Upcoming Event: Football versus No. 25 Arizona State on October 11, 2025 at 8:15 p.m.
8:15 p.m.
Football
vs No. 25 Arizona State
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Postgame Quotes: Utah at Colorado
11/16/2024 6:09 PM | Football
Utah Head Coach Kyle Whittingham
Opening Statement...
"First thing I'll say is that's very good football team that we played today. Coach Sanders has done a great job of getting that thing put together. I don't think there's any doubts, the best team we've played this year, certainly the best group of receivers, best quarterback. Quarterback is terrific. Receivers as a group, hell they've got superstar in there, obviously, but as a group, they're really good, and so credit them for the win. As bad as things were, we still had a chance there. In fourth quarter, we got that turnover and had momentum and in their territory and proceeded to turn the ball over again. We had four turnovers, tough to win. Turn the ball over four times, if you want to know what our main deficiencies were, it was that and the inability to run the football. We didn't run the ball anywhere near where we needed to. Disappointing. Defense, we did some good things. Got three takeaways, still lost the turnover margin minus one, but we didn't tackle particularly well enough, and those athletes, they got over there are a big reason for that. I don't want to discount their ability and their skill, because it's a great group. They put together an outstanding group. As bad as things are, there's still two games away from a bowl bid. That's something right there. Our guys, first of all, they're together. They work hard. There's no lack of preparation. Monday through Friday. They're focused. We just can't find a win. That's where we're at. Didn't do ourselves any favors on special teams. Let the punt return for a touchdown. That's two weeks in a row we've had a return for touchdown against us, which is not ideal. We got enough to work on to keep us busy. But I'll say it again. Credit those guys, their coach, their coaching staff, and they're a really good football team."
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On issues with running the ball...
"Just from watching it, we didn't get any knockoff on the offensive line, no push inside, and you got to get push inside to open up some creases, and they played very tough at the line of scrimmage, and really couldn't get anything going."
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On what needs to change within the program...
"Well, today was the run game. We got to get better overall throw in the football and really defensively, if you just look at sheer numbers prior to this game, number one in total defense, number one in scoring defense, number one in third down defense. We're doing a lot of good things that are probably going to suffer (statistically) after this game, but our main issues this year have been on offensive side of the ball. There's no secret about that, and we just got to keep recruiting. That's number one, keep recruiting players and try to get things solved. We're just not potent enough on offense. If you look just statistically, as good as we are on defense, we're that far down the ladder on offense in those statistical categories."
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On things coming together during the fourth quarter...
"Isaac got a little bit of a rhythm there for a minute, and was connecting on some passes, getting the ball out quicker, going through his read progression quicker. The protection was a little bit better for a period of time. I would say that was the reason for the production spurt that we had there. We had the interception early, which is great, but we didn't capitalize, had to settle for a field goal. That's the first three trips that we got deep in their territory. We had to settle for field goals each time. We've talked about that throughout the course of the year, and it's tough to win games if you're settling for field goals."
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On Isaac playing faster in the second half...
"He started to get a little bit of a rhythm for a little stretch of time there. And he's just a freshman, he's learning as we go. He's the guy that does not lack confidence. My guess is, as a resilient kid, he'll come back and get ready for the next one."
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Junior Tight End Carsen Ryan
On offensive play...
"We just came out flat to start the game. You know, I made some mistakes. Everyone made mistakes, and we got to clean that up. We got to come out fast and start strong. We can't keep playing catch up every game. You know, it starts in the running game. We got to make better blocks for our running backs and got to give Isaac [Wilson] more time to throw the ball. And we just got to stop making the same mistakes."
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On the fourth quarter...
"I mean, we just, like I said, came out slow. During halftime, we got to step up, we got to make plays, we got to get something going. With all the injuries we've had, people have had to step up. And we got great players. We just gotta keep making plays like we did in the second half all game, and then we'll come out with wins. We just got to start fast."
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On QB Isaac Wilson...
"Everyone's got to step up around Isaac and give him the chances he can, because he's a great player. When we all play great and we elevate him, he makes the plays like he did in that second half. He was throwing the ball all around the field and making plays, and we just got to keep doing our part to help him out the most we can, since you know, he's still so young and has a bright future ahead. And we just got to keep making plays right to make his load a little easier."
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Messaging to the team moving forward...
"Trying to win… trying to make a bowl game."
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Junior Linebacker Lander Barton
On the Defense...
"They made more plays than we did, end of story."
Â
Messaging to the team moving forward...
"Keep moving forward, proud of the guys stepping up. It's a hard position to fill, but I mean, people are stepping up, so you just be proud of the guys, and you just got to keep going."Â
Â
Opening Statement...
"First thing I'll say is that's very good football team that we played today. Coach Sanders has done a great job of getting that thing put together. I don't think there's any doubts, the best team we've played this year, certainly the best group of receivers, best quarterback. Quarterback is terrific. Receivers as a group, hell they've got superstar in there, obviously, but as a group, they're really good, and so credit them for the win. As bad as things were, we still had a chance there. In fourth quarter, we got that turnover and had momentum and in their territory and proceeded to turn the ball over again. We had four turnovers, tough to win. Turn the ball over four times, if you want to know what our main deficiencies were, it was that and the inability to run the football. We didn't run the ball anywhere near where we needed to. Disappointing. Defense, we did some good things. Got three takeaways, still lost the turnover margin minus one, but we didn't tackle particularly well enough, and those athletes, they got over there are a big reason for that. I don't want to discount their ability and their skill, because it's a great group. They put together an outstanding group. As bad as things are, there's still two games away from a bowl bid. That's something right there. Our guys, first of all, they're together. They work hard. There's no lack of preparation. Monday through Friday. They're focused. We just can't find a win. That's where we're at. Didn't do ourselves any favors on special teams. Let the punt return for a touchdown. That's two weeks in a row we've had a return for touchdown against us, which is not ideal. We got enough to work on to keep us busy. But I'll say it again. Credit those guys, their coach, their coaching staff, and they're a really good football team."
Â
On issues with running the ball...
"Just from watching it, we didn't get any knockoff on the offensive line, no push inside, and you got to get push inside to open up some creases, and they played very tough at the line of scrimmage, and really couldn't get anything going."
Â
On what needs to change within the program...
"Well, today was the run game. We got to get better overall throw in the football and really defensively, if you just look at sheer numbers prior to this game, number one in total defense, number one in scoring defense, number one in third down defense. We're doing a lot of good things that are probably going to suffer (statistically) after this game, but our main issues this year have been on offensive side of the ball. There's no secret about that, and we just got to keep recruiting. That's number one, keep recruiting players and try to get things solved. We're just not potent enough on offense. If you look just statistically, as good as we are on defense, we're that far down the ladder on offense in those statistical categories."
Â
On things coming together during the fourth quarter...
"Isaac got a little bit of a rhythm there for a minute, and was connecting on some passes, getting the ball out quicker, going through his read progression quicker. The protection was a little bit better for a period of time. I would say that was the reason for the production spurt that we had there. We had the interception early, which is great, but we didn't capitalize, had to settle for a field goal. That's the first three trips that we got deep in their territory. We had to settle for field goals each time. We've talked about that throughout the course of the year, and it's tough to win games if you're settling for field goals."
Â
On Isaac playing faster in the second half...
"He started to get a little bit of a rhythm for a little stretch of time there. And he's just a freshman, he's learning as we go. He's the guy that does not lack confidence. My guess is, as a resilient kid, he'll come back and get ready for the next one."
Â
Junior Tight End Carsen Ryan
On offensive play...
"We just came out flat to start the game. You know, I made some mistakes. Everyone made mistakes, and we got to clean that up. We got to come out fast and start strong. We can't keep playing catch up every game. You know, it starts in the running game. We got to make better blocks for our running backs and got to give Isaac [Wilson] more time to throw the ball. And we just got to stop making the same mistakes."
Â
On the fourth quarter...
"I mean, we just, like I said, came out slow. During halftime, we got to step up, we got to make plays, we got to get something going. With all the injuries we've had, people have had to step up. And we got great players. We just gotta keep making plays like we did in the second half all game, and then we'll come out with wins. We just got to start fast."
Â
On QB Isaac Wilson...
"Everyone's got to step up around Isaac and give him the chances he can, because he's a great player. When we all play great and we elevate him, he makes the plays like he did in that second half. He was throwing the ball all around the field and making plays, and we just got to keep doing our part to help him out the most we can, since you know, he's still so young and has a bright future ahead. And we just got to keep making plays right to make his load a little easier."
Â
Messaging to the team moving forward...
"Trying to win… trying to make a bowl game."
Â
Junior Linebacker Lander Barton
On the Defense...
"They made more plays than we did, end of story."
Â
Messaging to the team moving forward...
"Keep moving forward, proud of the guys stepping up. It's a hard position to fill, but I mean, people are stepping up, so you just be proud of the guys, and you just got to keep going."Â
Â
Players Mentioned
Utah: 48 West Virginia: 14 | POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE
Sunday, September 28
Crimson Corner with Bill Riley - Tony Caridi, voice of the West Virginia Mountaineers
Tuesday, September 23
Head Coach Kyle Whittingham weekly press conference - 9.22.25
Monday, September 22
Utah: 10 Texas Tech: 34 | POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE
Monday, September 22