What Utah's Kyle Whittingham said ahead of BYU rivalry game

Utes travel south to meet the Cougars at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday

Sep 6, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham. | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham addressed the media Monday ahead of Saturday's anticipated showdown against BYU.

Coming off a dominant win over Arizona State, the Utes ascended into the Associated Press Top 25 poll as the No. 23-ranked team in the land, setting up the first ranked matchup with the No. 15 Cougars since 2009.

With Big Noon Kickoff's pregame crew in town, all eyes will be on Provo, Utah, for what will be the biggest Holy War rivalry game in over a decade.

Here's what Whittingham had to say regarding the rivalry and his team through its first six games of the season.

On whether tampering allegations have enhanced the stakes of the BYU rivalry

"I haven't done the match; I don't know if we've lost more going down there, or vice versa. I couldn't tell you. I probably should be able to tell you, but I can't. I just think that you focus and win with the players that you have. You focus on those guys. You can't worry about who's not here, who was here."

"That's an old Norm Chow axiom; he told me, 'Just worry about the guys that you have and win with the guys that you have, and don't worry about anybody else.'"

On whether being in the same conference again has amplified the intensity of the BYU rivalry

"I think it's always been intense, for sure, and conference implications certainly add to it. There was a period of time there were where we weren't in the same conference. I think, in the past, when we were in the Mountain West and the game being held in the last slot of the season, that added to it as well. As of right now, it's not the case."

Oct 3, 2025; Provo, Utah, USA; Brigham Young Cougars head coach Kalani Sitake. | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

"And so, I think it's almost the same as it was when we were in [the Mountain West], but just not quite, because the build-up throughout the entire year to have it [be] the last game is a little bit different than playing it right in the middle, in my opinion."

On why Utah has had more success on offense this season compared to last

"Those two (quarterback Devon Dampier and offensive coordinator Jason Beck) are a big part of what we're doing, and a big part of the reason for our success. Pointing back to the offensive line — obviously, still as high on the offensive line now as I was at the beginning of the season — they really played their best game this past week."

Sep 20, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Utes quarterback Devon Dampier. | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

"And so I think that it's a combination of having an outstanding O-line, Jason's scheme and play calling, Devon's dynamic ability with the quarterback position; I think that is probably the reason that we're having success on offense."

On Utah's run defense this season

"Five out of the six weeks — really good. The Texas Tech game; we weren't very good defending the run. I'm a big believer that physicality wins games, and if you can impose your will and run the ball on people and defend the run on defense, your chances of winning go way up. And that's something that we strive to do, is be stingy against the run on defense and be able to run it on [offense]. And when we're doing that, we're pretty darn good, and when we're not, we're pretty average."

On the philosophy behind Wayshawn Parker and NaQuari Rogers splitting carries

"We've analyzed that ourselves, and the short version is, Rogers is in on a lot of short yardage. He's really good downhill, get a couple yards when you need them, which is going to hurt your yards per carry. Because if you're giving them the ball on third-and-1, fourth-and-1 and in the goal line, deep in the red zone; that's going to affect your yards per carry. But we really like them both. I mean, they're '1A' and '1B' in our opinion."

Sep 27, 2025; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; Utah Utes running back NaQuari Rogers. | Ben Queen-Imagn Images

"Wayshawn has been hampered a little bit physically and so [he] wasn't ready in the past to carry a heavy load. But he's feeling better now, and he's certainly been really productive for us."