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The University of Utah Athletics
Postgame Quotes vs. Colorado
11/17/2018 5:33 PM | Football
Head Coach Kyle Whittingham
Opening Statement...
"Great effort by our guys, particularly in the second half, you know not a lot going on in the first half offensively for us. But we came out in the second half with a purpose, we did a great job moving the football, scoring points and taking control of the game."Â
On Defense ...      "Defense was very good from start to finish. I haven't seen the numbers but I got to believe that we held them to 200 yards. I think we might have sacked them five to six times, so a lot of good things there."
On Special Teams...       Â
"On special teams it was good to see Matt Gay, all of those field goals that were really critical at the time he was kicking to convert on all of those. We gave him a shot at a long one there at the end but he just hit the ground with his foot before he hit the ball, so he didn't get all of it. That is a very makeable, it is in his range."Â
On QB Jason Shelley...    Â
"Like I said, proud of our players and proud of our system, the coaches had a really good plan going in. Jason Shelley another solid performance, he showed a lot of poise again for the second consecutive week. He is just a very confident kid, if you are around him and you know him you know that he is a very confident kid."Â
On Team In General... Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
"Apparently we came out of the game healthy which is key because we have a lot of football left, hopefully. If we had three left that would be great but just proud of how these guys hung in there all-season long. They have handled adversity all season long, I don't know if I have been around a team that handles adversity any better than these guys. These guys just have a lot of guts and a lot of toughness."
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On Playing in the Snow... Â
"It doesn't bother us a bit. We are up in the mountains up in Salt Lake City so not a problem at all. Our guys I thought handled it very well, it didn't faze them. So no, we don't have a preference either way."
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On If He Feels Satisfied at the End of Conference Play... Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
"Well yeah at this point, obviously you look back at the season and replay things. Sitting here at 8-3, at least with the share of the title I guess no matter what happens of the South Division title and perhaps even bigger things. Very proud of our guys, never satisfied but very proud and happy for them. I'm happy for our guys and our assistant coaches."Â
On How Big this Win is for the Team...       Â
"It counts as one just like the rest of them. It is a great win for our players and I am very proud of them. Now they have at least a share of the Pac-12 South title at minimum so good for them."Â
LB #36 Francis BernardÂ
On having to step in after Chase Hansen's targeting call...
"I didn't expect it but as soon as it happened I was ready to go. It was fun to get out there and play against them."
On playing in the snow...
"We're from Utah so it's not like we don't play in the cold weather too; it was nothing to us."
On big impact plays on defense...
"They were just good calls. Coach (Morgan) Scalley had a great scheme coming into the game. He knew exactly when to call certain things and I thought that his play calling was on point."
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QB #15 Jason Shelley
On throwing the ball in the snow...
"We went out there and just played football, they kept us warm on the sidelines. I kept my hands warm and we just had to go out there and make some plays and the second half showed."
On making big plays...
"We've seen on film that they've given up a few deep balls and we just came into the second half trying to exploit that and we ended up executing."
On the difference between the first and second half...
"We just came together. We knew that the first half wasn't us, and we had to come out with a different mindset."Â
On Jaylen Dixon...
"He's really fast so he stretches the defense vertically and we use his speed to our advantage and we connected on a lot of deep balls."
WR #25 Jaylen Dixon
On the team overcoming injuries this season...
"I think the main thing is the coaching staff telling us that they believe in us. It's always about the next man up, we're going to miss those guys of course but it's always about the next man up."
PK #97 Matt Gay
On the kicking conditions today...
"It was difficult at first. I was trying to get my footing right. I didn't know if I was going to wear screw-in studs or keep the same cleats I've worn all season, more-so the approach with the ground being icy and snowy you slip out on your approach and it leaves you a little off. But once I started kicking I felt like I got it under me."
On how the team has responded to adversity this season...
"It's a different team. The vibe, the personnel, guys have really bought in, losing Huntley and losing Moss wasn't going to stop us from our goals in the beginning of the season. Obviously those guys are special and they have a lot of talent and bring a lot to this team, but like Jaylen (Dixon) said it's the next man up mentality."
On sharing the Pac-12 South Title...
"It's amazing, I don't think Utah has ever had a Pac-12 title, and we don't like sharing, we did our part and we feel good about that, we're hoping for someone else to do theirs and give us the full reigns of that title."
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Players Mentioned
LB
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WR
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LB
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QB
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