What Did Cal Coaches and Players Say Following Crushing Loss to UCLA?

Videos and quotes from Cal Athletics.

On Perceptions:

”Total team loss, we didn’t do anything well enough to win the game and we need everybody, we need everybody to perform better. We need a tighter program. It was inevitable tonight that whether it was one side of the ball or one position, we were just never in rhythm, and at the end of the day we have to be accountable to perform when the lights come on. All of us practice really hard, and I know you might look at the outcome of the game and think we don’t try or we don’t care, but that’s the furthest thing from the truth. But we have to be accountable to performing better and trying hard doesn’t get it done. We have to go out and throw and catch the ball, we have to block, we have to cover people, we have to tackle, we have to cover kicks and can’t get penalties. We do something good and then something not good, and that’s never going to be good enough to win. Not for us.”

On sense of urgency:

”I think you’re urgent every game. I’ve never not felt like we were not urgent. We never performed. You look at the first half and we had a couple opportunities early in the game, the first couple of drives to make some big plays on throws and catches, and we weren’t able to come down with them. We weren’t really converting to offense on first down. I think we went in (at halftime) 13-0 and we didn’t really do anything that well. Second half, the offense put together a nice drive and kicked the ball off and (we) get a 15-yard penalty. In the post route, we run the ball and get a targeting. It was one after another. And then we lose leverage on the quarterback twice, guys trying to make a play and it was just one after another. At no point in the game was the offense, defense or special teams playing well together. There were moments where I was like that looked a little better, but the vast (majority) of the game we were struggling. Every single person is involved and the only solution is to fight through it, and that’s the only answer and there is really no other decision. If you want to be a part of the program, you’re going to fight through it, and myself and everyone else on the staff and every player that comes to practice on Monday. There is no decision other than that.”

On cleaning up errors such as penalties and missed tackles:

”We need to execute the play better. If there was one answer to that there’s just not going to be. We have to execute the play better on second and six or first and 10 on offense and make the 1-on-1 tackle on defense. We have to cover the punt better. There’s not just one answer. And like I said before, the guys on the program and the people here work hard, I mean they really do and they really care. I’ve seen the other (side) and that’s not the case, but there’s got to be accountability for performance, with me and with everyone else. Every coach and player and that’s when the lights come on, whether you’re the L3 of a kick off or a starting quarterback or a starting linebacker, (we’ve) all got to be accountable for our performance.”

On playing without Jaylinn Hawkins in the first half and losing Josh Drayden in the second half:

”It’s unfortunate when you’re not available, but we play with the guys that are available, and the guys that are available are expected to play up to their potential. So, we don’t spend a lot of time worrying about who we don’t have.”

On defense:

”Guys are coming up trying to make a play and we didn’t make them. We have to finish better. It’s not a lack of want to but it goes back to accountability and performance. No phase of our team played well enough to win tonight and that’s exactly what happens when we don’t and that’s what happened tonight.”

On turnovers:

”It’s never going to be acceptable to give up the ball. That’s going to be our focus and what we continue to work on.”

On responding next week:

”Every week is a new week. The best thing you can do after a loss is learn from it as much as you can. There were obviously a ton of mistakes made and a ton of things we have to get better at, but as long as you can figure those things out you can be a little more confident going into the next week.”

On the defense’s performance:

”I think it’s just a mentality. We have to come out there more ready to play. We had a good week of practice, but we just have to carry it over and not come out slowly like we did today. Everybody just has to do their job.”

On the team’s sense of urgency:

”The consistency wasn’t there with every phase of the team. We just have to pick it up next week.”

On how the team will respond:

”I expect some type of turnaround. Mentally, the whole team has to change its mentality coming into the game and to practice. We just have to pay attention to detail and fix it.”

On the defense’s performance:

”UCLA played really well. I don’t really have any answers right now. I have to watch film. They did a great job running the ball in the first half.”

On the team’s energy:

”We had energy. The energy was there and the effort was there. I just don’t the execution was. We just have to get back to the drawing board and we’ll come up with a solution.”

On his 22-tackle performance:

”At the end of the day, if we don’t win, it doesn’t really matter. It’s cool and all when you look at the stat sheet, but I’d rather have zero tackles and we win than have 30 tackles and we lose.”

And then there’s these two tweets from Evan Weaver...

Go Bears?