What Utah's Kyle Whittingham said after loss to BYU

Utes head coach addressed his team's decision-making an execution following loss to in-state rival

Utah Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham (left) and BYU Cougars head coach Kalani Sitake (right) speak before a game at LaVell Edwards Stadium. | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Despite racking up nearly 500 yards of total offense, a couple of empty trips to the red zone and a pair of turnovers wound up costing Utah in its 24-21 loss to BYU on Saturday.

The Utes failed to put points on the board after two fourth-down tries deep in enemy territory were unsuccessful, giving the Cougars the momentum they needed to pull out their third consecutive win over their in-state rival in another tightly-contested finish between the Big 12 contenders.

"A tough loss for our guys," said Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham after the game. "I'm proud of them. They showed a lot of fight, a lot of heart, did some really good things tonight; out-rushed them, out-threw them, out-first downed them, but we didn't score more points than they did."

Here's what Whittingham had to say about the Utes' decision-making process in the red zone, and much more, following the loss.

On why Utah didn't kick field goals on two separate trips to the red zone

"Analytics. We were well inside the analytics' 'go-for-it,' inside 3 yards. So unless you tell me to go against the analytics, that's why."

On the swing of emotions his team has felt over the past two weeks

Oct 18, 2025; Provo, Utah, USA; Utah Utes linebacker Lander Barton (8) runs after a catch against the BYU Cougars during the second quarter at LaVell Edwards Stadium. | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

"It's part of the deal. You go from elation to devastation in a seven day period of time, and back and forth; but that's what you sign up for. I mean, that's the nature of this business."

On the muffed punt late in the second quarter

"I talked to Mana [Carvalho]. He's a very prideful young man, and cares tremendously about the team and his role. In his exact words, he thought it was coming deep but it wasn't, it took a nosedive, he said. Just all of a sudden, just dipped and caught him by surprise and consequently mishandled it."

On whether Devon Dampier was injured and the decision to put Byrd Ficklin in the game for certain plays

Oct 18, 2025; Provo, Utah, USA; Utah Utes quarterback Devon Dampier (4) scrambles out of the pocket against the BYU Cougars during the first half at LaVell Edwards Stadium. | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

"You'd have to ask Devon about how he was feeling, but we just tried to get a spark. Byrd is a really good runner, and we had a package specifically for him with Devon on the field at the same time — a two quarterback package. And so we decided in the second half that was something that we wanted to go to."

On Lander Barton's ejection

"He's a really good player, so it certainly didn't help. But the refs took a look and thought it was targeting, and so that was the end of Lander's night. But, yeah, he's a really good player. You don't want to be without you know any of your good players."

"We had the sack and would have had [Bear Bachmeier] behind the sticks, and then Lander had to come clean it up and got called [for targeting]. It was questionable whether it was or not, but they decided it was."