Sept. 1, 2001

Recap?|? Final Stats

Illinois Coach Ron Turner

General comments on the game

"All we talked about all week was to play hard and play fast, and that's what we did. The first half was even more than we expected. Cal's a very good football team. I still think they'll prove that as the season goes on. We just came out with great focus and preparation. Fortunately, we made some big plays early."

On wide reciever Brandon Lloyd

"Obviously, he's a good football player. He elevates the players around him. It was his first game back from a serious injury, and I thought he really controlled the game."

On QB Kurt Kittner

"He was outstanding right from the start. He hit some big plays early. He's a smart, mature football player."

On Cal's defense

"We knew running the ball was going to be very, very difficult. It always is against these guys. They're a very fast defense overall. We wanted the one-on-one matchups with these guys, and it worked out for us."

Illinois Player Quotes

QB Kurt Kittner

On wide receiver Brandon Lloyd:

"Brandon's definitely a big asset to our team. He knows he's going to get a lot of catches in our offense. He's just a playmaker. You just throw the ball his way and something good is going to happen."

General comments:

"We got a couple of turnovers and that's a big difference in any game. We know what we can accomplish. We just have to go out there and do it. That is very important. We came out focused and ready to play."

"You can't teach experience. I've been around four years now and I know what to expect. You just have to go out there with confidence because everybody's looking to you."

TB Antonio Harris

On the Cal defense:

"They basically just put eight guys in the box and brought them all. We came out of halftime changing some things up and ran some outside plays."