Nov. 1, 2003
ASU Head Coach Dirk Koetter
"There's no easy way to sugar coat it. We got our butt kicked in all phases. There's no easy way to say it and that's the truth. Cal just beat us up today. When you play like the way we did today the picture is pretty clear."
"It doesn't matter what kind of scheme you're running if you can't tackle. The only steps we can take to sure up our run defense is to go back and start at day one with tackling because right now we can't tackle anybody."
On Cal's offense
"It's a simple game. They ran the ball on us and got us to over-commit on the run and then they went play action and threw the ball over our head and we couldn't stop the post route. You've got to tackle and stop the post route."
"We have no choices. We might have to go back and play different guys that aren't nicked up and put guys out there that have a chance to make plays and tackles."
On the first offensive drive for ASU
"One of the biggest things that happened was on the first drive on offense and we threw an interception in the end zone. I think that took some wind out of us."
ASU's Andrew Walter
"Turnovers killed our drives. Penalties, too but turnovers were the main thing. I don't know what it was, they started stepping up and we didn't counter their intensity. We got our butts kicked because of it. They just outplayed us."
On his injured ankle:
"My ankle was sore. It was hurting. I couldn't move around. Every snap it hurt. Those are the two main ways it affected me. Once you have to move more than you did in practice and you start getting hit a little bit, it starts to hurt that much more. But I can suck it up and not put the blame on my ankle, it was just a bad game."
On the possibility of a bowl appearance:
"It's a three game season. That's the way it is. There's nothing else to play for, its all we have, seniors, that's all they have. And that's all there is. With three games left, we'll try to make a statement and finish strong."
On the final score:
"We didn't anticipate the score to be like this. You never hope that's the situation. Again, we didn't take advantage of our opportunities on offense and that was the way the game went... Absolutely, it was a shocking outcome. You never expect this, but again, when they play harder than you on all three phases, you can't expect to make it any closer. It's up there as one of the toughest losses."
On what went wrong:
"I wish I had an answer. If I had an answer, I would have shared it with everybody and got it corrected. We didn't so I don't really know what to tell you went wrong today."
ASU's Skyler Fulton
"This loss really hurts. We work hard all week, and to come out and play like this is embarrassing. You have to give California some credit, because they did some good things. We can't keep beating ourselves if we want to win. At the beginning of the game we came out hot. But their offense kept making plays. After that point, we couldn't get the momentum back on our side."
On the remainder of the season:
"We have three winnable games left. We need to win those to get to a bowl game. It makes you want to practice and play hard the rest of the year."
"In today's game we missed tackles and lost the turnover battle. That's not a good way to win games. This is not where we thought we would be, but this is where we are. We just need to go from here."
ASU's Shane Jones
"We practiced hard all week. Tonight we came out flat. I can't really explain what the problem is. I thought at the start of the game we came out with some passion. We started to make plays and execute. Hopefully we will come out with a winning season."
"As a defensive player, you want stops on first down. It is hard for the coaches to call blitzes when they are already in the red zone. Their offense had us on our heels all night."
ASU's Loren Wade
"We moved the ball well this week. We followed our game plan as it was scripted as a team, but it was just little mistakes that happened and cost us. We have to give Cal credit. They came out and played hard. They wanted it more than us. This hurts because its our homecoming and it hurts to leave the field at halftime and get booed by your own fans."
"We knew that Cal was going to come out and play hard, that's how they play every week. We just couldn't execute. Coach Koetter told us at half that we just needed to pick it up because Cal was outplaying us. "
On the 100-yard rushing game:
"That's great that I was able to help my team out with the big rushing game. But if we don't win, I can't feel good about it at all. We have to win out in order to make a bowl game now. We have to get back to practice and regroup. We have to bounce back from this loss."
ASU's R.J. Oliver
"We haven't been executing like we should. That's the main thing is executing from start to finish. We have played well at times and other times, we haven't. It just comes down to who executes more. Cal executed the whole game and we didn't execute at all."
On the boos from the crowd:
"We don't worry about what the crowd was doing. We worry about ourselves because it starts with us and with the link our team has. We let the link stay strong and didn't let the outside factors influence us."
On the big plays by Cal:
"We just wanted to make the plays on defense when the ball was in the air. We had the opportunity to make the plays, and we just didn't do it. After the first couple plays, we knew they were going to go up top on us and we just knew we had to make plays on the ball. It just wasn't happening. We knew Cal was going to come in and play hard, trying to throw it on top of us and run the ball down our throats. They were able to come out and control the game from start to finish."
On the rest of the season:
"We're not thinking about that right now. We're playing one game at a time, improving, having fun, doing what we can do, and going out there and playing on the football field."
Cal Head Coach Jeff Tedford
"The offensive line let us play the run game. They made some big plays. The passing gave us good field position, and then we put it in when we got down to the end zone. Jeff was being layed one-on-one, and he made some nice catches. He ran right under the ball and made
some nice catches."
On the California defense's play:
"Our defense has been playing very well. We gave up some big plays early in the first half, and we were playing ping-pong with the scoring, but when our defense started forcing those turnovers, that really helped. That interception early in the game was really great for us, because we wanted to start fast, and Arizona State was driving the ball down the field, and the interception really gave us a boost. It was something we really needed."
On team's experience:
"I am pleased with where we are, and how were blocking up front, and with the amount our players are able to handle in game-time situations. Some of the experience is not there anymore, because of our youth. Week to week it is always a new situation."
On Andrew Walter:
"I always felt like he was going to play. He does a lot with his arm, and he doesn't really need that ankle anyway. He isn't really the scrambling type of guy anyway. When I saw him in warm-ups I knew he was ready to play. We didn't really change anything, because you still have to stop their offensive schemes. It doesn't matter who is back there."
Cal's Aaron Rodgers
On the running game:
"It takes the pressure off of me. If we can carry the ball we control the clock. It feels great."
On Geoff McArthur
"I made a couple throws that were not great, that he caught, so I know that I can just throw the ball up and he can make a play. He wasn't the main guy on a few of those plays, but he was the open man, and if I could have thrown the ball a little better, he probably could have scored."
Cal's Lorenzo Alexander
On what changed compared to last week's game:
"A lot of guys made a lot of plays. We got in a rhythm early on"
On Andrew Walters (ASU QB) first interception:
"They were marching down on us. It was a momentum shift."
On the next three games:
"If we work on all cylinders we can probably go 3-0"
Cal's Geoff McArthur
"We have a great offense team and a great defense team"
On this game:
"It was a must win situation today. We executed and did our job today"
"If you make the big plays it opens up the running game and keeps the defense on their heels."