BearTalk

A sampling of what was being said after Saturday’s game:

 

JEFF TEDFORD:

On withstanding Minnesota’s comeback bid on the road:

That was great for the team. It is great to play a tough game and to be able to play well in the fourth quarter and make plays when you need to make plays in all phases of the game. I think it will give us a boost. It will give us a bit of confidence. After the first two games of winning by so many points, they didn’t have to play four quarters of football. They did, but they didn’t. So today was a great test, a great challenge for us against a really good Minnesota football team to bounce back and make plays and make them at the right times.

 

On Jeremy Ross:

Two huge plays down the stretch, no question. It was third and extra-long. So that was a great throw and a great play by him, and then a great catch. Kevin threw both those balls right on the money, but Jeremy went and got it, the one by the corner of the end zone. So yeah, it was great because Nyan had gotten hurt and Nyan couldn’t play in the second half, so it was nice that Jeremy stepped up.

 

On Jahvid Best:

He played like he always played. It’s typical of Jahvid. I thought he a nice job today of running hard. He broke a lot of tackles today. That was great for him. He made a couple really nice catches, too. A screen that he almost broke was a very tough catch for him. But he played well today.

 

On failing to put Minnesota away early:

Things happen in games. You’re not just going to score every time you have the ball, and stop them three-and-out every time. They’re a good football team. That’s a really good football team over there. So they’re going to make their plays. The test is, how you finish the game, how you handle adversity, and we had some adversity there in the third quarter. I thought our kids stayed poised. They kept playing, just kept working at it. So there was no panic in anybody. They had a lot of confidence going into the fourth quarter and played well in the fourth quarter.

 

On Minnesota wide receiver Eric Decker:

They do a nice job of getting him open. That’s for sure. They have some nice schemes and if you put the ball anywhere near that guy he’s going to go up and get it. He’s such a big target with strong hands. And obviously a tough guy after he took that hit in the corner over there to come back into the game. He’s a very, very good football player. He’s got a bright future ahead of him.

 

On Kevin Riley:

Very good. I thought in certain situations down the stretch, to hit the big third-and-long, we really needed that. That’s the play of the game right there. Again, he was smart with the football, no interceptions. I thought he ran the huddle very well, did everything solid. Not forcing the football, making good decisions and giving us a chance. I thought he was pretty accurate throwing the football. I thought the long ball in the first quarter was a beautiful throw, right on the money. So that was nice.

 

On Kevin Riley in general:

As long as we’re protecting him, he’s making great decisions, he’s letting guys make plays, and running the show like he’s running it, and letting the people around him –- the running backs, receivers, tight ends –- all make plays. He’s doing a great job of reading and feels good about what he’s doing. He’s very poised, very confident, he never panics. I think he’s playing really solid.

 

 

 

DARIAN HAGAN 

On getting beat a couple times by Eric Decker:

He’s a great athlete. It wasn’t anything really too special that he did. I just took my eyes off of him both times. That was on me. I was being over-aggressive, trying to go for the interception instead of guarding my man. He got me with the double move. There are some things I have to work on to clean up, but he’s a great athlete.

 

On his day:

This was a humbling experience for me, coming on the road and having to deal with the type of game that I played. I have a lot of work to do this week. I plan on going back home and getting ready for Oregon.

 

How would he have felt had Cal lost?:

If we would have lost, I’d be sick right now. We pulled the win out. I’m glad that we came out here and showed that we can win on the road in this hostile environment.

 

On mood when they tied it up:

Our defense stayed strong and we pulled it off. It was a down feeling, but once we scored, everybody was kind of up again.

 

 

 

SYD’QUAN THOMPSON

 

On Eric Decker:

Coming into the game, we knew he was a big part of their game plan. We knew he was going to get his catches. It was just about limiting the big plays. He still made some and that’s part of the game. You just have to move and I think we did a good job of that.

 

Like making an impact in run defense?:

I like being aggressive. Last year, I would kind of listen to the receivers and they’d say, “He’s little.” They think I’m little but I play big. I like being aggressive and getting into the offensive backfield.

 

On Jeremy Ross:

I talk to J-Ross every week. We just sit down and talk. He has a lot of confidence in himself. He was just waiting for a play to happen. We always talk about him wanting to make a play for the team that matters. Today was a good display. That was a big third down and we needed that.

 

 

 

TYSON ALUALU

 

On halftime:

We just kind of reminded the guys that we have to come out strong and have fun. That’s exactly what was happening. We didn’t depend on our offense. We knew we could handle the game.

 

On winning on the road:

We tried to make a statement, that we can be road warriors. We’re a different team from last year. We lost to some great teams away last year. We came out wanting to make a statement. We’re just going to fight from here on out.

 

 

 

KEVIN RILEY

 

On the passing game contributing to a win:

It feels really good. Last year, that’s something we struggled with. This year, I think it shows you how much more improved our offense is and we’re going to continue to get better.

 

On producing with the game on the line:

I’m almost glad that situation came up when they tied it up. Last year, and the year before, when they tied it up or took the lead by a touchdown, we didn’t win those games. We stayed strong offensively and defensively, and we came out with a win making plays.

 

On Jeremy Ross:

I think everybody knows on our team that J-Ross has the potential to be a great receiver. He’s shown it at times. It was good to see him make some plays. The opportunity came up and it’s going to build confidence for him to continue to work and get better.

 

On the passing game:

Last year, people know we struggled with our passing game at times. In games like these, where we’d run the ball well, when we got into passing situations, we wouldn’t be able to make plays. I think that’s something we’ve got a lot better at and it’s made the team a lot better.

 

On the mood when Minnesota tied it up:

Our offense was relaxed. We know we can move the ball. We needed a play to get going, and we got that on third down. After that I think everybody on the team knew we were going to win the game. We just needed one play and we got it and kept on going.

 

 

 

JAHVID BEST

 

On his big day:

We had some great blocking up front and the holes were there. I was just hitting them.

 

On winning on the road:

That’s a good test for us. Next week, we’re going to Oregon and that’s going to be another hostile environment. I’m kind of glad they came back and tested us a little bit. Now we have that under our belt, if another team does that to us, we know how to handle it.

 

 

 

JEREMY ROSS

  

On waiting for an opportunity:

It’s difficult. You have to get in there and you have to make the best of every opportunity. When you get a chance, you have to make plays. It’s challenging.

 

On how it helps to get consistent playing time:

That helps a whole lot. I get stronger as the game goes on. If I’m constantly out there, feeling it out, getting the adrenaline pumping, I can make better plays. It makes it a lot easier for me.

 

What this win does for the team:

It was actually perfect timing. I will help us out a whole lot. We faced some adversity. They played us very well. It was good for us to have a challenge. Teams like Oregon and SC are going to bring a challenge as well and you have to know how to respond to it.

 

On the mood after Minnesota tied it up:

There was no real panic. There was still a long way to go. We preach being a fist. We just wanted to put that into practice and not fall apart, just stay together. Everybody was pulling together and encouraging each other and pushing each other to keep getting better and make plays.

 

On almost scoring before being pushed out at the 1-yard line:

The pylon was right by my foot. I wanted to slide my foot in but I wanted to make the catch and the dude ended up hitting me out of bounds.. I could have stuck my finger out and scored.

 

 

 

ANDY LUDWIG

 

On the big plays on the game-winning drive:

I was talking to Kevin in the third quarter and I felt like we were very close on a couple plays, but we weren’t making the plays. We were looking for that one play and that was it. Jeremy Ross showed up big. That was the spark we needed there in the fourth quarter.

 

On the wide receivers:

The development of the wide receiver corps has been a huge plus for us. Having Jeremy step up in that clutch situation will pay huge dividends for us down the road.

 

On Jeremy Ross:

Sometimes we have a group of plays with a players name attached to it. Jeremy had the reverse early by design. But the last couple plays he made didn’t have his name on it. He was there because of the injury (to Nyan Boateng) and he stepped up.

 

 

 

 

MIKE MOHAMED

 

On his first interception:

The offense just scored and we had been talking all game that we needed a big turnover to seal the deal and put them away. It was a team effort. I was at the right place at the right time.

 

On the momentum changing after his first INT:

They had fought back and were starting to grind us down a little bit. The offense just scored, and then with the interception, we knew that we really had a chance to seal the deal and put them away.

 

On getting a fight from Minnesota:

We knew were going to come in expecting a dogfight. Going up early, I don’t know what we expected but they fought back hard. It was a struggle all day. I felt like we should have won the game by more, but it seemed like they ended up getting all the big plays. They built up some momentum. That made it tough. They’re a good team.

 

On the mood at halftime:

At halftime, we were kind of down a little bit even though we were winning. The coaches and some of the other players, we all had to assure ourselves that we were still winning this game. Everybody realized that. We had to go out and play Cal football. Especially in the fourth quarter, that’s what we did.

 

On winning on the road:

Coming off of last year, that’s something that we really wanted to improve on. We showed up today and we got through the hard times, especially in the clutch. That’s going to be big for next week.

 

 

BOB GREGORY

 

On stopping Minnesota after Cal turned it over on punt coverage:

It was big. Anytime you have to go back out there, it’s a little bit rough on the psyche. I thought we did a good job of responding to it.

 

On halftime:

There were no adjustments. It was all about how we would respond. It’s easy to come out in the second half when you’re up 30-0 or whatever it is. Our backs are against the wall, on the road against a good team, now will see what we’re made of. I’m really proud of our guys. They responded really well to it in the second half.

 

On Eric Decker:

We told our guys all week and last night that he’s going to get some catches. They do a great job of moving him all over the place. What we didn’t want to do is give up the big ball. He got one on us.

 

On the second half:

I think our guys just played a little bit tougher, a little bit more focused and with better technique. We were able to come up with some plays we needed to make. Players make plays. The guys make the plays and they did a nice job today.