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Postgame Quotes: Utah vs. Colorado
11/25/2023 5:24 PM | Football
UTAH QUOTES
Head Coach Kyle Whittingham
Opening Statement...
"Great to end the regular season on a win. We had a tough couple last outings, so to get back in the win column is a big win for our football team. [I'm] so proud of these guys, for all the adversity, for lack of a better word, that we battled this year to come out eight and 4. Very proud of our players; they hung in there, never quit, never stopped, and came away with an eight-win season. What we had in mind in the off season heading into this season, we had some high aspirations, as things turned out again [I'm] very proud of them and proud of our coaching staff.Â
It was a different kind of game today, obviously both teams were working with not their starting quarterbacks. Lot of runs, it was a very run-heavy game. [It was] nice to see Jalen Glover, have his breakout game as a Ute. By far his best game, over a hundred yards, got a game ball. Ja'Quinden Jackson added some very valuable yards as well. And the offense line, nice job blocking on the front. Really, that was the difference. Our ability to run the ball and their inability to run the ball. We did give up some stuff in the throw game which was disappointing.Â
We were too porous, I guess you could say, in our pass defense and that's something that hasn't really shown up all year. We've been good all year in pass defense, but this is not one of our better games. Luke Bottari stepped in first opportunity to a quarterback at the Power Five level, he's one and zero, so he did what we needed him to do. He didn't throw the ball a bunch, I think we threw ten times, thereabout, and he did a great job of managing the offense. Got us on all the right checks, we have a lot of checks at the line of scrimmage based on the looks that we see, and he was flawless and did a phenomenal job with that.
Waiting for our bowl invite, we'll go bowling somewhere, don't know yet I guess we'll learn a week from tomorrow exactly where. It's good that this team gets to play together one more time. Looking forward to next year, we related that Cam Rising is coming back. That was big news that we got a couple weeks ago, or week ago. You're kind of in a time warp when you're coaching but whenever Cam mentioned that he's coming back, that was huge for our program. We're excited about that, excited about the opportunity of going to the new league and find out what that's all about."
On Luke Bottari…
"Obviously Bryson [Barnes] wasn't available, injury, he got banged up pretty good last week. Nate Johnson has decided to transfer, and he was not available. We wish him well. We appreciate what he did for our program while he was here. He's a fine young man and I wish him nothing but the best. Brandon Rose had been working with the scouts all year long essentially and really hadn't been in the offensive meetings. Luke had been in the offensive meetings and with the offense all year long, knew the offense inside and out. So, it's not a lack of confidence in Brandon Rose, it just wouldn't have been fair to him to put him in the game in that situation without having had the entire season to continue to assimilate the offense and progress. So, Luke was the guy and did a nice job, like I said, running the offense. It wasn't very flashy, but he did what we needed him to do."
On what the backup plan was if Luke Bottari was not available…
"If Luke was not available it would've been Ja'Quinden Jackson. Between Rose and Ja'Quinden. Rose had a small package that he was ready to execute, just a handful of plays, as was Ja'Quinden. Depending on the situation they both probably would've played, but if we would have needed to run the clock out or whatever, JJ [Ja'Quinden] had the wildcat stuff down. We had a watered-down version for Brandon, very watered-down, because again, he just hadn't been in meetings the entire season."
On time frame regarding Nate Johnson's transfer decision and installing Luke Bottari…
"We found he was going to make the move I believe it was Monday, of this past week. We didn't know but we had a good idea that Luke would be the guy right after we got back to Salt Lake and had the Sunday evaluations on health. Bryson was really beat up and the things he had and does have going on, we didn't feel we were going to be ready in time. That proved to be the case, and so Luke received all the first team reps from Monday on and did a really nice job with it."
On the plan to ease Luke into the game…
"Yeah, the plan was to lean on the running game heavily in this contest. We really trust our offensive line, and we gave them the challenge, 'Hey, go out and win the game for us'. The running backs as well and they answered the bell. We rushed for 268 [yards]. When Utah is playing its best, we're running the football effectively, we're dominating time of play, and we're not turning the ball over. That's who we are."
On quarterback situation for a bowl game…
"Well, hopefully we get Bryson [Barnes] back, it's nothing we believe is long-term, I guess that remains to be seen but he is making progress. With the timing of the bowl of course a later bowl game gives him more time to prep. But I think regardless, even if it's one of the earlier ones, that he would be ready to go."
On the program getting eight wins…
"Eight wins. The Pac-12 was loaded this year. It was a tremendous year for the Pac-12 as far as talented teams. All four of our losses were to top-20 teams. I don't know if Oregon State will still be in the top-20 after the loss this weekend. And then you add Florida and Baylor to that, that was a pretty rigorous schedule. Given the guys that went down and the guys that were not available to us, it was like a revolving door every week. Our guys' 'the next man up' mentality was never more in play than it was this year. We had guys answer the call and not just the guys that filled in for the guys that were down, but everybody elevated their play which made it possible to get the eighth win."
On sentiments now that the game is done…
"Not one bit sentimental. Not in the least. Not even now that the game is over. It is disappointing that the Pac-12 is now defunct, I guess you could say. And it's sad that that is the way things turned out. What a run the Pac-12 has had in over 100 years and all the championships across various sports. But everything is ruled by the almighty dollar and that's not changing."
#15 Luke Bottari, Quarterback
On learning that he would start in the season closer…
"Earlier in the week I had a pretty good idea that I was going to get the start, but the main goal was just to win the game. Whatever we had to do, I don't know how many yards we rushed for or we need to pass the ball, but the main goal at the beginning of the week, when I found out, was to get the win."
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On returning to Utah after starting the season at Cal…
"Yeah, in fall camp being a graduate makes the transfer rules a little less strict, I believe. So I was able to hit the portal in August during fall camp and was able to have the opportunity to come back to Utah, which I'm extremely blessed for. Now with the portal windows, it's unprecedented for that to happen. So I was just thankful that they welcomed me back with open arms and I was super juiced to get back."
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#8 Cole Bishop, Safety
On heading into the game with an injured defense…
"We've been fighting through a lot and obviously with guys down a lot of guys have to step up when we've done that throughout the year and especially this week. So, being able to go out and limit the damage enough to get the win is special."
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On heading to a bowl game with a lower record than recent years…
"Winning this last game was really good, anybody with any type of competitive chip, no matter what, there's still something to play for his next game. You don't want to lose, ever. So just being able to have everybody have that mindset going in, even when we knew that the championship wasn't achievable anymore, we still just kept going every week and trying to get the win."
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#1 Jaylon Glover, Running back
On achieving his first career 100-yard rushing performance…
"Honestly, Luke [Bottari] gave me my flowers, but having a quarterback as confident as him and my offensive line played a hell of a game today. When I get to the second level, that's when my personality comes out. But, it all starts up front so I just want to say thank you to the big guys."
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On his development throughout the last couple weeks of the season…
"The more opportunities come the more I'm going to be prepared, and I feel like preparing for the week, I'm going to take every snap because it's only making me better. And I compete against the best of the best Monday through Friday, and when I come in on Saturdays I get to show it on tape."
COLORADO QUOTESÂ
Head Coach Deion Sanders
Opening Statement
"I thought it was a pretty darn good game with both starting quarterbacks certainly out. We showed up and we played well. [Ryan] Staub did a great job of getting the ball to where it needed to go and get it out of his hands, and I think we're only sacked couple times. Unfortunately, we didn't get the catch from Travis [Hunter] as well as a returning back from Dylan [Edwards]. Two huge plays, you can't win games and be inconsistent in those areas. Couple of big penalties with a roughing the passer and a big offsides as well. We got the long one called back that Jimmy [Horn Jr.] cut on the sideline as well with an illegal man downfield. They ate up a clock. It was our thought process that we can control the clock and keep them off the field and they kept the ball for almost 40 minutes, which is astounding. Well coached, executed well and ran the ball down their throat. They want it did a great job. On to the next. Thank God we got out of there maybe one injury from us, our center. I think we got it out of there. Pretty uninjured, but it's time to start projecting and start thinking about tomorrow. already."
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On Shadeur Sanders not playing…
"Shedeur [Sanders] is hurt and he's been hurting for a while. And just prolonging that prolonging that and prolonging that. I think you guys understand what time it is. Ironically, that was my first time playing with that my son, Shedeur. That was my first time that I was available, and he wasn't. He played when I was in the hospital for a month in Jackson. But, that was my first time playing with that to him. And it was it wasn't easy. That wasn't easy to at all. Staub did a wonderful job"
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On the positives after the last game of the season…
"You try to grab on to anything positive that you can. You look at certain positions, you go segment by segment and see what you have in in the kennel. And trust me we're in the process. This is where the scouting department, Corey [Phillips] is where they started doing their thing. We already know what's going to transpire in the next few days to a week and a half. We already know what's going to transpire. You guys will be pleased with what's coming. I promise you that. But everything you see that we have a lack thereof of deficit. We're going to fill that need."
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On the trajectory of the program…
"It was a little shaky in certain areas, but we're certainly heading in the right direction. We're certainly trending forward. We got our butts kicked twice this year out of 12 games, I mean kicked twice and there was no win in those two game. In every other game, other than that, we had a shot. And I think that's progress."
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On not continuing to run the ball later in the game…
"I don't know if you're going away from just running the ball with him. I think you run the ball period. Every one of our backs are capable… We make decisions based on momentum and based on what we're capable of doing."
On using two timeouts early in the second half…
"You're huddling and let's get out of the 20 seconds. So, when you're doing it with all the emotions and all that, then you got time to do what you got to do. And it was a substitution kind of situation that went on in and I have to protect this. So, we have to take the time out right there. Understand what you're saying but in a prominent time we got to do we got to do an attack."
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On quarterback Ryan Staub bouncing back after the first quarter…
"Well, he refocused, and he re-calibrated himself. I'm proud to say that I'm really proud of this young man. You have no idea the leaps and bounds and he's made, and I've been there every day in practice. So, it was phenomenal. It was phenomenal. I'm proud of him."
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On building a foundation at Colorado…
"Understanding what we're capable of and what does it take to get to that next level of consistency, of practice habits, of study habits, of holding one another accountable, me not having to do all the yelling, the coaches taking a part in that as well. We established some things that are foundational that when these new young men come in here and there's established in stone, and they just have to proceed with caution. The guys that are here, they understand this is how it is this is how it's going to be. And we're going to keep make sure the standard is the standard."
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On what he learned after his first season at the FBS level…
"What I learned for myself is a tremendous amount of patience. I learned what we need, really what we need in the character of the young men that we need. I learned so many things about what we need and do not deviate from that. And we're going to stick to that.
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On the team's mentality after the season finale…
"Even though they wanted to win, they've won. If you were here a year ago, or if you saw kind of what we came into in the spring. We have to build off the things that they've been tremendously successful with. We had a chance to win that game. I like that. I really liked it, especially without a quarterback. I like that, especially without some things that I know we're going get commitments from in probably about 10 days. I liked it. I like where we are. I really do with this being the last Pac-12 game and see football history."
#16 Ryan Staub, quarterback
On the game in general today…
"Obviously this was my first start and I was nervous and excited but IÂ give credit to my coaches. I put a lot of work in the film room and on the field. This gives me a lot of confidence I have a lot more football to play in my career."
On the offensive line…
"They played amazing, I feel as if I didn't get touched the whole game. We've had ups and down and even a couple of injuries but they still played an amazing game."
#99 Shane Cokes, defensive line
On the season overall…
"It has been a long season, we fought hard every game, we made a couple of mistakes here and there but at the end of the day we played hard and we can be proud of that. We're really building that foundation for the future. We have come a long way and faced difficulties like at the Stanford game, taking that bye week and practicing made us realize how much better we could be and how much better we need to be. This season involved a lot of growing up, we played hard every single day no matter what the situation was. We continued to build off of that and continued to be better."
On the end of the season…
"There's a lot of excitement going into the season and then the season took a turn. There was a lot of growing, a lot of adapting, a lot of understanding, character building. Not only for me but for the team. This is the first of something that's gonna be great. There were a lot of hills and peaks this season but at the end, we played hard and we can build off of this. And be something great."
On Coach Sanders ...
"He's brought a different environment to the program. He's passionate, he has energy, and we see how much he puts into us and the greatness he sees. I've learned a lot. The best part about him is how high his expectations are for us. They are higher for what we set for ourselves. He understands how much better we can be and makes us exceed those expectations."
Players Mentioned
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