Home | Schedule/Results | Rosters | Coaches | Stats | News Releases | History | Camps

Nov. 15, 1997

Arizona -Cal Post-Game Quotes

Tom Holmoe:
"It is a difficult game to lose. This is like some of the other games that we have lost this season. The fight is always there, but we are not quite ready to win. We had a number of opportunities to win, but we let them slip away.

"But we have the 100th playing of the Big Game coming up. Our focus has to be the Big Game. We have to let go of this right away.

On not going for two:
"We were not going to fake. We did not think that we had a play that would work for a 3-yard fake. We thought that when they came out and saw what we were in, we would to kick it. We thought that we had the momentum to carry us after the extra point.

On the dropped pass that would have been a touchdown: "It looked like he just dropped it. It really was an opportunity that slipped through our hands. We had a great drive at the end to win. It is too bad that we couldn't come up with it.

"It is ironic that a game between these two teams would end this way."

ARIZONA PLAYER QUOTES
PK MARK McDONALD
Re: his game-winning field goal "What really counts is that three seconds before the snap. That's when everything is on the line, and it worked out. We put it through; we did what we practiced."

"This has to be one of the hardest games I've ever been through, kicking-wise. I missed two that should've been automatic."

QB KEITH SMITH
"I didn't expect to play this much. We were just trying to get out there and confuse Cal's defense. Then I started getting in there and making plays. I guess they left me in because they didn't want to change the momentum."

RB TRUNG CANIDATE
"I'm exhausted but it feels great. I'm happy with the win and glad we did what we needed to to win."

On his return from injury: "It felt good to be back. I just thank my mom and the trainers for helping me get back to where I needed to be. I just wanted to get out there and do the job, and I did."

ARIZONA HEAD COACH DICK TOMEY
"Those kind of games are great. What a job and what a way to send the seniors out."

"It was a great effort by everyone. Keith (Smith) came in and gave us some energy. Anthony Thomas did a fabulous job. There were a lot of heroes out there."

"He (Mike McDonald) made the toughest field goal under the most pressure. It's the second one he's made like that."

"I gave the game ball to snapper Nate Campbell. He has had 15 perfect snaps."

"I just love the way O.J. (Ortege Jenkins) and Brady (Batten) supported Keith (Smith) on the sideline throughout the game."

"The defense was dessimated, and they struggled, but they held on in the end zone. It was fabulous."

On ASU: "They're a heck of a team. It's going to take our very best, but we're going to savor this for a while before we start worrying about ASU."