Cal Football Weekly Tuesday Presser
In today’s weekly presser, Cal head coach Justin Wilcox, offensive coordinator Mike Bloesch, defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon, quarterback Fernando Mendoza, receiver Jonathan Brady and safety Miles Williams were on the mic to talk about Cal’s win in the 127th Big Game and about Saturday’s upcoming opponent, first place SMU.
Wilcox noted that the staff wanted to capitalize on the emotional high of their big come-from-behind win Saturday and balance it with properly preparing to face one of their toughest opponents of the season on the road.
"You really want to carry that emotion and that momentum into Monday's meeting, Monday's practice, which I think the guys did a great job of," Wilcox said. "And I would say it's probably easier to do that coming off an emotional victory than an emotional defeat. And they all know what's in front of us. Everybody knows the record.
"Obviously, they've had a phenomenal season. They got great players down there at SMU and as soon as you turn the tape on, when we did as coaches on Sunday, and we've crossed over with some common opponents. So we had seen them before, but it doesn't take very long to see why their record is what it is. They're very, very good, really, in every phase of the game, and extremely explosive and quick and fast. They've got a dominant D line. So we've got a lot of challenges in front of us, and our guys are excited for that."
SMU comes into the game second in scoring offense at 39 points per game. Sirmon was asked what stands out on film about the Mustangs’ offensive potency.
"First of all, I think they've done a fantastic job of utilizing the portal, assembling a team that matches the vision of what Rhett has for them to do," Sirmon said. "They've got an extreme amount of speed, really at every level. They do a nice job of using tempo to an advantage and the things that really jump out are the way they're coached - their tight ends and their wide receivers do as good a job as we've seen this season covering people up on the perimeter, finishing plays on the perimeter, and playing with a lot of toughness.
"So a lot of those yards, when you do have that type of speed, if you can cover people up on the outside part of the field and get vertical, it can really run away from the rest of the defense. So those guys and the coaching staff does a really nice job of emphasizing that, and their kids have done a nice job of executing those types of plays."
Saturday’s kickoff will be 12:30 pst in Dallas.