Postgame Video: Wilcox Discusses 33-20 Victory over Weber State
Cal head coach Justin Wilcox discussed the win over Weber State today.
General comments about the win against Weber State:
"First and foremost, we need to give a ton of credit to Weber State. They are a well-coached team. They've got good players. They did some really good things. You have to give them a lot of credit. We had a ton of respect for them going in and even more so coming out. We didn't play well today. We were fortunate to get a win. You never minimize a win because it's hard to get a win in college football. There's a ton of parity, and you have to show up every week. We executed poorly today. We're fortunate to get out with a win. I think we're going to learn a lot from it. We felt like we had a really good week of practice and were focused during the week, but our execution didn't match the week of practice. We're going to learn a ton of lessons from this moving forward in all phases; everybody in our program. Again, never minimize winning because it is hard and it's a battle every week. Give Weber State a lot of credit. I really like our team. They're good guys that want to do right, but we didn't play well today. They know it and we talked about it after the game, so we'll be excited to get back on the field on Monday."
On issues in the secondary giving up the deep passes
"Totally unacceptable. We like our secondary, and we didn't play well today in the secondary. Give Weber State credit. They executed the plays and we didn't do a good enough job, whether it was a technique breakdown or a communication error, whatever it was, there was a multiple of self-inflicted wounds. If you compete and the guy beat you, that's one thing, but if we make a mistake, whether it's communication or technique, that's just something we can't have. They practiced well during the week. They were focused in practice. Our execution just wasn't there. There will be a lot of teaching going on Monday. They're going to play better and they have to play better. We need those guys, but they have to play better."
On the positive side, what did you think of Patrick Laird's game today
"It's great to have Pat, obviously with Tre [Watson] going down. Pat has really done that since we've been here. He's just a really steady guy. He can run the ball, he blocks and he catches the ball out of the backfield. It's great to see him make some of those plays. I'm excited for Pat."
On end of the third quarter give up big yardage
"Just execution. It's always going to be about us. You don't have control over what the other team is doing or their offense. It's always about us – how are we executing what we're asked to do? What you don't want to do in those situations is when guys get tight and start pressing in situations and doing something more than they need to. It was a combination of doing your job, running the football and playing aggressive. It wasn't anything magical that we said or did. It was just doing your job, and doing it with great effort and intensity."
On how to do you think the [offensive] line performed without Curhan
"We have to go watch the tape to give you a really good analysis on it. We did some really good things in the line. There are some things that showed up as a team, and on the O-line as well, just self-inflicted wounds that we have complete control over and that's where we have to be better across the board."
On the turnovers and the opportunities your defense took advantage of
"Turnover margin and big plays are the things we talk about the most. We were able to get some turnovers today and we need to capitalize on those turnovers. I think we did once today, got a touchdown off of a turnover. On offense, we need to protect the ball and we did a better job of that today. I think it's just a combination of things when you're creating turnovers. It's playing fast, playing aggressive and having confidence in your technique and what our job is that goes into creating turnovers."
On how it felt to be back in Berkeley
"It was great to be in our stadium. I appreciate all of the fans staying toward the end. We'd have liked to play better for them too, but we appreciate them coming out. It's a hard place to beat on a Saturday afternoon. There's no doubt about that."
