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The University of Utah Athletics
Utah vs. UNLV Postgame Quotes
9/11/2010 12:00 AM | Football
Sept. 11, 2010
Recap | Final Stats | Photo Gallery 
Utah Head Coach Kyle Whittingham
Opening statement:
"This was a good start to conference play for us, but we have still have a lot of work ahead of us. The game was not as clean as we wanted, but it was cleaner [than last week against Pittsburgh]. The punt game was problematic for us and we have to do better on third down defense. We have a lot to work on."
On the play of quarterback Terrence Cain:
I was proud of Terrance Cain. He managed the offense well and threw a couple of touchdown passes and most importantly, did not turn the ball over. There were a lot of positives, but we always have something to work on.
"[Compared to last season], he was a lot more decisive. He made a lot of good decisions and made almost all of the right throws. The biggest thing I saw was that he was a lot more self-confident. He's had a great attitude since last season. He has displayed his character by putting the team before himself. It's a credit to him."
On Utah wide receiver Shaky Smithson:
"He had a rough week [last time out against Pittsburgh], but he bounced back well and really helped us with his performance in the punt return game. I'm really happy that he experienced some success. All I said to him before the game was, 'Go out and do your thing.' He didn't dwell on last week and worked hard during practice and it paid off for him in this game."
On Utah's special teams:
"It's a huge emphasis of our program, it's part of our four-point plan to win. And the punt game is the most important part of special teams in our program so we really need to work on our punt protection. I think we've had trouble with it because of a combination of things like not getting the ball out quick enough or missing blocking assignments. Either way, it's unacceptable."
On backups performing well:
"I always tell our No. 2's on the depth chart, you're just one snap away from being a No. 1. We had Cain at quarterback then Nick Marsh stepped in to punt after Sean Sellwood got hurt. It's essential that backups are as invested and committed to our team's success if we want to win games."
On Eddie Wide:
"He played well today. He fumbled earlier in the game but made up for it by causing a fumble on the punt coverage team. He ran hard down there and just made a play."
On the defense:
"We played well against Pitt last week and our defense didn't let UNLV in the end zone today. The only touchdown they had was off that blocked punt. We just have to get out of drives faster and avoid long possessions. Our pass rush in this game was unacceptable. Our defensive line did a good job against the run again, but we can't settle for hurries or scrambles. We have to get more sacks."
On Chaz Walker:
"He's a tough, smart player and blue-collar kind of guy. He's assignment and technique sound. He studies by watching film and is always prepared."
Utah running back Eddie Wide
"It was a great game. I had a hard time early with that fumble, but I was glad to make up for it on special teams. I just made up my mind that I was going to go down there and make something happen [on the punt coverage]. It was a big momentum shift in our favor toward the end of the half and the offense was able to score on the next play. I love being on the punt cover team."
Utah wide receiver Shaky Smithson
On his performance today:
"For me, it wasn't about redemption today. I just wanted to have a great game. I know my teammates and coaches believe in me and trust me, so I was just waiting for my second chance to prove myself in a game. I felt no extra pressure or stress."
On Terrance Cain as the quarterback:
"We are blessed to have two great quarterbacks on this team. With Terrance out there, it still felt the same. As an offense, we've been going through the same reps in practice. The ball comes out the same way so it's not really a big adjustment for us."
Utah quarterback Terrance Cain
On his performance today:
"I felt great out there today. Coach [Whittingham] always tells everyone on the team, be prepared and stay prepared. So it was great to go out there and be with my boys. I knew that I would be starting in the middle of this week and just being around this group, I knew I had to step up my level of play. "
Utah linebacker Brian Blechen
On the defense's performance today:
"We knew we had to keep up our effort for the whole game. There was a lot of tension in certain situations but we responded. We had trouble on third downs because we got too antsy and missed some assignments, but people came through."
On the pass rush:
"We were definitely trying to be well-rounded. We wanted to chase [UNLV quarterback Omar Clayton] out of the pocket and make him uncomfortable, but also stop the run."
UNLV Head Coach Bobby Hauck
On the outcome of the game -
"Utah's better than us and made fewer mistakes. We've got to hang onto the ball, tackle and not give up a punt return [for a score].
"We played well. We go hit hard and fumbled on a punt return. We've got to hang on to the ball."
"We scored a touchdown in the kicking game. We had another 95-yard return that was called back. We aren't good enough that we can break even in the kicking game. We've got to win it. We gave ourselves a chance to be in the game. We let it slip away."
On the decision of the fake field goal try at the end of the game -
"Why not? Nothing else was working. We sign up to play 60 minutes and we play 60 minutes."
Did he feel his offense was improved from last week, winning time of possession -
"There's only winning and losing. We lost."
Linebacker Star Fiumaono
On the outcome of the game -
"We just made a lot of mistakes. The whole team felt like we played a good game. Just too many mistakes."
On the punt return for a touchdown by Shaky Smithson -
"It was a big factor and the game changes. We gave up seven points at a critical time. Some of us got out of our lanes. We need to do a better job of that."
Wide Receiver Michael Johnson
On the outcome of the game -
"I felt like we had many opportunities and didn't take advantage of them. They had some turnovers and we didn't capitalize."
On where the game turned in Utah's favor -
"We had one mistake that happened at the end of the first half, but otherwise we played well. Then they made a big play at the start of the second half. As an offense, we needed to answer and we didn't do that."
Players Mentioned
DB
/ Football
QB
/ Football
K/P
/ Football
P
/ Football
WR
/ Football
LB
/ Football
RB
/ FootballFormer Utah Football Head Coach Urban Meyer inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
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