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The University of Utah Athletics
Kyle Whittingham Weekly Press Conference: Arizona
11/13/2023 1:26 PM | Football
Final regular season road trip sends the Utes down to Tucson
SALT LAKE CITY – University of Utah head football coach Kyle Whittingham held his weekly press conference on Monday, meeting with members of the media inside the Spence and Cleone Eccles Football Center.
Selected quotes from Coach Whittingham can be seen below.
Opening Statement
"The game at Washington was really a tale of two halves. In the first half, we were outstanding particularly on offense. We did some good things on defense in the first half; we were better in the second half on defense. The offense was the exact opposite. We were outstanding in the first half. After the first two drives faltered, we had four straight touchdown drives, over 300 yards of offense, a bunch of first downs. Probably our best half of football of the season. I've been coaching a lot of years and I've never seen such a dramatic difference in two halves by an offense. We went from outstanding, to not being able to do much of anything in the second half. Schematically, the Huskies didn't do much differently…there's really no explanation for it. I've watched the film three times and can't tell you why we were so productive in the first half and had so much (difficulty in the second half). We blocked well, we caught well, we threw well, we ran well. We did so many good things. Had we just done half of that in the second half, we probably could have come away with the victory. But give credit to Washington; they played well. They're a good team, really good team. They came out and played much better in the second half. We just, for whatever reason, couldn't generate any offense.
"So now we move on, going to Tucson for another road trip. Arizona's playing very well, they're at 7-3 and coming off a win against Colorado. Got a lot going for them. Their quarterback has really done well. (Jayden) de Laura was the starter earlier in the year, then got hurt and (Noah) Fifita took over and they really haven't looked back since then. He's completing nearly 75% of his balls and has been a spark for them, I guess you could say. It'll be a tough game for us, two 7-3 teams. We're going to have to play extremely well to get a victory."
On assessing Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita…
"I think he's a playmaker. He's not the biggest guy, (about) 5-foot-11. But he's extremely savvy in the pocket. He's doing a really good job running the offense. They're getting 30-plus points and (about 400 yards of offense) per week. From what I've seen on tape, he's very impressive. I guess that's why even though de Laura is now healthy and able to play, they haven't switched back. They've stayed the course with the Fifita kid."
On similarities between Utah and what Arizona coach Jedd Fisch is building…
"I think they're doing a great job. He's got that thing turned. He started from scratch and rebuilt it his way. They're playing really good football right now. As far as similarities, I'd have to be closer to the program to give you a better idea of that. But I just know that they're winning and playing sound football. They play hard. And they've recruited well, that's always the biggest factor—they've done a really nice job in the last three years of infusing talent into the program."
On how to respond this week after the Washington game…
"The same way we did against Oregon and Oregon State. You've got to take the same approach, understand that there's more football to play. You've got to rebound, you've got to respond. Our team has been good at that this year, at least the first couple times. We've got to do the same thing this time around. There's no difference in our mindset and how we approach it. Gotta put it behind you—you learn from it, you can't just ignore it. You watch the tape, figure out your deficiencies and what you have to work on. I've said the same thing the last couple losses; don't let the same team beat you twice and avoid the hangover. We lean on the leadership of the team a lot and we lean on the coaches to set the tempo, set the mindset and move forward."
Does anything stand out in the Washington game that you take away from?
"What's really dramatic is how well we functioned as an offense in the first half. We had over 300 yards (in the first half); we were on pace for 56 points and 600-plus yards. That's a very good offense. But we went from as productive as we can be, to the least productive. It was a complete 180. The same guys came out of the Washington tunnel; there weren't any different players or different scheme. The roles were reversed in the second half."
On Devaughn Vele's performance the last several games…
"He's been our No. 1 receiver all season long, but we hadn't targeted him as much as we needed to in those first several ballgames. We made a concerted effort to get him more targets in the last three or four weeks. It has paid off in a lot of ways; he has had his most production in the last three or four weeks. We should have done a better job as coaches of getting him the ball early on (in the season)."
Does what's still possible this season sound remarkable, given injuries and such?
"I'm very proud of our guys for what they've accomplished to far. To be 7-3 right now is a tribute to our players, their toughness and the depth of our roster. I'm already proud of what they've accomplished. But we take it one week as a time. If we can get to eight wins this week, that'll be a big positive for us."
FOLLOW US!
To get an inside look at the Utah Football program during its journey through the 2023 season, follow the Utes on social media along with visiting www.UtahUtes.com.
Twitter: @Utah_Football
Instagram: @UtahFootball
Threads: @UtahFootball
Facebook: Utah Football
TikTok: @Utah_Football
UP NEXT
Utah will remain on the road this week as they take on the Arizona Wildcats on Saturday, Nov. 18 in Tucson. Game time is set for 12:30 p.m. MT on Pac-12 Networks.
Selected quotes from Coach Whittingham can be seen below.
Opening Statement
"The game at Washington was really a tale of two halves. In the first half, we were outstanding particularly on offense. We did some good things on defense in the first half; we were better in the second half on defense. The offense was the exact opposite. We were outstanding in the first half. After the first two drives faltered, we had four straight touchdown drives, over 300 yards of offense, a bunch of first downs. Probably our best half of football of the season. I've been coaching a lot of years and I've never seen such a dramatic difference in two halves by an offense. We went from outstanding, to not being able to do much of anything in the second half. Schematically, the Huskies didn't do much differently…there's really no explanation for it. I've watched the film three times and can't tell you why we were so productive in the first half and had so much (difficulty in the second half). We blocked well, we caught well, we threw well, we ran well. We did so many good things. Had we just done half of that in the second half, we probably could have come away with the victory. But give credit to Washington; they played well. They're a good team, really good team. They came out and played much better in the second half. We just, for whatever reason, couldn't generate any offense.
"So now we move on, going to Tucson for another road trip. Arizona's playing very well, they're at 7-3 and coming off a win against Colorado. Got a lot going for them. Their quarterback has really done well. (Jayden) de Laura was the starter earlier in the year, then got hurt and (Noah) Fifita took over and they really haven't looked back since then. He's completing nearly 75% of his balls and has been a spark for them, I guess you could say. It'll be a tough game for us, two 7-3 teams. We're going to have to play extremely well to get a victory."
On assessing Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita…
"I think he's a playmaker. He's not the biggest guy, (about) 5-foot-11. But he's extremely savvy in the pocket. He's doing a really good job running the offense. They're getting 30-plus points and (about 400 yards of offense) per week. From what I've seen on tape, he's very impressive. I guess that's why even though de Laura is now healthy and able to play, they haven't switched back. They've stayed the course with the Fifita kid."
On similarities between Utah and what Arizona coach Jedd Fisch is building…
"I think they're doing a great job. He's got that thing turned. He started from scratch and rebuilt it his way. They're playing really good football right now. As far as similarities, I'd have to be closer to the program to give you a better idea of that. But I just know that they're winning and playing sound football. They play hard. And they've recruited well, that's always the biggest factor—they've done a really nice job in the last three years of infusing talent into the program."
On how to respond this week after the Washington game…
"The same way we did against Oregon and Oregon State. You've got to take the same approach, understand that there's more football to play. You've got to rebound, you've got to respond. Our team has been good at that this year, at least the first couple times. We've got to do the same thing this time around. There's no difference in our mindset and how we approach it. Gotta put it behind you—you learn from it, you can't just ignore it. You watch the tape, figure out your deficiencies and what you have to work on. I've said the same thing the last couple losses; don't let the same team beat you twice and avoid the hangover. We lean on the leadership of the team a lot and we lean on the coaches to set the tempo, set the mindset and move forward."
Does anything stand out in the Washington game that you take away from?
"What's really dramatic is how well we functioned as an offense in the first half. We had over 300 yards (in the first half); we were on pace for 56 points and 600-plus yards. That's a very good offense. But we went from as productive as we can be, to the least productive. It was a complete 180. The same guys came out of the Washington tunnel; there weren't any different players or different scheme. The roles were reversed in the second half."
On Devaughn Vele's performance the last several games…
"He's been our No. 1 receiver all season long, but we hadn't targeted him as much as we needed to in those first several ballgames. We made a concerted effort to get him more targets in the last three or four weeks. It has paid off in a lot of ways; he has had his most production in the last three or four weeks. We should have done a better job as coaches of getting him the ball early on (in the season)."
Does what's still possible this season sound remarkable, given injuries and such?
"I'm very proud of our guys for what they've accomplished to far. To be 7-3 right now is a tribute to our players, their toughness and the depth of our roster. I'm already proud of what they've accomplished. But we take it one week as a time. If we can get to eight wins this week, that'll be a big positive for us."
FOLLOW US!
To get an inside look at the Utah Football program during its journey through the 2023 season, follow the Utes on social media along with visiting www.UtahUtes.com.
Twitter: @Utah_Football
Instagram: @UtahFootball
Threads: @UtahFootball
Facebook: Utah Football
TikTok: @Utah_Football
UP NEXT
Utah will remain on the road this week as they take on the Arizona Wildcats on Saturday, Nov. 18 in Tucson. Game time is set for 12:30 p.m. MT on Pac-12 Networks.
Players Mentioned
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