California Head Coach Sonny Dykes
General comments:
First of all I have to credit to Washington State and the way they played. They had a really great game plan. The way they played fast, you can tell they had some time to prepare for us. The speed of their players was impressive. I thought that they executed well and looked like a fresh football team.
I'm proud of our guys for finding a way to win. All these games in the Pac-12 are going to be tough, and I think our guys knew that coming in. We made plays down the stretch and, as a result, we've won some ballgames. I thought, defensively, we played lights out in the fourth quarter, getting stops ad turnovers when we needed to. It was a good win for us and on to the next one.
On the onside kick:
It is something that we talked about. That's kind of a hard kick to execute and you have to credit Matt [Anderson]. He did a fantastic job kicking it, and Darius [Allensworth] did a great job making the play. We were looking for the right time to call it, and we just felt at that point we had a little bit of momentum. We thought it could be something that could really change the game.
On next week's game vs Utah
I told our players afterwards what's different about this game is that it's the next game. They know that all of these are big games. Try losing one and you realize how big it is.
Utah is a good football team. Our guys are really excited about going against them. I know they will be excited about the challenge. We are going to have to play better than we did today to have a chance to win, but our players know that.
On being 5-0:
At the end of the day, our objective is to win the football game. Sometimes it looks pretty when you do and sometimes it doesn't look too pretty. I have to give credit to our players. Those guys have a lot of grit, just believe and that may be the toughest goal to reach in a program. The way you get to do that is by working incredibly hard, investing in each other and doing the right things. When you do all those things, you have a chance to win and our guys believe in that.
On Goff and Lawler's dynamic on the field:
They've spent a lot of time working with each other. They're on the same page. They have an unwritten language almost between the two of them, but I think it comes down to confidence. Jared's got confidence in Kenny because he's not afraid to throw the ball up and let Kenny make a play on the football. Kenny knows Jared is going to put it in the right spot. That type of confidence these two guys have comes from hour after hour working everyday getting on the same page. They certainly have that chemistry between them.
California Players
Jared Goff, QB
On difficulties in the first half:
We came out slow for some reason. We're always working on starting fast, right out of the gate and score. I think them having two weeks to prepare might have had something to do with it. They had an extra chance to clean up the wrinkles and put in some new stuff we weren't ready for. The stuff they didn't show on film, and hats off to them for that, but they played real good defense. They were a lot better than in the past and made it tough for us.
On looking ahead to the rest of the season:
We're playing Utah next week. That's all I'm concerned about. After that, I don't even know who we're playing. We're just focused on Utah and going in there and getting a W. They're a tough team to beat and they've proved that week after week.
On changes made after first half:
We settled in and started to do our own stuff. We stopped trying to do too much on offense. We just settled in and got a feel for what they were doing and we were able to make some big plays.
Damariay Drew, DB
On what he saw from WSU on the play he made the interception:
“I saw the throw to the backside and I knew he was going to take a shot. I just wanted to go out there and make a play and do the best I could. I came down with it and tried to stay on my feet and take it to the crib, but it didn't happen.”
Stefan McClure, DB
On what's changed on defense this year:
I'd say it's being in the second year of the system of coach Kaufman's system. We understand it better, we know the checks and we know the terminology. We're out there doing less thinking and more reacting and just play. It's really just being more familiar with coach Kaufman and he's more familiar with the guys on this team. We understand his philosophy and what he expects from us on certain calls, which is allowing us to play a lot faster and quicker.
Vic Enwere, RB
On the fourth down run:
The offensive line blocked well and they gave me a hole and an opportunity. The offensive line blocked as hard as they could. Jared did his job with the fake, the backside receivers blocked and I just ran. I was trying score.I tried to get back inside and push it to the end zone.
Washington State Head Coach Mike Leach
Overall thoughts:
All three phases played extremely hard and extremely well. I thought, for the most part, we played a good football game. We didn't play a perfect game, but we played a good game. I thought we played hard. I think we got better this week, but we didn't get better by the margin I would have liked.
On giving up big plays on special teams:
It came down to plays all over the field. This was a narrowly-sliced game and there were a lot of plays where we could have picked up the slack.
On Cal's pass rush:
I think their pass rush was good, but I think there were times we allowed their pass rush to be better than it was. They do a good job, but we could have blocked better. I think we could have gotten rid of the ball better at times.
On WSU's pass rush:
I think we affected him [Goff] and I thought that was good. It got us in good situations and then occasionally we would give up the big play.
On Cal going after cornerback Marcellus Pippins early on:
I thought he (Marcellus) did a good job, played hard and did some good things. That was good to see. I thought our whole defense played hard. They have a really good crew of receivers and we shut them down a lot, but gave up the occasional big play.
What can you take away from this game:
We just have to keep playing better and keep improving. They're a good team and we did some good things. We just have to do more good things more often.
Washington State Players
Luke Falk, QB
On Cal's Defense:
I think they were just playing tough and playing hard. I think all sacks were on me. So I just have to look at it and see how I could have avoided some of those. I think that would have helped us out a little bit. I think they just changed it up a little bit. We thought they were going to play off a little bit, but they came up and took their shots.
On what they can take away from this game:
I think we improved. We rose up together today. We were really an unstoppable team. There's going to be times where we could have taken control of this game, just a play here and there. We need to take a look at the film, the things we did right, and things we can get better at.
Marcellus Pippins, CB
On if Cal was avoiding him:
Yeah, a little bit. They stopped throwing it my way. I wish they threw it towards me some more. I could have gotten another one.
On Jared Goff:
I was actually pretty excited. Jared Goff and I have some history. Senior year [of high school] we played against each other. Coming back here and playing him again, it was kind of a personal game. I know him a little bit. We played on the same all-star team. We hung out after the game a little bit.
On how this game compares to others:
We didn't win the game, so it wasn't as complete as we wanted it to be. We did play much better and we still shut them out in the fourth quarter like we did in our last couple games. That's another plus, but we didn't get the win. So it's not all the way complete. I feel like everybody is more mature and we're buying into the scheme of things. We just have to keep playing and get the win next time.
On Cal's WR, Kenny Lawler:
He's a good receiver, but I play every receiver like I play everybody else. I see everybody the same, but he's a great receiver and it was great going up against him today.
Darryl Paulo, DL
On Jared Goff:
Jared's very good at getting the ball out. He makes his reads and he's very decisive. So it's tough getting to him, but we had a lot of pressure on him today, and we couldn't pull it off.
