Oct. 15, 1997
Tom Holmoe Press Conference
"This week we are preparing for Washington State, the first
place team in the Pac-10. They are undefeated and ranked 12th
in the country. They are a very good opponent. They're
personnel is experienced and primarily senior-laden and to play
them up at their place will be quite a task for us.
"Last year, this game proved to be a turning point in our
season. We are hoping that it proves to be a turning point
again but in the opposite direction.
"I think the attitude of the team is up beat. They know that we
have the potential to play better if we can eliminate mistakes
and big plays."
Q: "Can you talk about Ryan Leaf and the types of challenges he
presents?"
A: "I think he has improved a lot from last year. One of his
strong points is that he is very confident in his skills and
you can see that in the way the tries to zip in balls between
defenders. Sometimes those turn out to be dangerous passes. He
also has a lot of confidence in his receivers and the way he
spreads the ball around is very impressive. What really makes
Washington State difficult to defend, though, is Michael Black
and the running game. He is one of the better running backs in
the conference."
Q: "With the quarterbacks that have come out of Washington
State in the last few years, do your ever ask yourself, 'Hey,
why can't we do that'?"
A: "I think that Cal has had a number of really good
quarterbacks too. Washington State has also developed some good
quarterbacks through the years and I think that has to do with
the wide-open style of offense that they have. It's imperative
that we recruit quarterbacks that are capable of being the best
quarterbacks on the conference. We've had an unlucky string of
events that put us in a position that we're really not in the
best shape quarterback wise. After Pat Barnes, the heir
apparent was probably going to be Trevor Thompson who has now
gone through two shoulder surgeries. Then there was a guy by
the name of Mike Murphy who transferred and is no longer here.
"We feel good about Sam Clemons (redshirting) as a guy that's
coming up and we feel he's going to develop into a great
quarterback. Now our efforts in recruiting are to find the best
quarterbacks we can find because we need to replenish our
system with quarterbacks and It'll be a point of emphasis,
year- year-out, to find the quarterbacks that will make this
offense run."
Q: "What is it about playing at Washington State that is so
tough? What makes it a tough place to play?"
A: "I don't know. When I was at Stanford I think we only played
them up there once. They had (Drew) Bledsoe and we beat them.
Last year, we had a chance to win the game. To me, when I went
up there, I didn't sense any jinx or spell, they just beat us
in the game. I'm not one to put any credence in streak because
streaks are going to end. It's about putting together a team
that can beat the opponent. One of the things that may have
been a factor is weather. Last year weather was a factor but I
don't know what the weather was like in the other games. I've
been involved in games as a player where we've done great
against cold weather teams and I've been in games where we've
done poorly against cold weather teams."
Q: "Now that we are at the midpoint of the season, can you give
an evaluation of Justin Vedder?"
A: "I think that in the first two games he was very good. The
next three games he's had spells in each game where he's been
very good and spells were he hasn't play to his ability. There
are some things mechanically that the last few weeks have
broken down somewhat, and he's aware of those things. I think
that when he corrects those, things will bet back on track. But
overall I'm happy and please with the way he is performing, not
just statistically but overall he has meant a lot to this team.
He confident, has a great attitude, a great work ethic and he
really concentrates on what he's doing. He has come in here and
filled a position in which we were in absolute need. Pat Barnes
left us with a void that only a junior college guy could fill
and he has really done a good job of doing that."
Q: "Have you made a decision as far as who will start in the
secondary?"
A: " Marquis Smith will start at free safety and we'll make a
decision between David Burnside and Pete Destefano at sometime
during the week."
Q: "How do you keep the spirits of the team up after three
straight losses?"
A: "It's hard to lose games. Nobody feels good about a loss and
losses linger longer that wins do. But these guys are confident
in their abilities. They know what they have to do to get
better and I think the attitude is right. They're eager to go
up and play again. I've said this and I'll say it each week,
I'm not going to come in here and hang my head after a game
because I know there is always another game. This is a game
that I know we have a chance to win. After playing against
Washington last week and really playing well in many portions
of the game, it gave us confidence. But on the other side, we
did get beat 30-3 and that's not satisfying to anybody."
Q: "What is it going to take win this game?"
A: "I think one of the keys is to play consistent ball against
their offense. Last year I think it was probably one of Leaf's
least successful days, at least statistically. We did a pretty
good job against him. I don't know what his passing percentage
was but I know he didn't have many yards. But (Michael) Black
had his best day ever. So we went into that game knowing that
we had to control the passing game and in an effort to do so we
didn't do a very good job against the run. We know now that
they are a multifaceted team and you can't put all your
emphasis on one part of their offense. They're quite balanced
and we'll have to play well against their quarterback."
Q: "You haven't forced any turnovers in the last few games, is
there anything that can be done about that?"
A: "Well I'm hoping so. I think that when you're flying around
and there is a tremendous amount of enthusiasm, your going to
cause turnovers. We had one last week but it was called back.
It was a great play, our guy did a great job at getting that
ball out. But there's no question that with the our overall
giveaway/takeaway ratio sitting at minus three, that tells the
story of where we are. I'm a firm believer in the fact that if
you look at that ratio from top to bottom it's going to mirror
the standings in the league. Early on we had them and we didn't
give the ball up and now we're not getting them and we're
giving the ball up. But its something that we work on in
practice every week on both sides of the ball."
Q: "Following the loss to Washington, people were saying that
this game against Washington State takes on a whole new
meaning. Is this a make or break game for you as far as the
season?"
A: No, I don't think there is a point of no return. It takes on
meaning because if we can go up there and play a big game and
win it, then it gets us turned around in a big way. If we were
to lose it then we'll have to look to the next game. Right now
it's not a make or break game for us. We'll take it on and
every game we attempt to win but I'm not willing to say this is
a make or break game. We go after every game as hard as we can
and I can say that we did just that against Washington. We gave
it a darn good shot but it didn't last. I think we'll be
prepared to go up against Washington State and hopefully we'll
be able to endure and finish out the game this time."
