California Postgame Quotes
10/07/11 | Football
On the second half...
"We made some mistakes in the first half. Penalties hurt us a little bit and set us back. We challenged them at half time and those guys understand that there are 60 minutes to play the ball game. I think the blocked field goal at the end of the first half was kind of a huge momentum turn in the locker room."
"We had to make some adjustments [at the half] and our staff has really done a nice job, at least since I've been here, of making the proper adjustments and by and large we usually come out in the second half a pretty good team."
"Our guys understand in how we practice that prepares us to play for 60 minutes. It's a tough league and you're not going to walk in and hang 40 [points] on people each week by half time and come in the locker room like during the Missouri State and Nevada games. It's a battle."
On the defense tonight...
"On those drives they make it three points instead of seven points to keep the game in check. We got the momentum on our side a little bit. Again, I think that blocked field goal at the end of the 2nd half was pretty big for us. We thrive off each other, so when [the defense] gets a stop on third down and the offense will go back out and score. You can see that it's kind of a momentum swing."
On LaMichael James' injury in the fourth quarter...
"I haven't spoken to him, but I will get a feel after [the press conference]. I am concerned when any one of our players gets injured, so when we're done here I will get in to the training room and meet with our medical staff. I know we have a great medical staff here and they will make sure that he gets the care that he needs."
On De'Anthony Thomas...
"De'Anthony is a really talented young man. He has played a lot of different positions and he did a nice job tonight despite his position coach, which is me right now. He overcame me this week in practice. He really is a dynamic player. De'Anthony really changed the game for us today. If we can be a team that is explosive both on the ball and running the ball, then I think we have a shot at being decent. "
On Autzen Stadium tonight...
"This place is rockin. This is the best place to play college football."
On Arizona State...
"We're fortunate that we have an extra day to prepare for them. They're another explosive offense and can throw the heck out of the ball so it's going to be another challenge for our defense. And obviously they have a really, really talented defense that can really play. So it's going to be a battle."
California Head Coach Jeff Tedford
Opening comments...
"We couldn't catch up in the second half. They played really well, they moved the ball really well and they have speed and a receiver that makes good plays in the second half. First half was all good and they dialed up some stuff for the second half. It's not demoralizing because it is still early."
On the future...
"Each time out is a different challenge. Each time out is a learning experience. We'll take a look at the tape and see how we can improve and how we can help as coaches. Like I told the team, we all share responsibility in this. We need to coach better, put them in a good position to be successful and everyone is responsible for it. We'll take some good things away. We didn't win the football game, but there are always some good things and you have to recognize the good things. The guys played hard. The guys competed hard. It's not a lack of effort."
On the team after halftime...
"It was competitive. We were looking forward to going out and competing hard second half. Then [Oregon] got on a roll and we couldn't respond. Once they get going like that, you have got to be able to respond to that. And we couldn't do it. We couldn't score those points."
On this year's Oregon offense in comparison to last year's...
"They threw the ball better. I thought they had a good plan and man coverage and they really exploited us. They protect the passer well and Thomas threw the ball real well. They had tight coverage in certain areas and the receivers made some plays and they're very fast. Their receivers are fast."
On De'Anthony Thomas...
"He's very fast and does a good job of catching the football. A guy like that can take the worst. He can catch the ball like he catches anything. He can play in the backfield, he can play in the slot. He can do a lot of things for you. He's a pretty gifted guy."
On Cal field goals...
"I thought in the first half we were moving it pretty much up and down. It seemed like we were having a lot of success offensively. We were running it, throwing it, mixing it up. When you're going to get in a game like this, where they have the potential to score points, you want to come away with touchdowns. This is two weeks in a row where we came away with too many field goals, not touchdowns. We started throwing all the time and we had to abandon the run in the second half."
On Marc Anthony's injury...
"We have to talk to the doctor. I don't know the extent of it. All I know is they said he was out for the game. He went out once, and then he came back in. Then he hurt it again. Maybe he's finished."
Oregon Players
WR Josh Huff
On first half versus the second half...
"We went hard and it really opened up our throwing game. When we went in the locker room at the half the only thing people could say was 'PICK IT UP' and we went out there and did it."
On play without LaMichael's leadership...
"We will have our hands full without his leadership, but regardless this team is solid and we will be ready for the task."
DB Anthony Gildon
On the overall game...
"I think we played well overall, still some work to do, but we will get on it at practice this coming week."
On halftime thoughts...
"We calmed ourselves down, reminded ourselves of what we are capable of and went out and did what we had to do to get the win."
RB LaMichael James
On injury...
"It's not a season-ending injury, I feel good, I WILL NEVER give up on my teammates."
On pain...
"It was more painful knowing that I couldn't go out there and finish the game with my team more than my actual elbow. I am happy for my team the way they went out there and finished the game off strong."
RB De'Anthony Thomas
On game...
"All of our hard practices showed off today. I am thoroughly pleased with the way that we all played today, especially in the second half, defensively."
On playing more if LaMichael is injured for a long time...
"Wherever I'm put I'll always bring my 100%, this is a solid team we will be ready for Arizona State."
QB Darron Thomas
On the comeback to beat California...
"It stopped raining. We knew we had to come out in the second half and put the pedal to the medal. We made mistakes on our own in the first half, but we cleaned them up at halftime and wanted to just come out and play hard."
On LaMichael James' injury...
"I think he's going to be alright, he's a tough guy. Anytime anyone goes down, the team will rally around him and we played for LaMike."
On if LaMichael James doesn't play next week against Arizona State...
"I'm very confident in Kenjon Barner and Tra Carson. Tra is a great practice player and can step in at anytime. If he doesn't play then it will put more pressure on the offense to practice hard."
On De'Anthony Thomas...
"We had chemistry today; he's a great skill player. He works very hard."
California Players
QB Zach Maynard
On his performance...
"It was very frustrating for me. I should have converted on third down more and completed more passes. The offensive line did a great job, but I just have to get the ball out faster."
On the crowd...
"No, I didn't feel like it was that loud. It was loud at times, though."
On the team's mentality at halftime...
"We were feeling good. We just wanted to keep momentum going, keep getting first downs. Get the ball in the endzone."
WR Keenan Allen
On the first half...
"We executed our plays and took them out of the game early on. We were feeling good. We just didn't execute (in the second half)."
On Zach Maynard...
"I knew he wasn't feeling like himself. I was just trying to help him, get his confidence up."
On if speed was the difference...
"No, I feel like execution. They executed their plays on offense better than we did."
