Postgame Quotes - UCLA vs. California

Postgame Quotes
UCLA vs. California
Nov. 27, 2021

UCLA head coach Chip Kelly
opening remarks
“I think our kids have done a really nice job. We talked about it in November – you have to practice well and these guys have really practiced well. You have to pay attention to detail. Proud of the effort they’ve put in all season long. Navigated a few injuries early, but came out of it and affirmed – what they did today against that team, that team had over 600 yards of offense last week against Stanford. It was a challenge for our defense all week long, I thought our defense played outstanding today.”

on if winning on senior night provided any extra satisfaction
“It’s big to win any game, it doesn’t matter if it’s senior night or junior night or freshman night. Our kids want to play football and they want to continue, the cool part about it is we get one more opportunity. We don’t know where we’re going or who we’re playing, but this group doesn’t have to break up. So this really wasn’t a finale or anything, we went out and played against a really good team and I thought our team executed really well tonight.”

on Dorian Thompson-Robinson
“He’s played really well all year long. He got banged up a little bit in the middle. Probably shouldn’t have played, but that’s how tough a kid he is. He gives you everything he’s got, he’s a special young man. People get on him and I don’t know why they get on him because that kid’s a really, really good quarterback and he’s a better person. I’m so happy that he’s playing the way he’s playing right now.

on how special Greg Dulcich is as a pass catcher
“I think the thing that’s unique about Greg is that he still has those wide receiver qualities he came in with. He can stretch people vertically. There are some other tight ends that are maybe some in-the-box guys and control the middle of the field, but he can really stretch you on the outside of the field. It’s a strategy that we really get him isolated. … To make that catch and keep that toe inbounds is what we’ve seen from Greg all along. He’s really talented. The cool part about Greg is that in big games he’s come up. You think about the performance against LSU, the performance he had last week and what he did tonight, I’m just really happy for Greg because he puts in so much work.”

UCLA senior quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson
on the key to the team’s recent success
“I think focus, playing each play as its own individual play and not trying to focus on the end result which is obviously scoring or getting a 3-and-out [on defense]. When you focus on each individual play, you can consistently be locked in.”

on what he’ll remember most about his UCLA career
“I think for me, the overall process. I took a lot of lumps, this team took a lot of lumps, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. The moments of adversity I had with my teammates, and all of that bringing us together, it finally paid off and we had an eight-win season.”

on Greg Dulcich
“Greg’s awesome. He’s my roommate. I’ve said it time and time again, we have a great relationship. We see the field the same, he knows how to get open, get into space, and use that space well. Definitely a blessing to have him as well as the rest of the guys.”

UCLA senior defensive back Quentin Lake
opening remarks
“On the defensive side, we’ve had a lot of momentum in the month of November. We had a big shutout in the second half against Colorado, came out and had multiple turnovers and successful drives against USC, and then tonight held Cal, who [had] 600 total yards of offense last week against Stanford. We just kept the ball rolling, just locking in on every play, running to the ball, all the fundamentals. I think when you lock in on the defensive fundamentals on the defensive side, you can do your job, you’ll have shutout games or low-scoring games. Happy for the guys, proud of the guys, let’s keep this ball rolling.”

on what he’ll remember most about his UCLA career
“I think everybody bought in. That’s the biggest thing for me. We were down in the dumps the first two years, honestly. It was tough because we want to win, want to be successful. When things aren’t going your way, you might lose hope or a little bit of faith. But we bought into the program, what Coach Kelly had for us. And then for me, if you’re talking about one game, I’d say LSU. That was one of the highlights of the season.”

UCLA tight end Greg Dulcich
on his touchdown catch
“Yeah, that’s actually something we work on. I mean, you guys see it every practice. We work on that deep ball period first thing every single day trying to have hot hands, catch it on your outside shoulder so he can’t get to it. … It worked out for us.”

on getting eight wins and going to a bowl game
“It’s really exciting to see the way we’ve built things these past few years and have all of it come to fruition. The bowl game experience is something that I’m really excited about to be able to do it the first time. I’ve heard stuff about what it was like in the Cactus Bowl last time we were there. Everyone was saying it was such a cool experience. I’m really excited for whatever we get.”

UCLA linebacker Jordan Genmark Heath
on what’s clicking on defense
“I think that we’re just focused on doing our jobs. Whenever the plays came our way, we took advantage of those. Nothing is different. It’s the same scheme. The same players. So, it’s just a locked-in mentality and we went out here and have been performing ever since.”

on the defense figuring out how to put more pressure on Cal quarterback Chase Garbers
“I think that we just opened up a lot of lanes. We blitz a lot as everybody knows, but like I said, it’s just a product of the defense. The play call, the situation. I was just fortunate enough to be the person who got the play. We got Mitch out there. He got (a sack). Bo Calvert got one. Ty got one too. So, we’re just trying to get after the quarterback every single time. Today we saw that on display. It was a good day.”

on how much he thinks the team has grown as a defense
“Honestly, it feels way, way better being up here after a win. I think in November, end of season, people start declining, but I think that we kind of all had the mentality in all three aspects of the game, especially in offense and defense, when we throw up our ones towards the end of the quarter or the end of the season, that’s when we really thrive.”

on a preferred bowl game
“I don’t care to be honest. Any bowl game with the team will be a great experience. You get to ball and have another opportunity to be with the guys. It’s a blessing and we are excited for whatever bowl we get.”

on going out for senior night after being here only a year –
“I was just talking to coach about it. There was a time where I was down bad, felt like people gave up on me. I’m just extremely blessed to have this coaching staff, Coach Kelly and his staff. With them I was able to rebuild my confidence and go out there and play. Found a new brotherhood here, like you said it’s a short period of time but every single person on this team is family to me.”

reflecting on his career
“I came in I was a little hot-head my freshman year I can’t even lie. But as you continue to grow throughout college, those are the most transformative years of your life. You can definitely see it night and day and now I am finally an adult. It’s been a blessing, a rollercoaster, especially coming from across the country. It’s an unreal experience having my parents, coaches, and friends to mold me into the person I am today.”

Cal Head Coach Justin Wilcox
on the difference in the second half
“You name it – everything. We came out and got a three and out and then we got the ball. They forced a three and out, we gave it back to them and then they put together a drive and we really struggled in the third quarter to get much going on offense, and we weren’t stopping them on defense, so pick a matchup. They beat us everywhere.”

on how surprised he was at how the game went
“We expected to play better. We knew this would be a very tough game. They’re an explosive offense. Their team speed – their quarterback, their tailback are very good on offense. And defensively, they’ve got a ton of movement, and we did not do a good job picking it up in the run game or in the pass game. They zeroed us a fair amount, and when they zero you, you have to create some explosive plays, and we just didn’t do that. They beat us everywhere.”

on having motivation to play USC next Saturday with no chance at bowl eligibility
“We get a chance to play another game together as a team. Guys are prideful. People have pride in their performance. So, whether they’re playing for their teammates, they’re paying for their Cal script or their name on the back of their jersey, there’s a lot of motivation.”

on why UCLA was so successful on offense
“We struggled to block them. We didn’t’ throw the ball or get open very well. You name it. Name a matchup, and they beat us most of the night. We had one explosive play. We struggled to get things going in the run game. We struggled to get things going in the pass game. So, it’s going to be a number of factors. It wasn’t one thing.”

on performance of offensive line
“We expected to play better than we did. Give them credit. They just beat us. Like I mentioned before, in the weeks we played well, we had a number of contested plays that we were winning. Whether it was a one-on-one block, or a throw and a catch, or a run, breaking a tackle. On defense, it’s a pass rush, getting off a block and making a tackle or a pass break up. They had nearly all the contested wins tonight. When you look at the offensive line, it’s the same story. We didn’t run the ball very well. We didn’t pass protect very well. It’s on everybody. Coaches, myself, players, everybody in the program got beat tonight.”

on why Christopher Brooks had all the carries today
“A couple of guys were dinged up, and Chris had been running very well. Some of the runs we felt he would give us the best opportunity.”

on if he considered putting in a backup kicker to give depth to the kickoffs
“Dario (Longhetto) gives us the best opportunity. What he shows in practice and pre-game, he gave us the best opportunity, so we went with Dario.”

Cal Quarterback Chase Garbers
On the pressure he faced during the game
“We knew with their style of play and their defense we were going to get some blitzes. They’re one heck of a team. In the end, we flat out got beat. They did a really good job of getting to the quarterback and creating havoc in the backfield, whether it was in the pass game or the run game. They played their tails off. We just lost.”

On what they could have tried to counteract the pressure
“We’ll see when we break down the tape if we could’ve done better. Especially with games like this, you just want to learn what you can from mistakes and even successes and move on. We’re going to prep for ‘SC coming tomorrow.”

On losing one of two must-win games to become bowl-eligible
“It sucks, obviously, as competitor. As a football player, you want to win, you want to do the best you can. But we still have one more game at hand with USC back at home. The seniors are going to have a great sendoff and we’ll go out there on Saturday and look to win.”

On playing USC next week with not much at stake
“Anytime you’re playing a football game you look to win. Both of our teams ending the season next week … you have two teams end of the season playing against each other. It’s a heated rivalry. USC is up there for most hated teams that we play at Cal, right up there with Stanford and obviously UCLA – all the California schools. There’s a lot to play for as a competitor, for the team, and pride as well.”

On what UCLA did differently than previous other teams
“They flat out beat us. There’s nothing special they did. They just played their game plan, and in the end, we lost, they won. Their defense beat our offense. It’s as simple as that. We’ve got to go back tomorrow and look at the game tape and learn from it; apply what we can and move forward.”

Cal Senior Safety Daniel Scott
On Cal’s run defense tonight
“It was just the little things. Bad eyes, wasn’t as disciplined. We got the quarterback escape out of the pocket a couple of times. DBs down the field could have played a couple of plays a little better. It just wasn’t our night.”

On how difficult it is to defend Dorian Thompson-Robinson
“He definitely started to escape the pocket more in the second half and started to make some plays. But it really wasn’t our day, so we have to come back to practice on Monday with a sour taste in our mouth, stay together, and finish the season off with USC.”

On what motivates them next week against USC
“It’s still always winning. You don’t walk on the field and not want to win. But for us, it’s our resume. What are you putting yourself out there on tape? What type of effort, energy things like that.”

On if the team got down after UCLA took the lead
“No, I wouldn’t say we got down. They beat us in all three phases today, and it wasn’t our night. We’ll come back tomorrow and Monday at practice. We’ve got to stick together and keep improving.”

On the team’s approach after a game like this
“Staying together. We’ve had a lot of ups and downs and challenges this year, but we’re a pretty resilient team, so we’ve got to stay with that and come with a little bit of attitude on Monday.”

Cal senior wide receiver Nikko Remigio
On the team’s mood right now
“I think the mood is as expected. The guys are disappointed, but at the end of the day we have one more game left, and it’s on to the next.”

On playing next week’s with little at stake
“There’s not really any other option. At the end of the day, everybody on the team has to suit up next Saturday, everybody has to take this loss on the chin – coaches, players, everybody.”

On what UCLA did differently
“I’m not exactly sure too specifically. We’ll have to get into the film room and identify it. I think it’s obvious to everyone we weren’t operating the way we did in the past.”

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Postgame Quotes - UCLA vs. California

University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics

Postgame Quotes - UCLA vs. California