't doubt it. Because once you start doubting it you're not going to be able to convert and stuff like that is going to happen. We have to be confident in any call that he makes and execute the play."

On how he views this season's team:
"I lot of young guys stepped up. Defensively, [DE] Lenny Jones had a big game for us. He caused a fumble and that was good to see. We had some young guys step up on offense as well. [WR} Richy Turner had his first catch and it was just execution. We [knew] going into this game that there fans were going to be hyped. We had to take their fans out of it in order to give us a chance and that's probably the reason why we started hot and that helped us out - taking their fans out of it and we knew it was kind of a balanced field."

Brandon Wimberly, DB
On his reaction to his team's win:
"Innovate. That's the only way you can explain it. We came out, we played with energy. When they did stop us - it was [because of] us. Offense played good, defense played good - made a couple of mistakes but that happens in the first game of the season. I'm pretty sure on Monday that they're going to tighten up and Coach Ault is going to make sure of that. It was a great win for the University. I was part of it two years ago and I'm a part of it now. It just builds trust and it's a long road. Game one like this and [with] something so catastrophic to happen ... it's great."

On how it felt to be back on the field:
"As much as I say it's the same, you know, it's like riding a bike, but it's not. I realized that today before I stepped on the field. And after we warmed up and stuff I was ok we've got a game in 20 minutes. But when it came down to game time, with five minutes before [game time] I realized that a year ago, there was no way that I was going to play football again at that time. We I took the field I just did what we [had] practiced to do. Coach Ault prepares us to win games; he doesn't prepare us to lose. That's what we went out there and did. He preached ... that's what we did and we got the win."

On what was the key play to their winning drive:
"When [QB] Cody [Farjardo] threw the ball on third down to [TE Zach] Sudfeld. He kind of bobbled it in the air. He's 6'7" they hit him in the legs and he had the chance to catch it again. When he came down with it I knew form there that we were going to win. There was a 1:20 left at that time. I just looked at him and said `Let's go.'"