What Whittingham said after Utah's victory over Colorado
Opening Statement:
"Really dominating performance by our guys, very proud of the way they came out and played. Really good teams finish things the right way and we definitely finished the regular season the right way. A lot of outstanding performances. outstanding, 100 plus yards rushing. Cam Rising who didn't take a snap in the second half was lights out in the first half. Darn near 90% Completion and 200 plus yards. Great job by the line tonight. Blocking things up in the run game. We ended up with 383 yards rushing. Defense played outstanding. Was good to get the twos and the threes in there. The second half they played the vast majority of the second half on both sides of the ball, the twos and threes. Special teams were solid. So, all around a good way to put kind of an exclamation mark on the regular season. At the end, obviously with what's transpired we're in the hunt. We'll see what happens, three things have happened, four had to happen. We got one to go tonight and we'll be rooting hard for the Huskies and see where it takes us. Huskies win, we'll gear up for the game next weekend. If not, then we'll figure out what's next. But regardless, we're very proud of our guys very proud of this football team."
Question: Outside of scoring, what worked so well offensively?
Kyle Whittingham: "The physicality in the run game. We ran the football with a lot of purpose and violence and anger. The backs were really hitting it up in there. Third downs were really good. We made it tough on both sides of the ball. Defensively, I think they were one of 13 on third down. So really good third down production, really good job running the football, we threw the ball efficiently. You have to look really hard at it to find a negative."
Question: Thoughts on Cam Rising?
Utah Utes wide receiver Devaughn Vele (17) and quarterback Cameron Rising (7) celebrate after a touchdown against the Stanford Cardinal in the second quarter at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports.
Kyle Whittingham: "He's our leader. There's no question about that. I've said that all season long over and over again. As Cam goes, so goes the offense. He was 17 of 19. I mean, he was extremely sharp in that first half. He did a great job taking care of the football. We put a lot on his plate as far as on the line of scrimmage checks getting us in and out of the right plays depending on the defensive looks. So he's got a lot on his plate as far as decision making pre snap and he does an outstanding job with it."
Question: Thoughts on Ja'Quinden Jackson?
Utah's Ja'Quinden Jackson (3) runs the ball as ASU defenders Jordan Clark (1) and Kyle Soelle (34) dive for the tackle at Sun Devil Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022.
Joe Rondone/The Republic-USA TODAY NETWORK.
Kyle Whittingham: "Big 225-pound back that can run. You saw him breakaway on that one long one, he's got great speed and it's really a huge positive for us to have him emerging like he is."
Question: Thoughts on playing Colorado?
Kyle Whittingham: "They're dangerous, every team can be dangerous. You never know what's gonna ignite a team on senior day. Momentum is a funny thing too. If all of a sudden, they make a few plays early and get momentum, we were not taking them for granted and we prepared the right way. We practice hard, and didn't cut back on any of our preparation. We did it exactly how we do it week in and week out. That was our approach. I can't speak for them but that's how we handled it."
Question: How do you think the backups played?
Kyle Whittingham: "That's always important. Fortunately, we've had some success through the years where we've been comfortably ahead in fourth quarters and able to get the twos and threes reps quite often. That really pays dividends down the road and gets them that much closer to being ready to be regular guys in the frontline. That's who's going to be the frontline guys eventually when these guys graduate and go move on, those are the guys that that end up stepping forward. To get them as many reps and as much experience as we can is always a very positive thing. They're all big. Everyone is big and to get our ninth win of the season and finish 7-2 in league play, I'm very proud of these guys. Like I said, the bar is set pretty high here now, and that should not be taken for granted. That's a really good season our guys put together."
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