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FOOTBALL POST-GAME QUOTES
at Stanford 20, California 13 (Stanford, CA - Stanford Stadium)
December 1, 2007
STANFORD
HEAD COACH JIM HARBAUGH
Opening Statement
"We did a lot of things well, and I am just so proud of them. They did not quit at all this season, not once in practice or the games, and I am just so proud of them. Tonight I feel that they put it all together; offense, defense, and special teams. I am just so proud of them; they all have so much heart. We knew that Cal was going to bring it today, and I am just so overjoyed for our seniors. They all played their hearts out tonight. This is so special, this is the great thrill of winning, this is the ultimate feeling, getting the axe back and this is so special for all of our players."
On The Quarterback Rotation
"I thought T.C. [Ostrander] and Tavita [Pritchard] played excellent today. T.C. came in and got the start and made a lot of great passes out of pocket and made great reads all night long. They each played some of their best football of the season. I thought we did a great job today with field position, and we really took care of the ball when we really needed to."
On Stanford's Defense
"Our defense stayed tough all night long. They played together. We had great schemes going into tonight, and we really put it together as a unit. They played with tremendous heart tonight. This was a championship game for all of our players, and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out. We knew we could do this all season long."
WIDE RECEIVER EVAN MOORE
On The Victory
"We finally got some breaks tonight, and we really put some things together. It is a great feeling to have the axe back where it belongs."
QUARTERBACK T.C. OSTRANDER
On The Week Of The Big Game
"It was sentimental on Thursday knowing that I was in my final Stanford practice, but right now I couldn't be happier. I thought we really had some great performances on offense tonight and this was a great atmosphere with our great fans. There will be a time when I can think back on my five years here at Stanford and reflect, but this is not the time and I will enjoy this victory for a long time."
QUARTERBACK TAVITA PRITCHARD
On Moving Forward
"This will give the team a lot of momentum going into the offseason to really hit the weight room hard and be ready for next season. We know that we have the talent to perform at a high level, and I think that this performance shows what we can do. We know what it takes to win big games, and we will build off of this for next season. It was huge for the team to win a game like this. I really feel good for all the seniors who have performed so well all season. I have so much respect for T.C. [Ostrander]. He's one of my best friends on the team, and I couldn't have asked for a better situation."
WIDE RECEIVER MARK BRADFORD
On Getting The Axe
"It is the best feeling in the world getting this axe back at Stanford University where it belongs. This team played their hearts out tonight. and it feels so good to do this for all the fans and the students."
CALIFORNIA
HEAD COACH JEFF TEDFORD
On The End Of The Regular Season
"It's mainly for the seniors. It's unfortunate the way we've ended this for them. They've made such a strong contribution to this program even though we didn't finish like we would have like to."
On The Penalties
"Penalties were without a doubt a concern. I have to go back and look at some. I thought it was very one sided as far as I was concerned. There were some things as far as personal fouls that were on us. Obviously that's a lack of discipline, and that's something we need to address further."
On Stanford's Pressure
"Especially in the second half, Nate [Longshore] couldn't really set his feet. We lost [Mike] Gibson in the third quarter and losing him made a difference. It came down to the pass rush. You put too much pressure on the passer and guys who were wide open we didn't have time to get them the ball. Tonight is really the first time we've had that type of pass rush on us, for whatever reason."
On California's Bowl Hopes And The Team's Fall
"It's out of our control now. I assume that with whatever's happening with Arizona and Arizona State we may have an opportunity to play one more time as this unit, but it's out of our hands. We've got to go back and look at a lot of things. There's injuries, there's schedule, things like that. We had a chance to be in every game and had an opportunity to win every game we played. And that's probably the most frustrating thing, having a chance to win in the second half. There are some things that need to be addressed."
LINEBACKER WORRELL WILLIAMS
On The Defense's Penalties
"It's guys getting caught up in the moment. You know it's a big game, the Big Game. But just because the magnitude of the game is bigger, you've still got to focus."
On Losing The Game
"You'd think it was a big deal, but it's all about execution. I mean, you guys saw it all out here. Saying `ahh he dropped the ball' or `ahh they keep killing us on penalties.' And that's what it is. It's not like they're the better team. They're not. There's no way no how. You guys know that, everybody knows that. But taking nothing away from them, they came out and played hard. They're a good team, but we killed ourselves today. And that's why we've had this slump. And it's unfortunate."