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Postgame Quotes: Utah vs. Arizona State
11/4/2023 4:46 PM | Football
UTAH QUOTES
Head Coach Kyle Whittingham
Opening Statement...
"Great response by our guys after a disappointing week last week. [You] never want to let a team beat you twice or be hungover for the next game and our guys responded. It was great to see the way they played, the passion, the energy, team effort. You can't single out one aspect. The defense was incredible, less than 100 yards total of 3 points, five or six, seven first downs, so incredible numbers on defense. Offense, 500+ yards, 55 points. This is a team that just beat Washington State last week, so [it] was great to see our guys respond, like I said. [They] controlled the clock, 36 minutes and change to 23 and change. Third downs we gave up two of 16 on defense. We've been doing that all year long, the defense has been outstanding on third downs. So many positives in the game, Bryson Barnes played exceptionally well. Ja'Quinden Jackson, Jaylon Glover, Devaughn Vele, the entire offensive line, Money Parks. There's so many really good performances from this game so we'll enjoy it. We got our seventh win, 7-2. Heading to Seattle next week, playing a really good Husky team, and so we'll take it from there."
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On the importance for Bryson Barnes to get the completions obtained during the game…
"That's what opens up the offense for Bryson is the run game. We run the ball efficiently and effectively and that makes the safeties come down and everything tightens up and then we just throw the ball and it's usually wide open. Like I said, Devaughn Vele had a big first half, kind of quite in the second half, but had a big first half. When we run it well and the opponent doesn't, that's our formula for success, that's what we hang our hat on right there."
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On what made the offense successful in the run game...
"They were in sync, playing physical, knocking people off the ball, missed very few assignments. I'll have to watch the tape to get exactly what transpired assignment-wise. But just as the game was going on you could see that they were fitting up the run game and getting movement and that's what it takes."
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On what was working well with the offensive tempo at the start of the game…
"We had them on their heels a little bit, we haven't shown that much this year. They seemed to not handle it very well, so we kept at it. Sometimes the altitude jumps on teams here and that could've been a part of it as well, but we certainly got a lot of mileage out of that today. [It was] a big part of our offensive success."
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On Landen King taking the next step…
"The only thing that's keeping him from absolute greatness is getting bigger. He's still only about 220 pounds, so he needs to put some weight on that frame. But he lacks nothing as far as athleticism, hands, route-running ability, all that, to be a complete tight end and he's working hard at it. He's gained some weight since he's been here but he's about 15-20 pounds away from really having a chance to be a top-tier tight end."
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On what stands out from defense this week…
"The front seven were outstanding. [The] back end was good too, the completion percentage was way down. So, we just played a complete game on all three levels, but it starts up front. We got good pressure from the get-go, I don't know how many sacks we had but we had some impact-play sacks, and we got the interception, that was a nice interception by Miles Battle. When the defense is clicking and in-sync, and not on our heels like we were last week, we're really good. And they were."
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#16 Bryson Barnes, Quarterback
On the difference of strategy compared to last week's loss against Oregon…
"It varies week to week. Not every defense is going to look the same, obviously. The game plan is going to vary. We ran some plays with a little bit more tempo this week and that definitely attributes to what we've been doing well throughout the season, kind of implementing that right now. But scheme wise, it's all about the players and it ain't about the plays."
On the preparation throughout the week following a rough loss…
"Regardless of the outcome on Saturday, you've got to be able to put that in the rear-view. So, coming in Monday, the talk that was around the facility was don't let a team beat you twice and I feel like that really rang true with a lot of the players. That was able to kind of keep the mojo up and kind of regain our energy. We have to get over this loss regardless of how bad it was because we have to go 1-0 this week. It didn't matter what happened last week, it was just a matter of getting over it. The preparation, it's the same type of stuff every week. You just got to trust the process of the preparation that you put in each and every week. Not letting a team beat you twice was definitely the mentality of the entire team."
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#17 Devaughn Vele, Wide Receiver
On scoring two touchdowns early on…
"Just credit to the game plan [and] just staying ready. I mean, that's all I can really do, just prepare, make sure I'm doing what I'm doing and executing when my number's called. So, it's great to get in the endzone but I'm just grateful we got the win"
On the effect that running tempo offense has on the game…
"We practice it every single week. It's a situation in which I feel like we do well in and we strive to continue to do well, because especially in crunch time situations, it's good to be able to just get on the ball and keep moving. So being able to utilize that and implement it into our regular game plan and just doing it anytime, whether it's the beginning of the first quarter or it's two minutes left in the second quarter, it's just good to see the guys always ready and we've seen what can happen when we do get into that quick tempo offense."
#1 Miles Battle, Cornerback
On his interception after his first was overturned…
"You know, the first one I took it and I thought they were going to let me have it, but, they tried me again and I was able to go and make a play. That was very satisfying. Just being able to get the play and make the play was very satisfying for me."
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On freshman Smith Snowden's performance on defense…
"He's really impressed me. He looked comfortable out there, he was making some tackles. And he's been making a lot of plays in practice, especially this week and weeks before, so we knew he was ready. It's just a matter of time to get him in the game and I think he did a great job today."
#83 Jonah Elliss, Defensive end
On what worked in the defensive scheme…
"Honestly, we just kept it really simple. And we play our best defense when we keep it simple and just do your assignment and knowing that every other guy is going to do his assignment. It's just that trust factor that we built together. I think that's why we were so successful."
On his success on the season, yielding 11.5 sacks…
"Shoot, [it's] just the time of preparation that I put into it. I think I spent a lot more time this year than I have in the past and I really just like locked into being the best I can be. And that's probably what it is."
ARIZONA STATE QUOTES
Head Coach Kenny Dillingham
On the mood in the locker room...
"Guys are frustrated, rightfully so, ticked off and that's a good thing. I don't think our guys quit, but not being able to throw it, run it or do anything offensively is tough. It's hard to continue to get up and go when you can't block them, the simplest piece, but I think the guys are going to continue to fight, which they did tonight."
On Utah's run game...
"I thought they moved us. They moved the down lineman and you combine that with our defense being on the field every play, so if our defense is on the field every single play of the game, one, we can't get touches to offensive guys that we need touches to because we're not getting enough first downs. And then we had two defensive lineman go down, so you have two lineman go down on top of playing significant snaps and that's a recipe for disaster and fatigue."
On Utah scoring with eight seconds left...
"They're playing football. Our job is to stop them. I don't care if they would've thrown it. This is not pop warner, this is collegiate football. If they would've been throwing the ball fourth quarter, I would've been perfectly fine with it. If they felt they needed to get work in with a quarterback and throw the ball, that's 100 percent their decision to make their football team better because that's their job as their coaching staff. No issue with it at all, its our job to stop it."
On his respect for Kyle Whittingham and the Utah coaching staff...
"It's what I knew they were. That's why I've been showing clips of Utah since I got here is because this is the standard, in my opinion, of Pac-12 football and a culture that can respond and win through a test of time because they're physical, they're big, they play with a good offensive line and defensive line, they're tough and they're resilient and coming off a big loss, I knew we were going to get their best game and we were going to have to block them and tackle them and that's what the game was going to come down to."
#1 Jordan Clark, Defensive Back
On the defensive struggles in the first half…
"We have to execute from the jump as a defense. We just weren't doing what coach was asking of us. It wasn't a coaching thing, it was definitely on us and we got to get back to work this week to correct it."
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On the defensive issues throughout the game…
"Our guys just weren't doing their job. We had some mishaps at the beginning and then people try to overcompensate and help other people do their job when all in all, we should play 11-man football. Whenever you try to do somebody else's job, even more people are out of position. It's on us. We got to make those plays."
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On how tough it will be to bounce back from the loss…
"It shouldn't be tough at all; everybody should be embarrassed. Everybody should understand that this is not OK at all. Right now, everybody should be trying to figure out how we can get ready to beat UCLA. This game is behind us, and it should leave a bad taste in our mouth. Everybody should be embarrassed. This isn't Sun Devil football and this isn't the standard that we want to play or compete at, so we have to get back to work and finish."
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On Utah's standard in the conference…
"I see the same thing I see from them every time I've played them since I've been in college. They're a program that does things the right way. It doesn't matter how many people are hurt, who's hurt whether it's a key guy or not. Whether it's Cam Rising playing or not, they're going to play to their standard constantly. They did a great job rebounding off of a loss last week and they played good football today. We didn't match it like we should have, and we'll get it fixed."
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#7 Shamari Simmons, Defensive BackÂ
On the defense allowing Utah's run game to thrive…
"It was just a lot of errors on us. I'll ride with this defense any day of the week and I'll take them over any team in the conference. We just need to come back on Monday and regroup."
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On the defense constantly needing to be on the field…
"I really don't see it like that. With the defensive mindset, we expect them not to score at all. We can't really control what's on the other side of the ball. We can control what we can control, and we gave up 55 points."
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Head Coach Kyle Whittingham
Opening Statement...
"Great response by our guys after a disappointing week last week. [You] never want to let a team beat you twice or be hungover for the next game and our guys responded. It was great to see the way they played, the passion, the energy, team effort. You can't single out one aspect. The defense was incredible, less than 100 yards total of 3 points, five or six, seven first downs, so incredible numbers on defense. Offense, 500+ yards, 55 points. This is a team that just beat Washington State last week, so [it] was great to see our guys respond, like I said. [They] controlled the clock, 36 minutes and change to 23 and change. Third downs we gave up two of 16 on defense. We've been doing that all year long, the defense has been outstanding on third downs. So many positives in the game, Bryson Barnes played exceptionally well. Ja'Quinden Jackson, Jaylon Glover, Devaughn Vele, the entire offensive line, Money Parks. There's so many really good performances from this game so we'll enjoy it. We got our seventh win, 7-2. Heading to Seattle next week, playing a really good Husky team, and so we'll take it from there."
Â
On the importance for Bryson Barnes to get the completions obtained during the game…
"That's what opens up the offense for Bryson is the run game. We run the ball efficiently and effectively and that makes the safeties come down and everything tightens up and then we just throw the ball and it's usually wide open. Like I said, Devaughn Vele had a big first half, kind of quite in the second half, but had a big first half. When we run it well and the opponent doesn't, that's our formula for success, that's what we hang our hat on right there."
Â
On what made the offense successful in the run game...
"They were in sync, playing physical, knocking people off the ball, missed very few assignments. I'll have to watch the tape to get exactly what transpired assignment-wise. But just as the game was going on you could see that they were fitting up the run game and getting movement and that's what it takes."
Â
On what was working well with the offensive tempo at the start of the game…
"We had them on their heels a little bit, we haven't shown that much this year. They seemed to not handle it very well, so we kept at it. Sometimes the altitude jumps on teams here and that could've been a part of it as well, but we certainly got a lot of mileage out of that today. [It was] a big part of our offensive success."
Â
On Landen King taking the next step…
"The only thing that's keeping him from absolute greatness is getting bigger. He's still only about 220 pounds, so he needs to put some weight on that frame. But he lacks nothing as far as athleticism, hands, route-running ability, all that, to be a complete tight end and he's working hard at it. He's gained some weight since he's been here but he's about 15-20 pounds away from really having a chance to be a top-tier tight end."
Â
On what stands out from defense this week…
"The front seven were outstanding. [The] back end was good too, the completion percentage was way down. So, we just played a complete game on all three levels, but it starts up front. We got good pressure from the get-go, I don't know how many sacks we had but we had some impact-play sacks, and we got the interception, that was a nice interception by Miles Battle. When the defense is clicking and in-sync, and not on our heels like we were last week, we're really good. And they were."
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#16 Bryson Barnes, Quarterback
On the difference of strategy compared to last week's loss against Oregon…
"It varies week to week. Not every defense is going to look the same, obviously. The game plan is going to vary. We ran some plays with a little bit more tempo this week and that definitely attributes to what we've been doing well throughout the season, kind of implementing that right now. But scheme wise, it's all about the players and it ain't about the plays."
On the preparation throughout the week following a rough loss…
"Regardless of the outcome on Saturday, you've got to be able to put that in the rear-view. So, coming in Monday, the talk that was around the facility was don't let a team beat you twice and I feel like that really rang true with a lot of the players. That was able to kind of keep the mojo up and kind of regain our energy. We have to get over this loss regardless of how bad it was because we have to go 1-0 this week. It didn't matter what happened last week, it was just a matter of getting over it. The preparation, it's the same type of stuff every week. You just got to trust the process of the preparation that you put in each and every week. Not letting a team beat you twice was definitely the mentality of the entire team."
Â
#17 Devaughn Vele, Wide Receiver
On scoring two touchdowns early on…
"Just credit to the game plan [and] just staying ready. I mean, that's all I can really do, just prepare, make sure I'm doing what I'm doing and executing when my number's called. So, it's great to get in the endzone but I'm just grateful we got the win"
On the effect that running tempo offense has on the game…
"We practice it every single week. It's a situation in which I feel like we do well in and we strive to continue to do well, because especially in crunch time situations, it's good to be able to just get on the ball and keep moving. So being able to utilize that and implement it into our regular game plan and just doing it anytime, whether it's the beginning of the first quarter or it's two minutes left in the second quarter, it's just good to see the guys always ready and we've seen what can happen when we do get into that quick tempo offense."
#1 Miles Battle, Cornerback
On his interception after his first was overturned…
"You know, the first one I took it and I thought they were going to let me have it, but, they tried me again and I was able to go and make a play. That was very satisfying. Just being able to get the play and make the play was very satisfying for me."
Â
On freshman Smith Snowden's performance on defense…
"He's really impressed me. He looked comfortable out there, he was making some tackles. And he's been making a lot of plays in practice, especially this week and weeks before, so we knew he was ready. It's just a matter of time to get him in the game and I think he did a great job today."
#83 Jonah Elliss, Defensive end
On what worked in the defensive scheme…
"Honestly, we just kept it really simple. And we play our best defense when we keep it simple and just do your assignment and knowing that every other guy is going to do his assignment. It's just that trust factor that we built together. I think that's why we were so successful."
On his success on the season, yielding 11.5 sacks…
"Shoot, [it's] just the time of preparation that I put into it. I think I spent a lot more time this year than I have in the past and I really just like locked into being the best I can be. And that's probably what it is."
ARIZONA STATE QUOTES
Head Coach Kenny Dillingham
On the mood in the locker room...
"Guys are frustrated, rightfully so, ticked off and that's a good thing. I don't think our guys quit, but not being able to throw it, run it or do anything offensively is tough. It's hard to continue to get up and go when you can't block them, the simplest piece, but I think the guys are going to continue to fight, which they did tonight."
On Utah's run game...
"I thought they moved us. They moved the down lineman and you combine that with our defense being on the field every play, so if our defense is on the field every single play of the game, one, we can't get touches to offensive guys that we need touches to because we're not getting enough first downs. And then we had two defensive lineman go down, so you have two lineman go down on top of playing significant snaps and that's a recipe for disaster and fatigue."
On Utah scoring with eight seconds left...
"They're playing football. Our job is to stop them. I don't care if they would've thrown it. This is not pop warner, this is collegiate football. If they would've been throwing the ball fourth quarter, I would've been perfectly fine with it. If they felt they needed to get work in with a quarterback and throw the ball, that's 100 percent their decision to make their football team better because that's their job as their coaching staff. No issue with it at all, its our job to stop it."
On his respect for Kyle Whittingham and the Utah coaching staff...
"It's what I knew they were. That's why I've been showing clips of Utah since I got here is because this is the standard, in my opinion, of Pac-12 football and a culture that can respond and win through a test of time because they're physical, they're big, they play with a good offensive line and defensive line, they're tough and they're resilient and coming off a big loss, I knew we were going to get their best game and we were going to have to block them and tackle them and that's what the game was going to come down to."
#1 Jordan Clark, Defensive Back
On the defensive struggles in the first half…
"We have to execute from the jump as a defense. We just weren't doing what coach was asking of us. It wasn't a coaching thing, it was definitely on us and we got to get back to work this week to correct it."
Â
On the defensive issues throughout the game…
"Our guys just weren't doing their job. We had some mishaps at the beginning and then people try to overcompensate and help other people do their job when all in all, we should play 11-man football. Whenever you try to do somebody else's job, even more people are out of position. It's on us. We got to make those plays."
Â
On how tough it will be to bounce back from the loss…
"It shouldn't be tough at all; everybody should be embarrassed. Everybody should understand that this is not OK at all. Right now, everybody should be trying to figure out how we can get ready to beat UCLA. This game is behind us, and it should leave a bad taste in our mouth. Everybody should be embarrassed. This isn't Sun Devil football and this isn't the standard that we want to play or compete at, so we have to get back to work and finish."
Â
On Utah's standard in the conference…
"I see the same thing I see from them every time I've played them since I've been in college. They're a program that does things the right way. It doesn't matter how many people are hurt, who's hurt whether it's a key guy or not. Whether it's Cam Rising playing or not, they're going to play to their standard constantly. They did a great job rebounding off of a loss last week and they played good football today. We didn't match it like we should have, and we'll get it fixed."
Â
#7 Shamari Simmons, Defensive BackÂ
On the defense allowing Utah's run game to thrive…
"It was just a lot of errors on us. I'll ride with this defense any day of the week and I'll take them over any team in the conference. We just need to come back on Monday and regroup."
Â
On the defense constantly needing to be on the field…
"I really don't see it like that. With the defensive mindset, we expect them not to score at all. We can't really control what's on the other side of the ball. We can control what we can control, and we gave up 55 points."
Â
Players Mentioned
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DE
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WR
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