California Head Coach Sonny Dykes 

General comments:

“After having a hard camp, being able to cut it loose I was happy with the effort. There are still things we need to do, but it's nice to get a win. Our players were really excited and ready to play against someone other than ourselves, and I was really pleased with the way it came out. I thought we all played well. I'm very proud of them. We got a little sloppy at times, a lot of things to improve on, but I certainly thought it was a good start”

On the second-half players:

“I thought we played pretty well. We gave up a few on the end, disappointed on that, but I thought overall, our guys competed very well for the football. We competed well for the ball. We were in position most of the day, and I thought we tackled well. It looked like we lined up properly, though most of the day, despite the fact we played a lot of young guys, they all played very well”

On possibility of a shutout

“It was something we talked about at halftime, and how badly we wanted to get that shutout. As a coach, you manage those things because you have these players that have worked in your program for two or three years and this is their opportunity to play. Maybe they haven't had an opportunity to play a lot, you put them in the game and you let them play. They've worked incredibly hard to compete on Saturday, and it means a lot to them, so you want to substitute, but at the same time, you don't want to give up touchdowns. I thought overall our defense played incredibly well. I thought we ran to the ball and I thought we tackled. I thought we leveraged the ball really well. I think we did all the good things a good football team does defensively and I was encouraged by that”

On the quarterbacks:

“Grambling State is kind of an interesting scheme defensively. Jared got hit more than I was comfortable with. We knew coming in that was a possibility. I thought he handled it well. I thought he played well and made a couple of big-time throws on some post routes. I thought he made good decisions overall. I thought both quarterbacks played well. It was important for Chase [Forrest] to get some experience. Every single rep is very important for his development and he's going to be a really great player. I thought he played very well for his first time out”

On picture of team based on opponent:

“At the end of the day, Grambling State has got some good players, there's no doubt about that. At the same time, you have to be able to put it in perspective, and we've talked to our team about that. Understanding that the competition is going to do nothing but get better, and we've talked about. We have San Diego State next week  and how good a football team that is. It was good to play well today, but you have to be able to put it in perspective”

On the defensive strong start

“The sign of a good defensive football team is when they can create havoc. We scored two defensive touchdowns. I think I can correctly say that that's the first defensive touchdown since I have been here, and there were two of them in the first quarter. So our guys are running to the football, creating turnovers and playing opportunistic football. It was big for us”

California Players

Jared Goff, Quarterback

On evaluating the first quarter:
“I think we played real well offensively. There were a few snags there early with the interception and the fumble, but besides those two plays, we played real well the entire game. It was exciting seeing the defense get two touchdowns because I don't think they've had any since I've been here. It was really good to see and built some momentum and we kept building on from it.”

On the offensive line's performance:
“I think they did a good job for what Grambling State was doing. They ran a lot of zero pressure, six, seven man blitzes. So for what they were doing, I think they did a good job. We worked on a lot of stuff at practice this week and they applied it pretty well.”

On what he does better today than two years ago in the opener:
“I see the field better and I know what I want to do and not force stuff. I think the best way to put it is I see the field better.”

On touchdowns to Kenny Lawler:
“They were all timing routes. I have to trust him and he has to trust me. They're all timing routes. I like talking about him. He did real well today.”

Cameron Walker, Cornerback

On two defensive touchdowns:
“Hopefully it's the first step of our defense getting on the same level as our offense nationally. We've been talked about badly since I've been here. It's finally time to get rid of that and make forward strides.”

On his interception:
“So I was in nickel and I read the quarterback's drop. I thought it was a three-step, so I was expanding to what I thought was going to be a screen, like an out route or something quick. I saw him throw it and it went over my head. I saw it hit the back of the head of the receiver and I was like, 'Oh, it's right here.' I kind of went to it, grabbed it and I was like, 'Oh I caught it.' I turned around and Darius White was looking at me like, 'Just go.' So I just went from there. It happened exactly just as I planned, verbatim.“

Kenny Lawler, Wide Receiver

On chemistry with Goff:
“If Jared sees something, he's going to tell me something within their defense. I'm also able to try and get his attention, as well, and if he likes it, and I like it, then it's on. The three touchdowns really came from playcalling. Coach Franklin is a great playcaller. He always has us in position to win. He called the three-post and three touchdowns.”

Chase Forrest, Quarterback

On playing in the second half:
“It felt great. Jared and the first team were rolling, and when halftime came around, he said it was my turn to go and I took it head on. It felt great and awesome to be out there finally. I felt comfortable out there. I saw the field well.”

Grambling State Head Coach Broderick Fobbs

General Comments:

“It was definitely a performance that's not one of our better performances. At Grambling State University, that's not how we play. When you look at the stats, what's glaring is the turnovers and the points off of turnovers. Anytime you turn the ball over, you give the offense a short field. It's tough to come back from that. This was the first game for us this season against an FBS opponent, but we can play better. A lot of the way we played had a lot to do with them also because they have a great team. They're going to be really tough to play with in their league. We just have to go back to the drawing board. You always become a better team between week one and week two, so we'll lick our wounds, look at our mistakes and be ready to play next week against Bethune-Cookman.”

On what the perceived issues were:

“It was a little bit of over-excitement. Our guys were itching to get back on the field. There were some drops, and some opportunities for us to make plays that we just didn't make. There were guys open, and we dropped balls. Then there were opportunities where we panicked a bit and didn't throw the ball away, but that's part of it. It's week one and we just have to settle down and play our style of football. We have really good athletes and skill guys. We just have to continue to work.”

On if there's a positive in seeing the team create opportunities:

“It does. It gives some type of confirmation that what you're doing and what you draw up is there and is available to you. We just have to go back to the drawing board. We knew going into this ballgame that we had to play flawless and take advantage of their mistakes too. I thought we did neither. Anytime you do neither, you get what you sow. We'll be better. We always get better, and we'll do that for next week.”

Grambling State Players

Martez Carter, Running Back

On the game:

“I feel like we played okay. I feel like we played to a high standard. We had a little bit of pregame jitters, but when it's all said and done, we executed as much as possible. They are a good ball club. They played well and they held their side. It was kind of tough for us to get over being excited. It's been a long week for us. We were anxious to get out there. We let the environment get the best of us.”

How did you stay positive throughout the game?

“We have a great coaching staff and they preach the idea of finishing strong, navigating well, never quitting and they believe in us. When they believe in us as much as they do, it gives us the positive influence to believe in ourselves. At the end of the day, they wanted us to fight and we had something to fight for because of the confidence they gave us. That being said, we had the momentum and trust. They trusted in us and we went out and executed as best as we could.”

Johnathan Williams, Quarterback

On the game:

“I feel like we didn't execute as well as we are capable of doing. Like Coach [Broderick Fobbs] said, we made some drops, had some plays and I missed some throws. Just pregame jitters, you could say. We played a good team today.They came out, executed and flew around the ball. They just did their job. They took advantage of the mistakes we made and we didn't take advantage of the mistakes they made. That's just what happened today.”

On Cal's defensive play:

“They didn't do anything I didn't expect. It was just us, as a whole, and not executing the assignments that we do daily.”

On your nervousness prior to the game:

“I expected a lot more out of myself and some of my teammates. But I guess you could put it off on me and the pregame jitters.”

Nicholas Peoples, Defensive Back

On the game:

“As defense, we came out and played hard. We didn't execute that well, but I feel like we played really hard. I know we have a lot of room to make up. We're going to get back to practice this week, study film and study our mistakes. We're going to come back and fight hard.”