Nov. 8, 1997
Arizona State-Cal Post-Game Quotes
Cal Head Coach Tom Holmoe
General comments
"It was a strange game. We fought
hard, but offensively we just couldn't seem to move the ball
against them. I don't know if that is really a surprise because
their defense is very good and they played well.
On the Cal offense
"In the fourth quarter, I was
proud of that (Cal's offense). The fact that we came out and
battled back. From being shut down for three quarters of the
game and maybe even more, to be able to come back and fight
hard and come within seven. But they ran the clock down at the
end. We had a shot, a legitimate shot at the end and that is
what we can play for."
On the Cal defense
"The Cal defense played hard,
very hard. And that's a good offensive team that Arizona State
put on the field. They got a lot of yards, but we stopped them
when we needed to in a lot of key situations. I think the
defense is getting better, especially up front. They are
becoming accustomed to the front and the stunts and the
movement and the blitzes that we run. They are starting to gel
together. They are looking cleaner and they're learning to play
together. "
On key plays
"A couple big plays really hurt us. The
dropped fumble (the fumble snap) was hard on a defensive team
that was working hard. And, then for them to score a touchdown
on a hitch pass on a missed tackle tugs at your heart. I feel
bad for a team to play that hard and give up a silly little
play like that."
On Arizona State
"I wouldn't want to leave here
without saying that that (Arizona State) is a good team. A lot
of credit goes to them. They run hard. Their starting tailback
gets hurt and the second guy runs really well. They gave us a
lot of trouble up front on defense. That really stymied us. We
couldn't run the ball early and they put a lot of pressure on
the quarterback. It kept us out of balance."
On the future
"We are not going to hang it up. We
have two games left. And, they are awfully big games. One
against Arizona on the road, which we would love to come away
with a great win. And, of course, the 100th big game, which is
looming in the near future. The team will not quit. They will
play hard the rest of the way. I'll leave it at that."
Cal Player Quotes
Justin Vedder
On Cal's slow start:
"Penalties killed us. We'd have a great play- a great run, a
completion- and then get a penalty and bring it back. Things
like that killed us. It would have been a much different first
half (without the penalties.)"
"We came out struggling in the first half and could have put up
points when our defense was holding them. Basically, our
offense gave them 10 points, with the interception and the
fumbled snap. We have to come out and compete, and play
physical, like we did (in the games we won).
On Bobby Shaw's record:
"It means a lot to me to
have thrown the ball (that broke the record). He's a great guy
who cares about people and the team. He makes plays and it a
leader on the field."
Marquis Smith
On Cal's play:
"Today,
we proved we have the intensity and the know-how to play with
good teams, and we took a big step forward. In the past, after
a big play, we came out with our heads down; today we let it go
and continued on, and ended up having a good game."
Brian Treggs
On Bobby Shaw breaking his
record:
"I wanted my record to stand forever, but it's
good to turn it over to a quality player."
Bobby Shaw
On his final game at Memorial
Stadium:
"It was very emotional coming out before the
game; tears started welling up. There were a lot of family and
friends here to support me."
On breaking the record, but losing the game:
"(It's
bittersweet); you feel like you can't enjoy it to the fullest
because you didn't win the game, but you have to enjoy what you
have, and I will enjoy the whole experience when it's all said
and done."
On the Cal offense's slow start:
"It took us a
minute to get the offense going, but once we got it going, we
picked up some momentum and started to figure things out. Guys
started individually picking up little things may have been
slowing us down, and things started coming together. We were
just 7 points short."
Brandon Whiting
On his final game at Memorial
Stadium:
"It won't hit me that it was my last game
until next weekend, when we play away. It was exciting to have
my family down on the field before the game."
On Cal's defense:
"The Oregon State gave us a
confidence boost. This week in practice, we practiced really
hard, and started to come together as a defense. We were
really emotional, and it carried over to today. Our defense
has a bright future. Our defensive line is really deep, with
a lot of guys who are really young. They are going to be one
of the strengths of the team next year."
Arizona State Head Coach Bruce Snyder
"We needed to play well to beat this team. We knew coming out
at halftime that this was going to be a tough game. Tom
Holmoe's staff, I really want to credit them; their team never
quits. I've watched every single game, they're not always
ahead, but they play as hard the whole game- and they did that
against us. If you do that long enough, you're going to win
some games."
"We played great defensive football for three quarters. That
quarterback [Justin Vedder] is a heck of a player.The only
yardage I thought they could get on us was that scrambling. I
don't know where we all went, but all of a sudden he was
running down the field."
Snyder about being in a position to return to the Rose
Bowl:
"I am not surprised one bit. As early as last
February I met with the team, and my words to them were you
have the talent to go back to the Rose Bowl and try to get done
what you didn't get done. The key issue is whether you come
together as a team, but we have the talent to be there."
"J.R. Redmond is clearly one of the dominant players in our
conference, and maybe one of the truly great players in the
nation. He can run, block, return kicks and return punts. We
are a good football team when he is in the game."
"Cal is going to be a good, thats just too well a coached team.
I think Tom has done a great job, and it's going to fall into
place for them; Tom is going to make that happen. They just
need some patience. That is going to be a good football
program. That's scary to me."
Arizona State Player Quotes
Courtney Jackson
"Coach Snyder told us the
results of the Washington v. Oregon game at halftime. We were
already motivated, but I guess that was a little more
motivation. To go out in the second-half and but (Cal) away. We
pride ourselves on being a fourth-quarter and second-half team,
Coach wants us to go out there and be focused and dominate the
second-half. He said at the end of the half that if we go out
and win we're going to be tied for first place in the Pac-10
because Oregon beat Washington."
"It was a weird game. (Cal is) the kind of offense where if you
don't put them away and knock them out, they're still going to
be around throwing punches at you late in the game. That's what
we're not doing. We have teams down, and we've knocked them out
a couple of times, but we just haven't knocked them out yet."
Creig Spann
On being in first place: "It
feels real good. It lets us know that we really are in the Rose
Bowl hunt. If we just keep winning and doing our job, we'll be
there."
On personal performance: "This may be one of the biggest
games for me, mainly because of the big difference coming from
a junior college to a division-I school. I think this probably
is the biggest highlight game of my career."
On Improvement: "Keep coming out to practice and working
hard every day trying to get better each and every day. I'm a
student of the game. I keep learning from whoever is making
plays. It lets me know I cam do the same thing."
Ryan Kealy
"Our goal obviously is to go to the
Rose Bowl, and every loss for Washington is probably good for
us. We just have to keep on winning and hope they lose."
On scoreless game late: "It was a tight game early. Once
things got going we really drove the ball down well. Cal played
a hell of a game. They are a really good team who came out to
play and hit us in the mouth a couple of times and woke us up."
On big plays: "We weren't concerned about getting big
plays. We just wanted to drive the ball and get some scores. We
were fortunate to get a big play out of our receivers and
running backs, so it just worked out."
On being in first place: "It feels good. It's not over
by a long shot."
J.R. Redmond
"We had a slow start offensively.
The defense went out there and got after them. But we started
to calm down, make the right calls, and move the ball down the
field."
"The final score is all that matters. We came out real flat and
got a little nervous, but soon enough everything started to
click."
On personal performance:
"My best? I don't think so.
I'm still looking for that break-out game, but it was a good
game, and I think I did a good job."
Jeremy Staat
On half-time update of
Washington loss:
"I heard him say it, but I just put it
out of my mind. What was on my mind was winning because if we
lost this game it wouldn't make a difference."
On personal performance:
"I think I'm still peaking
and learning to play my position."
On Rose bowl:
"As long as we keep winning, the Rose
Bowl is an option."
