Head Coach Mike Belotti News Conference
Regarding the Washington State loss: "It's very disappointing when you play with as much heart and intensity that we did. We certainly stepped up a great deal on defense and we had opportunities offensively we could not take advantage of, a couple of plays we should have gotten the ball into the end zone and did not. Against a good football team, you have to make those kind of plays. Those are the kind that hurt a little bit because you know you can win, you know it's within your control so it sticks with you longer. There are a lot of positives to take from this game but there are no moral victories in this league. But as long as we continue to play with that same type of intensity and commitment, the winning will take care of itself.
"We have to win with offense, defense and special teams. We're not good enough yet to win with just one phase stepping up each week.
"We talk a lot each week that you never know what play in a game is going to make the difference, so you have to be prepared to take advantage of every opportunity that you get. The great teams find ways to be opportunistic. This was a game that was very winnable for us. Unfortunately, we did not make the plays on both sides of the ball. We played great defense for 28 minutes in the first half and then in the last two minutes, we had some missed tackles, some missed assignments and reverted a little bit.
Regarding defensive adjustments made from previous week: "We wanted to get more speed on the field to match up with (Washington State's) four and five wide receiver sets. We didn't want our linebackers out in space so we substituted some defensive backs. Michael Fletcher and Brandon McLemore stepped in and replaced our outside linebackers and did a great job. They both had a lot of influence on the game. With that speed on the field, we're not going to be as stout or sturdy against the run but those guys can slip a lot of blocks and recover quicker. I think we have to use that type of philosophy in the future. Whenever we can get that group on the field, they can make more plays.
"It's something we will attempt to use in the future although I don't know if its something we will play all the time on first down against a team with a tight end and two backs in the backfield, but certainly if we can get them in passing situations or long yardage situations, we will go with this group -- what we call our hawk package or the falcon package with five or six defensive backs. They proved they can hold up. There's some great athleticism, some great speed on the field, and we want to find ways to improve that. That's a real key to playing good defense.
Regarding UCLA: "Cade McNown has done a great job for them. He's really hitting his stride as a quarterback. Skip Hicks is probably one of the best running backs in the nation this year. (Jim) McElroy heads their great receiving corps along with (Danny) Farmer. On defense, they've made some great strides. Shaun Williams (free safety) is playing great and keys a lot of what they do. When you win a game 66-3 (vs. Texas), you're obviously doing the job on both ends of the field. They're a pressure defense that is finally catching on to what Rocky Long (defensive coordinator) wants them to do. Their pressure creates a lot of matchups in the secondary which they like.
Oregon quarterback situation: "We'll continue to use both (Jason Maas and Akili Smith) but this game plan will be quite a bit different because Washington State was a very static defense. They're a different defense in terms of their approach. They have great team speed, and they're a very good defensive football team but the way they do things is a little different. We have to look at this week's game plan and both quarterbacks' comfort level with it. Overall, Akili played a very good football game and graded out well. There are some things that I would have liked to have see seen him do differently, but certainly he made positive yards on his scrambles. He threw two or three excellent, excellent passes that were as good as I've ever seen, in terms of position placement into the wind.
On Oregon improvement: "Our attitude is great, our health is pretty good, and we've just got to play a little bit better. We need to make one or two more plays. We're about five plays away from being undefeated. Our kids know and understand that, they're supporting one another and they're doing a great job in terms of commitment and enthusiasm. That will win games for us down the road.
