Jeff Tedford's Tuesday press conference touched upon several big issues leading into Saturday's Big Game. Here are some of the more relevant quotes below. Check out the video above for everything from the full press conference!
On defending Stanford’s offense:
They lead with the run, they are a power run game, there very patient with it, and they don’t give up on it. And their defense plays extremely well which allows them to stay patient with the run game. It’s going to be a physical football game as it always is, they're physical upfront, their backs run really hard, they get in a lot of different formations to run the ball with big people. As soon as you think you’re going to get in there and stop the run, and then there goes the play action with the tight end. It is key that we stay disciplined with our eyes, but we're physical at the point of attack and we tackle well.
What memories stick out in your mind in regards to the Big Game rivalry?
There’s been a lot of great memories. One of the best would be the first one, because Cal hadn’t won it in a long time. That was an exciting—and for that team, because that’s the year the team couldn’t go to bowl game even though we were eligible. Sometimes when I walk by and I see the pictures on the wall of Kyle Boller being carried off the field and the goal post coming down, it was a great environment. That would be a memory both of the Big Game and of Memorial Stadium that was really special.
The past two defenses have been ranked 57th and 76th in run defense. Stanford’s physical, and they're ranked number seven in the country. What do you guys have to do better against a really physical front?
You’re not going to run through these guys. You’re going to have be patient, you’re going to have to run hard, we're going to have to sustain blocks. No one just runs up and down the field on these guys. They are very physical, they have a very good scheme, lot of seniors, very experienced group. And so, but you can’t abandon it (the run) either. It’s going to be a physical game and as they're patient with their run, we’re going to need to be patient with our run as well. You’re going to make some (plays), and they’re going to make their plays. They are very experienced, their big and their physical and their very good at stopping the run. They are very good as a whole defensively. It’s going to be hard work, it’s going to be a physical football game, we're going to have to break some tackles here and there.
On Josh Nunes and Zach Maynard:
Josh is very capable. He’s a great young man. He’s highly competitive. I was really impressed with his Arizona game. He’s a very good player and he has a good group of guys around him. Zach has been playing well, he’s managed the game well. And really for the most part this season, when we’ve been able to protect him, he’s played really well. It comes down being able to give him a chance to set his feet and not have to hurry things. That’s the key. It’s going to be very important that we’re able to protect him. He’s been efficient with what he’s been doing, and it’s going to take another really good performance on Saturday.
On the offensive line against Stanford's front seven:
Yeah, you have a lot of inexperience up there. There’s only one guy up there who’s ever played before, and that’s the center. And so as they’ve grown, I think they’ve improved, I think coach Michalczik has done a nice job of bringing them along. You have to look at all the other guys around it, the tight ends, when you look at everything that goes into run blocking and pass protection, it’s a lot of guys there. The line and the tight ends—tight ends been out quite a bit with injury so there new as well—have worked together well and have done a good job, were going to get a true test this weekend. You’re not going to play many better fronts or defenses than this group.
Was The Play a legitimate touchdown?
Of course it was a legitimate touchdown. What kind of question is that?