California head coach Justin Wilcox
on what he says to the team after a game like this
"That I'm really proud of them. We as a staff and a school are proud of those guys and what they stand for, who they are. It's an awful feeling in there right now. It really hurts among the team, especially the guys who walked off the field in their last football game. There's not a lot you can say that makes them feel a lot better. I talked to them about how much we appreciate them for everything that they've done. I've got to do a better job of helping us moving forward. All of our coaches and support staff do. Our guys came to compete every week. We just didn't play good enough football today in a lot of ways to win the game."
 
on the causes for the red zone issues
"First thing that jumps out are penalties. Moving backwards. We have good athletes and are a good, talented football team. We can't keep kicking field goals. We were moving the ball well at times; we just didn't capitalize in the red zone. I wish it was one thing. Penalties definitely showed up, third-down conversions. We were settling for field goals. It's hard in this conference to win games making field goals all day."
 
on how they fared against Josh Rosen
"We got to him a little bit, but we didn't win enough outside today obviously. The explosive passes killed us on defense. The third downs, not getting off the field when we had the opportunity. There was one where we did get the stop, but then we roughed the punter, and they converted the fourth and inches and got three points off that. The penalty thing was a bit uncharacteristic. I felt we played pretty clean most of the year, not perfect, but we came in and really shot ourselves in the foot too many times. It's not because the guys aren't trying but it's just the littlest of details; when you play a good team like that they're going to make you pay."
 
on reports of Bo Baldwin taking the Oregon State job
"You know I think anything concerning Bo is speculation. I talk to Bo multiple times a day. There's nothing more to talk about there."
 
on not taking time outs during the final UCLA drive
"Yeah, thinking about it. They had the second-down incompletion, and got them to third and 3. So at that point we were thinking about using them. Then they hit the quick out screen, and pushed the ball across midfield. Now we were trying to make them kick the longest field goal. There was an opportunity late with about 40 seconds to use some, but I thought if they were running the ball with success like they were, they were going to get closer and we were helping them get down with basically no time and a better kick. So I felt we had a better chance to make them kick it from where they were with time running, and if we could either block it or they'd miss it. In retrospect we would have taken them."
 
on where the program is headed
"After moments like this you really want to go in tomorrow, and get back to work. That's really the only thing that takes the sting off of it, is getting back working. We have a really good group of guys. They're learning to do things how we're asking them to do them. The margins of winning games like this and a couple we've had throughout the season – one last week, couple early in the season where it's close and we've got to find a way to win them. That's the toughest margin to gain on. To win those games is a lifestyle. Obviously it's a play here and a play there and all that, but that's just how you're living, and our guys understand that more and more. Every little detail of what we do on and off the field, it all matters. It shows up in the most critical moments. They're kids and they want to do it right. We've got to still learn and grow, and I think they will because like I said they want to do it, they're willing learners, but we've got to as a team be better."

UCLA interim head coach Jedd Fisch
opening remarks
"My opening statement is this that our players are so excited right now, that they get to go to a bowl game. Our players were so excited that they're 6-0 and went undefeated at the Rose Bowl. And our whole football operation, from the trainers to the doctors, from the equipment managers to the coaching staff to the strength staff to the nutrition staff, we're all appreciative of this opportunity. We are obviously excited as a program. We also feel that we owe this win to Coach Mora. And we wanted to make sure that we were able to end his legacy as the head coach at UCLA, as a guy that led five of his six teams to bowl games. So, we are very respectful of that. In turn, we are extremely excited to move forward and to be 1-0 in this capacity – to be a six-win team, to go and play a bowl game and to go and enjoy this and celebrate this."
 
on quarterbacks Josh Rosen and Devon Modster
"Josh, we pulled at halftime for some precautionary reasons. We want to make sure he is healthy for the bowl game. He got hit pretty hard on that one sack. And he wants to make sure that he's healthy, too. I told Devon, 'I thought that you played one great half of football and that you were 8-for-8 against Utah, and then we lost you in that second half. And here is your second half.' Let's play a complete game. What's cooler than that? I think that we were up 17-9 at halftime. I told our guys that if we could win each quarter, we'd win that game. Devon went in there. He did a great job of leading our football team. He did a great job of finding ways to get us down there and to put us in a position, with 27-27 all, with two minutes and 20 seconds left, and not taking a lot of reps in practice – tremendous by everybody. We had Brandon Stephens stepping up. He played more in this game than he has ever played. We're excited for our guys and how hard they played. I'm excited for all of our players."
 
on the challenges for him as the team's head coach today
"I'll tell you that I've never been such a cheerleader for the defense. That was so fun to cheer them on. Our defense played so well tonight. To hold them to three field goals in the first half. And the other series to hold them to a field goal. Nobody panicked. Our guys just battled and battled. To see how those guys played, that was fun."
 
on getting this team to a bowl game
"It's awesome. It's great. That's a tough game. That's the third longest rivalry in college football. So, to play a rival in situation where a change was made on Sunday on what was a short week with a game Friday and then Thanksgiving [Thursday] – and I took Thanksgiving away. We practiced later. We met and went to the hotel, took the music away, and they played really hard and that was cool. They played so hard to just get to that bowl. To honor Coach Mora's legacy, as he talked about getting to that bowl game. Six wins is huge. And for our team to have done that all at home, going undefeated at home, let's keep that rolling together."
 
on UCLA's Jordan Lasley
"227 and 206 last week? Yeah, that is pretty impressive. He played in eight games and had over 1,000 yards. I know that we have an opportunity for him to come back for another year. I love how he is competing. It's 'Hey coach, I know it's a run but I'll go block for him.' It's an attitude of him wanting to take his game to the next level."
 
UCLA defensive coordinator Tom Bradley
on satisfaction of getting win
"We did this for the players, the young men that represent this university. Tough week for them. Everything they learned from Coach Mora they put on display tonight. They fought and once again, we talked about it last week, but it takes three field goals to beat a touchdown. So to be able to do what we did today in the red zone and hold them to field goals was huge. Great effort tonight and great energy. It was a tough week for the guys in a lot of ways. They hung in there and played a great game tonight."
 
on holding California to field goals
"I think it was key. Anytime you can hold them to a field goal for us that's a victory. One of the key series was the early turnover when we held them to just a field goal. That's a win for us on defense. If we did not then we would have been in some trouble."
 
on extra practice helping the defense
"It's always great to go to a bowl game. I think it's my 37th and I'm still excited to go. The extra practice time we can work on some things and slow some things down. It's not going to be total game preparation. We can really look at our fundamentals and work out some of the injuries that we've had in different places. Guys who have moved around positions will be able to slow down and look some things over which we can't do when we're preparing for a game. It will be a good chance to get fundamentally better as we get ready for the bowl game."
 
on coverage sacks
"We really only got to the quarterback with a five-man front once or twice. It was a great job by the secondary on coverage. We play a lot of man coverage as we did a lot last week. I thought they did a great job. There are some times where we have to get to the quarterback sooner because we can't ask those guys to cover like that all day. Later in the game, I thought the front four did a really good job of coming up with pressure. I really was impressed with our guys moving forward. That's a really young group of guys playing. It's a really good group of guys."
 
UCLA kicker JJ Molson
on kicking the game-winning kick with four seconds left
"Pretty cool. Good team victory. You know, we did it for the seniors and Coach Fisch and Coach Mora and Coach Mora's legacy. I'm glad that our unit got to execute it. Very proud of the guys."
 
on a pressure situation with the game on the line
"Every kicker visualizes a game-winning situation, but you have to just react when it comes up. I'm just happy that our guys executed. It's just a good win for our guys."
 
on going back to fall camps and practices, envisioning a moment like this
"Kicking is all about repetition and the more reps you get, the more it becomes engraved in your brain. Looking back at all our practices, our unit put in a lot of work – in summer workouts and in fall camp. So, we made that kick many times before. There, it's just about every guy executing his job, and that's what we did."
 
on a kicker getting "iced"
"I just try and stay composed. I'm thinking about – it's just another kick, so you try and treat it that way. You don't try and make the situation too big. You just try and stay relaxed out there. I'm just here to celebrate this win, not my kick."
 
on the uncertainty surrounding the coaching change
"It's definitely different without Coach Mora there as a coach, but as a person too – the values and the principles that he not only taught us but also that he demonstrated every day. There is kind of a void. Coach Fisch did a great job of telling us to carry on his legacy and to give it our all in this last game. It was about doing it for Coach Mora and the seniors. This week was a bit weird, but we just practiced every day. We practiced hard and worked out every day and we got the job done."
 
UCLA quarterback Devon Modster
on what his coaches told him at halftime
"I don't really know what happened to Josh, but Coach Fisch told me to get ready and I just warmed up in the locker room."
 
on having been in a similar situation before
"Definitely going in before helped me. But, I didn't like the way that I started tonight. I started a little slow, so next time, I'll just have to start faster."
 
on his mindset on the team's final drive
"We had a lot of energy on the sidelines. That helps us a lot. Our offense just executed."
 
on the deep pass to Jordan Lasley on the third drive in the third quarter
"J-Las made a great catch and the offense gave me time to be able to make that throw."
 
on winning for the seniors and for Coach Mora
"Definitely, it was a big game. Coach Mora not being there kind of impacted us. Coach Fisch did a great job this week preparing us for this game."
 
on having Jordan Lasley there to make big plays
"Makes it a lot easier. He's a big and fast target. He's one of those guys who you can really trust down the field."
 
on being on the field during the game-winning drive
"It's a great experience, but I wouldn't want to experience it with any other people besides my teammates right now."
 
on JJ Molson stepping up and kicking the field goal to win the game
"I was confident. JJ is a great kicker. I knew that he was going to make it."
 
UCLA wide receiver Jordan Lasley
on the week
"Well, I lost a coach. My coach got fired that recruited me. He was more than just my coach. We had a lot of conversations about a lot of things. I've known him since I was 15 or 16 years old. This week was emotional, but all credit to Coach Fisch. He had us locked in. So, more power to him."
 
on reflecting on football when he was away and how instrumental Coach Mora was for him
"Very instrumental. I was suspended for three weeks, but Coach Mora never stopped talking. He helped me a lot. We always had different conversations about a lot of things. We actually have a whole lot in common."
 
on if Randy Moss would've been proud of his effort tonight
"I mean, Randy Moss had three catches for three touchdowns and 160-something yards, so I didn't really get there. But I thought that he'd be proud."
 
on why he participated in "Senior Night" festivities
"I don't even know. I didn't know I was walking out with our seniors until about three or four hours before the game. Coach Fisch told me, like three or four hours before, that I was going to be walking out with our seniors. I asked him why. He told me that at some of the others places he'd coach, that fourth years and fifth years go whether you are going back or not. I have no idea what I'm going to do.
 
on quarterback Devon Modster
"Devon is as baller. So, I'm not sure how much it helped him or meant to him or whatever. But I have seen him throwing the ball like that since the 11th or 12th grade in high school. I thought that he played a very good game, given the circumstances."
 
on advancing to a bowl game and absorbing a coaching change
"I think it means everything, considering the fact we didn't go to a bowl game last year. This is my fourth year and we didn't go to a bowl game last year, and I've been to two bowl games before that. So, not going to one, I was at home in December last year and was like 'Nah,' so playing in a bowl game was everything."
 
on Coach Fisch
"I would just say he was more vocal to the defense more. He's our offensive coordinator, but he was definitely more vocal toward the defense. He had the same type of mentality and expectations with us [on the offense]. I feel like we did our thing today as an offense."
 
on how a new head coach could factor in his decision to stay for his senior year
"I feel like it would, either way. I don't even know who they are thinking of naming as head coach. Like I said, I'm just taking this one game at a time. And I'm trying to keep this as simple as possible."
 
UCLA running back Brandon Stephens
on playing as many snaps
"When Soso [Jamabo] and Bolu [Olorunfunmi] went down I knew that I was going to have to step up. It was just about getting into the rhythm of the game. This was the first time for me getting this many carries and playing time. The offensive line did a great job trying to get some push and I was really just working off of them."
 
on Devon Modster on final drive
"We work on 2-minute drill every Wednesday at practice and he just told us 'let's go down here and try to score.' We didn't score a touchdown but we put JJ [Molson] in a great position to win the game for us."
 
on emotions of the week
"We definitely miss coach Mora but this week we just had to prepare. We had to put all that happened behind us and prepare for this game. We're not really worried about the coaching change. That's not what we worried about. We have another game ahead of us and preparing for that."
 
on becoming bowl eligible
"We were definitely all excited. We were not able to get to one last year so to win this game for all our seniors, for Coach Fisch and Coach Mora and to give these guys that have been here for four to five years an extra game means a lot."
 
on interim head coach Jedd Fisch
"Coach Fisch is a great coach. People have a lot of respect for him. He took everyone under his wing and said 'this is it and go out there and get this win.' He's going to talk even when he wasn't the interim head coach so nothing really changed. For the defensive guys, they're hearing from him a little bit more since they didn't as much in the past. From an offensive standpoint, I hear him every day so it was normal."