Here’s some of the quotes from today:
Opening Statement…
"Coming up on the halfway point of the season. Cal and us are both coming off of loses, ironically both to Oregon State. Cal is much improved on offense this year, averaging over 400 yards and 30 points a game – they are very balanced. They are 3-3, and we have them at home. We love playing in front of our crowd here at Rice-Eccles Stadium. It is also a 1 p.m. kick, which is also a positive. We have the one loss in conference play, which is disappointing for us obviously, but I'll be shocked if anyone gets through this league undefeated."
On if there is anything from the tape for Cal against Oregon State that they can take into the game this week…
"Well they went with a different quarterback, they went with No. 15. We were expecting to see the other guy when we watched the game. They are an RPO team. They have good running backs, I am impressed with No. 1 and No. 22 in particular. They have a receiver that has 30+ catches. It was an offensive shootout in their game against Oregon State, which was dramatically different than what we experienced at Oregon State."
On if there are opportunities for improvement on defense…
"There are always opportunities to improve. We aren't getting quite as many takeaways as we have in the past, but we aren't bad, just not as many as we are accustomed to. We can always get more pressure on the quarterback. Our run defense has been stout and our third down defense has been outstanding. That has been a critical stat that a lot of people look past because if you get a stop on third down it is basically a mini-turnover because you are getting the ball back. We lump third and fourth down defense into conversion downs, and we are playing really well there. So, there is room for improvement, but they have done a lot of good things."
On what he has taken pride in with the team halfway through the season…
"How they have handled adversity. I think they've done a nice job handling adversity because we have had some tough spots through the season and they have had a great attitude and mentality toward that. They have stuck together through that. We have played better on defense than we have on offense, but there has been absolutely no finger pointing. They have done a nice job of staying unified."
On the strength of Cal's defense…
"To pick one, they are playing mostly even up front. They have some good edge guys and a couple of good linebackers. Their boundary corner is a good player. Not a lot of pressure, but they just play very sound, solid football. Coach Wilcox is a very good defensive coach, that is his forte and you know you are always going to get sound schemes and fundamentals and technique out of teams that he coaches."
On playing against teams that have had to play multiple quarterbacks…
"It is much harder to maintain quality backups because of the portals, because quarterbacks don't want to sit. If they feel like they should be playing, they aren't going to sit if they are going to be a No. 2 or a No. 3. It has become a very fluid position with a lot of transition. That room has had more change year to year than any other position in the building because of the nature of how that works. This day in age if you have a solid No. 2, you are in good shape."
On Jonah Elliss…
"He is the No. 1 sack guy in the country. He has had a tremendous year and is a tremendous football player."
Opening Statement…
"Coming up on the halfway point of the season. Cal and us are both coming off of loses, ironically both to Oregon State. Cal is much improved on offense this year, averaging over 400 yards and 30 points a game – they are very balanced. They are 3-3, and we have them at home. We love playing in front of our crowd here at Rice-Eccles Stadium. It is also a 1 p.m. kick, which is also a positive. We have the one loss in conference play, which is disappointing for us obviously, but I'll be shocked if anyone gets through this league undefeated."
On if there is anything from the tape for Cal against Oregon State that they can take into the game this week…
"Well they went with a different quarterback, they went with No. 15. We were expecting to see the other guy when we watched the game. They are an RPO team. They have good running backs, I am impressed with No. 1 and No. 22 in particular. They have a receiver that has 30+ catches. It was an offensive shootout in their game against Oregon State, which was dramatically different than what we experienced at Oregon State."
On if there are opportunities for improvement on defense…
"There are always opportunities to improve. We aren't getting quite as many takeaways as we have in the past, but we aren't bad, just not as many as we are accustomed to. We can always get more pressure on the quarterback. Our run defense has been stout and our third down defense has been outstanding. That has been a critical stat that a lot of people look past because if you get a stop on third down it is basically a mini-turnover because you are getting the ball back. We lump third and fourth down defense into conversion downs, and we are playing really well there. So, there is room for improvement, but they have done a lot of good things."
On what he has taken pride in with the team halfway through the season…
"How they have handled adversity. I think they've done a nice job handling adversity because we have had some tough spots through the season and they have had a great attitude and mentality toward that. They have stuck together through that. We have played better on defense than we have on offense, but there has been absolutely no finger pointing. They have done a nice job of staying unified."
On the strength of Cal's defense…
"To pick one, they are playing mostly even up front. They have some good edge guys and a couple of good linebackers. Their boundary corner is a good player. Not a lot of pressure, but they just play very sound, solid football. Coach Wilcox is a very good defensive coach, that is his forte and you know you are always going to get sound schemes and fundamentals and technique out of teams that he coaches."
On playing against teams that have had to play multiple quarterbacks…
"It is much harder to maintain quality backups because of the portals, because quarterbacks don't want to sit. If they feel like they should be playing, they aren't going to sit if they are going to be a No. 2 or a No. 3. It has become a very fluid position with a lot of transition. That room has had more change year to year than any other position in the building because of the nature of how that works. This day in age if you have a solid No. 2, you are in good shape."
On Jonah Elliss…
"He is the No. 1 sack guy in the country. He has had a tremendous year and is a tremendous football player."
