California head coach Sonny Dykes
Opening statement
“I have to give UCLA a lot of credit. They had lost two straight. They came out and played a very aggressive and physical brand of football. Their coaches did a good job of getting their guys ready. We didn't perform as well as we needed to. That starts with us and with getting our guys ready. We had 12 days to prepare for the game and we didn't do a very good job of getting our guys ready to play. We didn't start fast and never really got into a flow. I've got to give UCLA credit. We've got to go back to the drawing board. We've got a good football team – our guys will come back and play well. But we've got to get some things fixed.”
On being prepared for the game
“I felt we had a great week of practice. We felt like we were as ready to play as we've been all year. I thought our guys were fresh and excited to play. Clearly, that wasn't the case.”
On losing momentum after the first drive
“We didn't execute well. We didn't protect Jared very well – he got sacked five times. That's where it starts with us. We did not do a good job on first down. We got behind the chains too much on the first down. We didn't run the ball particularly well. We had a lot of second- and third-and-longs. That put a lot of pressure on our offensive line and our quarterback. We've got to be able to run better and just execute better.”
On UCLA's defense
“They've got a good pass rush. They've got good players. They were ready to play tonight and they played at a high level.”
On California's defense
“We didn't do a good job of getting off the field. We had opportunities to intercept passes early in the ball game, and we didn't make those plays. We had opportunities to make contested plays early on and we didn't. Against good football teams, you have to make those. It's the same thing with pressure. We've got pressure on Rosen, but we didn't do a good job of keeping him hemmed in. Things we haven't done all year, we did tonight. That's not indicative of this football team—we just didn't play well tonight.”
On Cal's secondary
“We just didn't tackle well. We've tackled well this year, but we didn't tackle well early in the ball game. We didn't play very physical defense, and we didn't play very physical on offense either. That's something we'll have to address. We've got to get back to playing physical football.”
UCLA head coach Jim Mora
Opening remarks
“I'm proud of our guys who have been battling adversity. We lost our top runner and our starting right tackle. Our starting offensive line was great. Defensively, we played well. The key was getting that quarterback [Jared Goff] on the ground. He is a great player. In the second half, we got him on the ground.”
On UCLA's strong pass rush
“It was really no more than usual. It was just more effective. We were standing guys up and moving them around. We pressed the pocket. We were close in the first half. He was feeling the pressure. There was pressure but he slid away and made accurate throws. The key was being able to get him on the ground a few times. Thankfully, we did.”
On quarterback Josh Rosen's makeup
“Josh is a lot like the kid that we were playing against. He's very mature, he has tremendous poise, he prepares well, and he's smart. He trusts the guys around him. He trusts his receivers. Like all great performers, they are able to let go of what just happened and move on to the next event. Josh has been able to do that now for seven games, in spring ball and in our summer camp. He's a rare kid, just like Goff. They're both very good quarterbacks.”
On defensive back John Johnson's performance
“They tried going after him and he did a nice job. I'm glad you recognized that because he's had two shoulder surgeries. He has battled. He was a highly-acclaimed recruit and, just because of injuries, it has not happened for him. Cal has great receivers. Those guys are ballers. And Johnny did a nice job. He stayed on top of them. He found the ball and played well. I was excited about that for him.”
On the 60-yard field goal by Ka'imi Fairbairn
“I was going to put the offense back out there, and Jerry [Neuheisel] said that he's got it. I asked him at halftime, and he said that he'd heard the boom of the ball on that 55-yarder and [Ka'imi] has hit 64-yarders in practice. That was a big adrenaline rush and a boost to our momentum. That made it a three-score game at halftime instead of two.”
On UCLA's defensive backs and secondary
“Our secondary, those guys take a lot of pride. They're very well coached. Coach [Demetrice] Martin is a great technician. Our guys have accepted the coaching and they applied it tonight.”
On UCLA's running game setting up the pass, and vice versa
“I don't believe in one setting up the other. You have to be able to do both effectively. The credit needs to start with the offensive line. Kolton Miller made his first start and did a heck of a job. Those guys have consistently played well for us. If you are running it well, you're throwing it well and then you become tough to defend.”
On preaching to his players about staying the course prior to Thursday's game
“It's not just over the week. It's a continual message. It has to be part of your culture. I don't think that people understand how hard it is to win a game, and multiple games. We have had a lot of adversity of with personnel changes. When you work hard and have faith and believe in what you're doing, good things are going to happen. It's a message that has to permeate your program. We all know that we struggled in October, but we found a way to pull out of it, and I believe that we will again.”
On how Josh Rosen has most improved since the season opener
“He doesn't throw those balls back across his body into coverage. He has learned to make better decisions in the open field. When he kept the ball and took that hit tonight, I didn't think that was a great decision. But his understanding of our offense, of his receivers and what they do well and just his confidence. He is a confident kid as it is, but as you have success, you gain confidence.”
On what this victory can do in the big picture for UCLA
“Our goals are to get better every day. We are about the process, quite frankly. We are trying to get better every day and focus on each step. Tonight was another step. But we have to back it up with another good step tomorrow.”
