Note: These are only partial transcripts. Watch the videos to get the full Q&As!
Cal head coach Jeff Tedford touched on several subjects, like Keenan Allen being so close to Cal history and what Galas could bring now that he's back in the lineup.
On Stanford guarding Keenan Allen:
They do a little of everything. They mix it up. They're very balanced in what they do. Last week was a lot of everything too (coverages).
On Keenan Allen's productivity this year:
He's done an excellent job as always. What is he, 6 catches away from the record [of Geoff Macarthur's all-time receptions record at Cal], and really only has been here 2 ½ years. I think that says a lot about his production. He hasn't been here that long if you look at it. He's a guy you can count on all the time. He's such a competitive guy; he's got such a great football IQ. Just a treat to be around, practices hard. That's the joy of Keenan. He comes out every day and works really hard every day to be the best he can be.
Do you think realistically this could be his last Big Game?
Oh I don't know. After the year we'll discuss that.
On Dominic Galas coming back:
He's worked hard to get back. That will give us some depth there (on the O-line) because some of the offensive linemen are banged up.
How do you know when he's ready?
You just got to go by feel. You watch him play, you watch him in drills, you watch him in all that. Coach Michalczik has a pretty good feel for how he's doing. He's coming off the ball hard, he doesn't look like he has any apprehension.
Does he provide a lift for the team?
I think so, yeah, the team understands that he's a high motor, high intensity guy. Even in the locker room before the game he'll bring some juice because he's just that type of guy.
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Cal defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast touched upon several issues, particularly how to defend the Furd running game and the Cardinal tight ends (good chance to catch up on ManBearCal's excellent preview of the offense).
On Stepfan Taylor:
He's a very good back; he's a very powerful runner. Got very strong legs. The first guy very rarely gets him down so were going to really have to gang tackle him.
How do you practice going up against their tight ends?
It's pretty hard to simulate. So were doing the best we can in terms of just getting a feel for them not only running passes but blockers, they're big body guys that have the ability to get up into somebodies upper body. So we're trying to simulate it as much as possible but it's very hard to do. They do a good job moving those guys around to different areas and utilizing them in the run game and the pass game.
On Stanford's physical style of offense:
It's going to be very physical and our guys are going to be up for the challenge and they're excited to play on Saturday. They know Stanford is a very physical group and it's very obvious on tape. A lot of our guys have played against them so they know what kind of game it's going to be.
On Avery Sebastian's play over the last few weeks:
He raises everybody's level around him. He's a guy that plays extremely hard. He's in the right spots at the right time. He loves to play the game so I'm excited about his progress.
How has he specifically improved?
Just getting more confident. He comes off the field in between series and he can tell me exactly what happened out there.
On potential mismatches Stanford's tight ends could cause:
They're going to create mismatches on everybody because of their size. So we just have to be aware of where they are. At different times there's going to be different people covering those guys in the run and the pass. They create big-time mismatches.
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Cal offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Jim Michalczik touched on the return of Galas to the lineup, Allen, and some of the other developments that have helped make the Bears more successful (check our norcalnick's preview of the Cardinal defense).
On Dominic Galas coming back from injury Saturday:
Doms done a tremendous job with his rehab. He's worked his butt off. Stayed engaged the whole time. Been really good with the young guys, helping them out.
What does he provide you?
You know, he's that veteran leadership, there's that. It's hard cause he hasn't done a lot lately so there's a little rust there. The thing Dom really provides is he's got that bulldog attitude. He's a warrior, a tough kid, and we love that about him.
On the physical challenge Stanford presents:
I think it's good. We got some competitive guys that want to go compete. We know this is a dang good defense. Even the games they've lost this defense has been stout. Washington had 2 plays. A broken tackle, and a quick throw to a receiver and a 4th and 1 where they busted in. This defense is a dang stout, veteran defense. Same defense we played minus one guy last year.
On Keenan Allen and the Cal All-Time receptions record:
That's a heck of a deal. Geoff McArthur has the record. I was here when Geoff did it. And you know, that's a pretty neat deal, a pretty tall order. Keenan might not know how big that is till later in life, I know he thinks he's a young guy and he's got a whole life ahead of him and a career ahead of him. But when I think of Geoff and the warrior he was, that's pretty good company. We were trying to figure out if he broke that record in the Big Game his senior year. I think that was Geoff's last game, so it's kind of fitting.
Seems like you used more quick passing the other day (against WSU), is that a good idea against these guys?
We want to keep people off balance. The game before (UCLA) we moved it around a little bit more outside and last game we did a lot more quick stuff.
This season you probably won't have a 1,000 yard rusher. But you have a really interesting mix of backs. How can that be an advantage?
The good advantage is that each of these guys are a little bit different. They present a different look to the defense. They're people, they run things different, they have different running style and they can't (the defense) lock into one running style. They ran hard (last week). I like to say every play works perfectly and everybody's blocked, and they just kind of run till someone touches them; that's not the case, those guys were running really hard (against WSU).