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The University of Utah Athletics
Quotes from Kyle Whittingham's Weekly Press Conference
10/6/2008 12:00 AM | Football
Oct. 6, 2008
Opening statement:
I am proud of the way our players hung in against Oregon State. I thought they demonstrated toughness and poise down the stretch. I am pleased with the way the offense handled the last two drives and got the touchdown, then followed that up by getting into field goal range. There was a lot of poise and character demonstrated by the offense. Overall we played ok on offense, we still turned the ball over and gave up four sacks. We will continue to try to get that cleaned up. We ran the ball efficiently and outran Oregon State. The defense played ok. We did slow their main back [Jacquizz Rodgers] down. He had just about half of what he had the week before and we did an effective job of neutralizing him. I thought the defense did a decent job for the most part.
Special teams did a lot of good things. Louie Sakoda had the game-winner as time expired. That was a huge kick for Louie. The kickoff return by David Reed got us good field position. We were penalty-free on special teams as well as on offense. Nice job for them on that.
It was a big win, but every week is a big week and a big win. We got bowl eligible and we are at the mid-season point right where we hope to be. One week at a time. It's supposed to be cold up in Laramie. We have to get ourselves ready. We have conference play from here on out and have our work cut out for us.
On the long week:
We accomplish two things with the long week. We gave the team Saturday and Sunday off, so they get a little more rest. The coaches get a jump start on the next opponent. We will do a lot more today than a typical Monday with the extra time to prepare and will scale back the rest of the week. It's a little more front-end loaded than a typical week.
On Wyoming:
I'm sure they will be fired up. They wacked us two years ago up there. I'm positive we will get their best shot. They just lost to New Mexico on the road. It's their homecoming so I'm sure they will be excited to get back to Laramie and have another opportunity.
Their running backs are very good (Devin Moore and Wynel Seldon). They are the strength of their offense. Moore is gaining well over five yards a carry and Seldon is a tough, bigger back. Those guys run very hard. They are a little unsettled at quarterback. That is one of the biggest situations that they need to overcome. Their offense doesn't change much despite that. Defensively, they have a big, physical front seven and their linebackers are defensive end size. They are pretty physical up front.
On the two minute offense:
We work the heck out of the two minute offense probably more than anyone in the country. Most times it is a win or lose situation. We pay a lot of attention to it all year. Brian (Johnson) is very cool under pressure. When things get tight he is at his best and he has a great knack for engineering the two minute drive. Those are the keys for us, the time spent on it and the guy running it.
On where the team is at the midpoint of the season:
We like the wins and finding ways to win in close situations. I like our mentality and work ethic and how the team takes things week-to-week. The defense has done some very good things. They are in the top 10 in many categories. Louie (Sakoda) has been huge for us. He is everything we expected him to be. There is still a lot to work on and by no means do we have everything figured out, but I am pleased with where we are.
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