September 29, 1998
CAL RECAP - "Turnovers were huge. Anytime you have six turnovers, and
three turnovers for touchdowns -- we just handed the game over to Cal. The
effort was good on both sides of the ball. We fought like crazy on
defense. Our offense was giving effort, but we're not executing the
offense. We're not throwing the ball properly, we're not catching it,
we're not running the routes to the right depth, and we're forgetting whom
to block. We're just out of sync. And we got more out of sync as the game
went along. We thought we had it together at halftime. We came out in the
third quarter and had some nice drives, but it wasn't enough."
RETURN TO THE ROSE BOWL - "I can't wait to go back to the Rose Bowl. It
brings back some good and bad memories. We're going to fix that clock and
make sure we get those two seconds back. (This game) is the opportunity of
a lifetime. Our attitude is tremendous. Just think of what it would be
like to go down to UCLA, on ABC television, win that game and fly back to
Pullman? It would be just like (former WSU head coach) Dennis Erickson did
in 1988 when he took the Cougars down there when they weren't supposed to
beat (No. 1 UCLA) and knocked the Bruins off. That's our intent."
A LOOK AT UCLA - "UCLA looks to be one of the premier teams in our
conference and in the nation. Cade McNown is definitely better than any of
the quarterbacks we have faced in our first four games. He does it all.
Cade is a great field general. He can pick up blitzes and knows who to get
the ball to. He was a decathlete in high school. He is solid and can take
a punch. And he is a winner who is surrounded by a good cast. I think he
should have come out (for the NFL Draft) last year. It is not too late Cade."
COUGAR QUARTERBACK PLAN - "We played poorly at the quarterback position.
Both can play better than they did. I think each one of them had an
opportunity to win the game and earn the starting job but they just didn't
do it. Steve (Birnbaum) ended up taking 38 snaps and Paul (Mencke) 32.
They showed signs of being spectacular and then, the next time didn't do
well. I don't think one surpassed the other by any means. They both have
a lot of work to do. They need some confidence building. I don't know if
alternating them in a game was the correct thing to do. I was searching
for answers, trying to get something going to spark the club. And they
were too. Then they started forcing things. Right now, I don't know what
the plan for the quarterbacks will be."
TOUGH WSU DEFENSE - "Our secondary played awesome for the fourth week in a
row. Lamont (Thompson) got another pick. Our linebackers ran all over the
field making plays. Our defensive line is doing a good job even though we
have guys injured and we're thin. We're maximizing our personnel. We're
still doing real well against the rush."
TAYLOR OUT - "Nian's injury obviously hurt our chances (against Cal). We
had a lot of plays set up for him. Without Nian, we couldn't get back into
it like we wanted to. He would have helped relieve the pressure on Kevin
Brown and Leaford Hackett. He probably won't be able to play against UCLA,
which will be real unfortunate. There is a small muscle running down the
back of your knee. (Director of Athletic Medicine) Mark Smaha thinks Nian
ruptured that muscle."
MORE OFFENSE - "I would rather not be as conservative as we were on offense
in 1994, but I don't think our defense is quite that strong yet either.
It's not just the quarterback position. As far as the whole offensive
package, we need realignment. The more young players you put in the game,
the less they can handle mentally and that restricts you. We obviously
have to take better care of the ball. That's the number one thing we need
to do. We have to wrap the ball up when there is contact and don't let
someone steal it out of your hands. Basic things like that. If we keep
getting players hurt and keep getting new players in the gameOeyou have to
walk before you can run. We're really analyzing what we're going to do on
offense for this UCLA game and just try to put together a game plan to
better use our personnel. I'm not discouraged. I'm frustrated. I'm
disappointed. This team has great character and great people. I'm proud
to be their coach. We're going to win some more games."
