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The University of Utah Athletics
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Photo by: Anna Fuder/Utah Athletics
Postgame Quotes: Utah vs. Cincinnati
11/2/2025 1:04 AM | Football
Utah Quotes
Head Coach Kyle Whittingham
Opening Statement…
That was a really good football team we beat. I can tell you that. They're well coached. The quarterback is a special player, got a good supporting cast. They play extremely hard. I got a lot of respect for what they're doing, but we played outstanding tonight in all phases. Offense controlled the ball, made first downs, ran the football effectively, threw it effectively, converted 2-of-2 fourth downs, critical fourth downs in the first drive [and] second drive of the game which led to an ensuing touchdown. Defense, smothering all night long. We turned a few things loose here and there, but for the most part, we had complete control of the game defensively. Great job on special teams. Mana Carvalho, a nice return, 25-yarder, and then the big one that really put the game in the ice box on the house call punt return. It was a great run, great blocking, great job by everyone involved. I couldn't be more proud of the football team, coaching staff, just the whole building. We're starting to get some momentum now and love coaching these guys, love being around them and the leadership is tremendous. Got to keep it going. On a bye week now. Good to go into a bye week on and be able to regroup again and get some guys healed back up and get some guys fresh.
On if this team is playing as well as he would expect and if they can continue it…
Yeah, I would say that we're playing very well and we've got a lot of good players. Got some tough games. We got three left. Next one is on the road at Baylor, so that's where our entire focus is. We've got seven wins now and just about every one is in dominating fashion. We have the two disappointing losses, but the guys responded, bounced back and didn't miss a beat. A lot of good things going on, just got to keep things rolling.
Â
On the performance of the secondary…
Secondary did an outstanding job. They did get a few things on us here and there, but for the most part, we were in position just about every deep ball. The pass rush was good, too. The ball was coming out quick because he had to speed things up and that's where pass defense starts at the line of scrimmage with the rush. Very, very proud of the secondary and how they performed and how they competed, competed fiercely. Fierce competitors back there.
On Wayshawn Parker's recent performance…
He's practicing very well, not that he was a bad practicer, but he's starting to separate himself. It was a concerted effort on our part to get him more touches, because when you look at his production, he deserves more. I think we're getting him now to the place, he was over 100 yards tonight. We're getting about the right dose of what he can contribute each week. It was just a matter of him. [NaQuari Rogers] had some big games early on and still is a good back, but again, Wayshawn just seems to be the back with the hot hand.
Mana Carvalho
On his punt return touchdown…
"It was really just watching the punter and trusting my blockers. I trusted them to make sure the gunners weren't coming down too fast. The holdups from the front seven were amazing. It was basically scripted and perfect. All I had to do was run."
Â
On what the punt return meant to him…
"That fumble is in the past. I can't do anything to get that back, so it's really about moving forward and doing what I can to make this program better, being smarter back there, trying to get as much out of each return and trusting my blockers."
Â
Devon Dampier
On the team's mentality coming into this game:
"The biggest thing for us is knowing there's still a way to get to the championship. That's been the goal since the beginning. We know we've got to win from here on out."
Â
On how to approach the final stretch of the season:
"Being healthy is the number one priority. Let's get our guys to 100% and go on this three-game stretch to finish strong. The bye week is also a great time to see family. We play a lot of football, so getting that time with family really lifts your spirits and fires you up."
Â
Ryan Davis
On if this was the team's most complete offensive win…
"On all fronts, we were firing, moving the ball, blocking, running, passing. Devon did great avoiding sacks and scrambling, just getting downfield. The defense played lights out. Mana over here and the special teams played real well. I think we fired on all cylinders."
Â
On what went through his mind during the 46-yard trick-play reception:
"It was a trick play, so I had to shuffle and give a blocking look. I was supposed to slip the safety outside. That's what it usually is, but he was flat-footed, so I stuck my foot in the ground, beat him inside, and just prayed the ball was in the air. It was, and I told myself I had to come down with it and I did. I was really excited we finally called it."
Â
Defensive Lineman Jonah Lea'ea
On holding Cincinnati to a season-low 14 points…
"I think Coach Scalley is a genius, to be honest. We did a great job scheming them. That's a good offense, but I think we just wanted it more."
Â
On The MUSS showing tonight…
"As a defensive player, the crowd makes a huge difference. I'm sure they already know, but it's really a game-changer having them there. Shoutout to the fans they help us a lot."
Cincinnati Quotes
Head Coach Scott SatterfieldÂ
Opening Statement…
"First off, hats off to Utah and their team. I thought they did an outstanding job of coming out and playing their brand of football. They put a lot of pressure on our team in a lot of aspects. They played a lot of zero and man coverage out there and made it difficult for us to move the football. On offense they spread us out. You have to defend vertically and horizontally sideline to sideline."
Â
On what he saw in terms of tackling:Â
"They got some good backs, good quarterbacks, good runners, speed and power. We didn't tackle great tonight for sure."
Â
On what made it difficult to continue success on the ground:Â
"Well, just the pressure they present, bringing a bunch of guys around the box. Also, internal pressures as well, really just mixing it up with the pressures.  Â
Â
Safety Christian Harrison
On tackling on the field:Â
"Obviously today wasn't our night. We didn't tackle well at all. I feel like we did a good job at the point of attack, but simple things like wrapping up and getting the guy to the ground. We need to get better."Â Â
Â
On the interception:Â
"The interception doesn't matter at the end of the day. We lost and that's the result of the game. They had a good gameplan and came out and executed it. We beat ourselves a lot but there's times they just beat us and we need to be better."Â
Â
On what made it difficult to defend today:Â
"Things like eyes, discipline, obviously tackling, knowing our keys, what gaps we're supposed to fit and we got to be better. We will be better."Â
Â
Quarterback Brendan SorsbyÂ
On what made it so difficult to get completions:Â Â
"It was a lot of man coverage and they were bringing a lot of pressure. They had a really good gameplan and made it tough not only on myself but also our receivers."Â
Â
On if this can be a motivator moving forward:Â
"Everything we want is still in front of us. Big time bye week to get back right. We can go as far as we want to go."Â
Â
Offensive Linemen Gavin Gerhardt:Â
On if noise in the stadium was an issue:Â
"No, I wouldn't say so. They had a great game and blitzed us well. There was one where I didn't snap it because of lack of communication between me and Sorsby. We didn't know if we were going on the snap or if we were going silent. That's one that I need to clean up and that's what I'm going to do."Â
Â
On if Utah exposed deficiencies, or if it was lack of execution:Â
"We didn't execute to our standard. I think they also had a really good gameplan and they knew that if it was six-man protection they were going to send seven. They switched up a lot of blitzes compared to what we saw on film over their last nine games."
Â
Head Coach Kyle Whittingham
Opening Statement…
That was a really good football team we beat. I can tell you that. They're well coached. The quarterback is a special player, got a good supporting cast. They play extremely hard. I got a lot of respect for what they're doing, but we played outstanding tonight in all phases. Offense controlled the ball, made first downs, ran the football effectively, threw it effectively, converted 2-of-2 fourth downs, critical fourth downs in the first drive [and] second drive of the game which led to an ensuing touchdown. Defense, smothering all night long. We turned a few things loose here and there, but for the most part, we had complete control of the game defensively. Great job on special teams. Mana Carvalho, a nice return, 25-yarder, and then the big one that really put the game in the ice box on the house call punt return. It was a great run, great blocking, great job by everyone involved. I couldn't be more proud of the football team, coaching staff, just the whole building. We're starting to get some momentum now and love coaching these guys, love being around them and the leadership is tremendous. Got to keep it going. On a bye week now. Good to go into a bye week on and be able to regroup again and get some guys healed back up and get some guys fresh.
On if this team is playing as well as he would expect and if they can continue it…
Yeah, I would say that we're playing very well and we've got a lot of good players. Got some tough games. We got three left. Next one is on the road at Baylor, so that's where our entire focus is. We've got seven wins now and just about every one is in dominating fashion. We have the two disappointing losses, but the guys responded, bounced back and didn't miss a beat. A lot of good things going on, just got to keep things rolling.
Â
On the performance of the secondary…
Secondary did an outstanding job. They did get a few things on us here and there, but for the most part, we were in position just about every deep ball. The pass rush was good, too. The ball was coming out quick because he had to speed things up and that's where pass defense starts at the line of scrimmage with the rush. Very, very proud of the secondary and how they performed and how they competed, competed fiercely. Fierce competitors back there.
On Wayshawn Parker's recent performance…
He's practicing very well, not that he was a bad practicer, but he's starting to separate himself. It was a concerted effort on our part to get him more touches, because when you look at his production, he deserves more. I think we're getting him now to the place, he was over 100 yards tonight. We're getting about the right dose of what he can contribute each week. It was just a matter of him. [NaQuari Rogers] had some big games early on and still is a good back, but again, Wayshawn just seems to be the back with the hot hand.
Mana Carvalho
On his punt return touchdown…
"It was really just watching the punter and trusting my blockers. I trusted them to make sure the gunners weren't coming down too fast. The holdups from the front seven were amazing. It was basically scripted and perfect. All I had to do was run."
Â
On what the punt return meant to him…
"That fumble is in the past. I can't do anything to get that back, so it's really about moving forward and doing what I can to make this program better, being smarter back there, trying to get as much out of each return and trusting my blockers."
Â
Devon Dampier
On the team's mentality coming into this game:
"The biggest thing for us is knowing there's still a way to get to the championship. That's been the goal since the beginning. We know we've got to win from here on out."
Â
On how to approach the final stretch of the season:
"Being healthy is the number one priority. Let's get our guys to 100% and go on this three-game stretch to finish strong. The bye week is also a great time to see family. We play a lot of football, so getting that time with family really lifts your spirits and fires you up."
Â
Ryan Davis
On if this was the team's most complete offensive win…
"On all fronts, we were firing, moving the ball, blocking, running, passing. Devon did great avoiding sacks and scrambling, just getting downfield. The defense played lights out. Mana over here and the special teams played real well. I think we fired on all cylinders."
Â
On what went through his mind during the 46-yard trick-play reception:
"It was a trick play, so I had to shuffle and give a blocking look. I was supposed to slip the safety outside. That's what it usually is, but he was flat-footed, so I stuck my foot in the ground, beat him inside, and just prayed the ball was in the air. It was, and I told myself I had to come down with it and I did. I was really excited we finally called it."
Â
Defensive Lineman Jonah Lea'ea
On holding Cincinnati to a season-low 14 points…
"I think Coach Scalley is a genius, to be honest. We did a great job scheming them. That's a good offense, but I think we just wanted it more."
Â
On The MUSS showing tonight…
"As a defensive player, the crowd makes a huge difference. I'm sure they already know, but it's really a game-changer having them there. Shoutout to the fans they help us a lot."
Cincinnati Quotes
Head Coach Scott SatterfieldÂ
Opening Statement…
"First off, hats off to Utah and their team. I thought they did an outstanding job of coming out and playing their brand of football. They put a lot of pressure on our team in a lot of aspects. They played a lot of zero and man coverage out there and made it difficult for us to move the football. On offense they spread us out. You have to defend vertically and horizontally sideline to sideline."
Â
On what he saw in terms of tackling:Â
"They got some good backs, good quarterbacks, good runners, speed and power. We didn't tackle great tonight for sure."
Â
On what made it difficult to continue success on the ground:Â
"Well, just the pressure they present, bringing a bunch of guys around the box. Also, internal pressures as well, really just mixing it up with the pressures.  Â
Â
Safety Christian Harrison
On tackling on the field:Â
"Obviously today wasn't our night. We didn't tackle well at all. I feel like we did a good job at the point of attack, but simple things like wrapping up and getting the guy to the ground. We need to get better."Â Â
Â
On the interception:Â
"The interception doesn't matter at the end of the day. We lost and that's the result of the game. They had a good gameplan and came out and executed it. We beat ourselves a lot but there's times they just beat us and we need to be better."Â
Â
On what made it difficult to defend today:Â
"Things like eyes, discipline, obviously tackling, knowing our keys, what gaps we're supposed to fit and we got to be better. We will be better."Â
Â
Quarterback Brendan SorsbyÂ
On what made it so difficult to get completions:Â Â
"It was a lot of man coverage and they were bringing a lot of pressure. They had a really good gameplan and made it tough not only on myself but also our receivers."Â
Â
On if this can be a motivator moving forward:Â
"Everything we want is still in front of us. Big time bye week to get back right. We can go as far as we want to go."Â
Â
Offensive Linemen Gavin Gerhardt:Â
On if noise in the stadium was an issue:Â
"No, I wouldn't say so. They had a great game and blitzed us well. There was one where I didn't snap it because of lack of communication between me and Sorsby. We didn't know if we were going on the snap or if we were going silent. That's one that I need to clean up and that's what I'm going to do."Â
Â
On if Utah exposed deficiencies, or if it was lack of execution:Â
"We didn't execute to our standard. I think they also had a really good gameplan and they knew that if it was six-man protection they were going to send seven. They switched up a lot of blitzes compared to what we saw on film over their last nine games."
Â
Crimson Corner with Bill Riley - Utah Football's Mana Carvalho & Blake Cotton
Wednesday, November 05
Utah: 45, Cincinnati: 14 | POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE
Saturday, November 01
Head Coach Kyle Whittingham weekly press conference - 10.27.25
Monday, October 27
Utah: 53, Colorado: 7 | POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE
Saturday, October 25