What Whittingham and several Utes said following San Diego State

Kyle Whittingham

Kyle Whittingham: "This was a good win for our football team. We are starting to get a little momentum and figure out who we are and our strengths. We started slow, which was the game's biggest disappointment, as it took a while for the offense to get on track. I think it was until midway through the second quarter before we put points on the board. Our defense was solid from start to finish. We did give up a touchdown right there at the end of the game after the fumble punt return, which was our only turnover of the night. We played really good run defense, which is our defense starting point. Take away the run, make people throw the ball, and then get after the quarterback. Cameron (Rising) had a nice night, as he didn't throw for a ton of yards but had a 60 percent completion rating, with four touchdowns and no interceptions. made some really nice receptions. He only caught three balls, but they were big. was his usual presence. I thought the front seven on defense played really well. I think they only gave up a handful of first downs. We were really good on defense. Overall, this was a good win for our team. This gives us some momentum now as we go into conference play. We have a road trip next week to Tempe, and away we go as it's conference play from here on out, and that's why we are here to try to win the Pac-12."

Question: What contributed to the slow start?

Kyle Whittingham: "We just couldn't get into a rhythm offensively. They were slanting and moving, which they do every week, which was no surprise, but we didn't hit movement very well for the first quarter and a half, and we just found ways to kill drives. Once we got going and got momentum, the floodgates opened, and we put the game away mid-third quarter."

Question: What made the biggest differences for the receivers?

Kyle Whittingham: "They made plays. They got open, Cameron (Rising) got them the ball, and they made plays. Solomon Enis made a couple of nice plays and had a nice run after catch on a critical third down in the second or third quarter. Devaughn Vele, I've been talking him up all fall camp, and you saw glimpses of what his capabilities are, as he's a big play guy."

Question: How'd you limit SDSU's passing offense in the first half?

Kyle Whittingham: "First of all, they lost their quarterback as we knocked him out of the game. It put a damper on their throw game when they lost Braxton Burmeister. Our secondary was very tuned in tonight, and they made plays. We have some good players back there; Clark (Phillips III) and JT (Broughton) are really good. You saw come in for Clark, and he played a lot for us last year when all the corners were going down, and he played well then also and that was no surprise. Then our safeties, and , are solid. They are guys who have played good football for us in the past and are more experienced."

Question: What did you think about how the linebackers stepped up in absence of Mohamoud Diabate?

Kyle Whittingham: "Lander Barton is a stud. He is the future of Utah football and one of the future stars. He has it all, he needs to continue to get experience and get used to the speed of the Division I game, but he is a really good player. Justin Medlock is another tough linebacker. He didn't play as much as Lander tonight, but you saw glimpses of him. Karene had the pick that was really the dagger in the game in the third quarter. The linebackers are playing well."

Question: What did you learn about your team in non-conference?

Kyle Whittingham: "We have gotten seasoned in the front seven. The first game was horrible. That wasn't who we are, but then we settled in. Last week you saw it show up, and this week you saw it against an FBS opponent. They were very stout up front. They did a nice job up front with gap control-wise. There were no creases there, very few places for them to run the football. Offensively, we are a veteran group. We ran the ball decent tonight but not up to our standards."

Cameron Rising

Question: How did the momentum change in the second quarter?

Cameron Rising: "We just relaxed and started to play our brand of ball and just started to get things going."

Question: Was there a specific instance that caused that change?

Cameron Rising: "We just talked about it right after that first quarter and just wanted to gather ourselves and get back and start playing our brand of football."

Question: What did it mean to record a career-high in passing touchdowns?

Cameron Rising: "Nothing. It means we won the football game and that's all I really care about."

Question: What were your thoughts on the defense?

Cameron Rising: "They did a great job all night, just really dominating up front and making sure that they were controlling the line. And that just kept giving us the ball back with good field position and it made our jobs that much easier and we were able to answer for them."

Devaughn Vele

Question: How did it feel to get into the end zone twice?

Devaughn Vele: "Good. Long-time coming."

Question: What did you think about the wide receivers performance?

Devaughn Vele: "It was good to start getting the recognition that we've been working so hard for. For a lot of the guys in the room, it's been hard at first trying to stay with it but we have a good group of guys, we're a lot of selfless dudes, we understand that team always comes first. So we just kept our heads down and were waiting for the opportunity and we're grateful that we got the opportunity. It's proving a lot of people wrong. We heard a lot of things about them saying the receiving group is lacking and we can't trust them on the outside but once we get the opportunity we always capitalize on that. I give credit to the whole team, its not just us, it takes a whole team to get a win in the game."

Karene Reid

Question: Can you take us through your interception?

Karene Reid: "My coverage stayed in the backfield to block, I was responsible for the running back and so I just looked where I could help elsewhere. Read the quarterback's eyes and was lucky to be in that position."

Question: What did it mean to have a great performance alongside your brother Gabe?

Karene Reid: "It's super special. It's hard for me to put into words but when I see him doing well and I'm sure when he sees me doing well, it's indescribable."

Question: What was it like to see the defense show up?

Karene Reid: "We really needed that. I feel like the first two weeks, especially the front seven, we were really trying to find our identity as a defense. To play a team that loves running the ball and takes pride in running the ball and for us to stalemate them like that, it's huge as far as momentum going into conference play."

Cole Bishop

Question: What are your thoughts on leading the team in tackles?

Cole Bishop: "We had a really good game plan going in, just being able to do my assignment and when the play comes to you, just make it."

Question: Where is your confidence at as a defense?

Cole Bishop: "Definitely builds it. After Florida, you know we had a lot of missed tackles and that's something we really focused on and I think we didn't have many tonight and last week we didn't have many at all, so just keep getting the momentum going and going to help build our confidence is helping out."

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