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Postgame Quotes: Utah at Utah State
9/14/2024 7:14 PM | Football
Head Coach Kyle WhittinghamÂ
Opening Statement...
"I thought Utah State played really well, had a good plan. Bryson Barnes, competitive kid. They were more ready to play than we were at the onset. We kind of sleep-walked into that first quarter, got things going after that. I can't tell you why we were not at our best in the first quarter, but we responded and ended up playing good football, particularly in the second half. Defense, I thought, played well, except we let them off the hook on some third-and-longs. We have to be able to get out of those drives. Isaac Wilson, I thought he was much improved over his first two appearances of the season, had some good numbers. Micah Bernard gave us another 100-yard-plus game. Dorian Singer was more involved and that was good to see. It was a good win. Give Utah State credit, they played hard, they were gritty and tough and they're going to win some games this year, there's no doubt about that, but we have to go to work because next week, we've got a big one coming up on the road and we'll see what happens."
On the importance of getting a win like that in a hostile environment…
"All good, everything you said was positive for him to experience and to come out with a win and put up 38 points and for him to have pretty good numbers. He's a true freshman and he responded. I thought as the game went on, he settled in a got more comfortable and more confident and made some plays for us. That was a great catch by Carsen Ryan on the fourth down play in the end zone. That was a huge play and it was great to see Isaac step up and play with some more confidence."
On if the two first half interceptions were a turning point…
"Big turning point, huge turning point. Smith Snowden made a great interception and that was a phenomenal play by him. [Cameron] played that just right. He played that just right. It was a cover-2. He stole it underneath the deeper route. We had a good pass rush. I don't know how many sacks we came up with, but we got after the quarterback pretty good. Didn't play the run particularly well. That's a good running back. That guy is a strong physical runner. We can play the run a little better then we did. Overall, it was a win and we have to move on to the next on."
On Caleb Lohner's touchdown…
"Caleb Lohner is a weapon and I think we need to find more ways to use him and I'm sure coach Ludwig will. He's a big body. He goes up at on that jump ball, he's 6'7. He's literally 13 feet in the air and you saw him make that nice catch tonight."
Sophomore Defensive Back Smith Snowden
On his interception…
"It was exciting. That's my first interception as a Ute, so I couldn't be more excited about that. I saw the ball and it was see ball, get ball. That was my mentality."
On if anything Bryson Barnes did surprised him…
"We practiced against Bryson, so we've seen it with our own eyes. We know what he's capable of and what he can do. Nothing today really surprised me."
Sophomore Defensive Lineman Keanu Tanuvasa
On the message after Utah State's first two touchdowns…
"I think the message was, we're experiencing adversity, but that's where we feel at home. Let's just keep fighting, playing our game. We don't have to change anything. We prepared the right way, let's just keep attacking the game and having the next play mentality."
On how they defensed Bryson Barnes…
"We know who Bryson is. He's a hard worker. We respect that about him. That's one of my greatest teammates, but this week, he wasn't our teammate and we were focused on who is in the battle with us and that was what we did. We knew what type of player he was, so we just went at the best way we could, but respect to him and his team."
Senior Running Back Micah Bernard
On his long run in the second half…
"It felt pretty good. To break one for a big gain, it felt pretty good to get our offense in a good situation and we just went down there and put it in the end zone."
On if he feels like this was a glimpse of how potent the offense can be…
"Oh yeah, of course. Now we had everything working. [Isaac] was throwing the ball pretty well, we had a lot of receivers getting open. He's making those passes. We start to run the ball efficiently and when you get a game like that, that's what we're going to be."
Freshman quarterback Isaac Wilson
On how it feels to get his first win as a starter…
"It feels amazing. With these boys, they've been believing in me and so I had to go out and show out."
On if there was a moment where he felt like he settled in…
"Definitely after that first drive, I felt comfortable and ready to go. I mean, that first drive is the first drive, but I felt good after that."
Â
Opening Statement...
"I thought Utah State played really well, had a good plan. Bryson Barnes, competitive kid. They were more ready to play than we were at the onset. We kind of sleep-walked into that first quarter, got things going after that. I can't tell you why we were not at our best in the first quarter, but we responded and ended up playing good football, particularly in the second half. Defense, I thought, played well, except we let them off the hook on some third-and-longs. We have to be able to get out of those drives. Isaac Wilson, I thought he was much improved over his first two appearances of the season, had some good numbers. Micah Bernard gave us another 100-yard-plus game. Dorian Singer was more involved and that was good to see. It was a good win. Give Utah State credit, they played hard, they were gritty and tough and they're going to win some games this year, there's no doubt about that, but we have to go to work because next week, we've got a big one coming up on the road and we'll see what happens."
On the importance of getting a win like that in a hostile environment…
"All good, everything you said was positive for him to experience and to come out with a win and put up 38 points and for him to have pretty good numbers. He's a true freshman and he responded. I thought as the game went on, he settled in a got more comfortable and more confident and made some plays for us. That was a great catch by Carsen Ryan on the fourth down play in the end zone. That was a huge play and it was great to see Isaac step up and play with some more confidence."
On if the two first half interceptions were a turning point…
"Big turning point, huge turning point. Smith Snowden made a great interception and that was a phenomenal play by him. [Cameron] played that just right. He played that just right. It was a cover-2. He stole it underneath the deeper route. We had a good pass rush. I don't know how many sacks we came up with, but we got after the quarterback pretty good. Didn't play the run particularly well. That's a good running back. That guy is a strong physical runner. We can play the run a little better then we did. Overall, it was a win and we have to move on to the next on."
On Caleb Lohner's touchdown…
"Caleb Lohner is a weapon and I think we need to find more ways to use him and I'm sure coach Ludwig will. He's a big body. He goes up at on that jump ball, he's 6'7. He's literally 13 feet in the air and you saw him make that nice catch tonight."
Sophomore Defensive Back Smith Snowden
On his interception…
"It was exciting. That's my first interception as a Ute, so I couldn't be more excited about that. I saw the ball and it was see ball, get ball. That was my mentality."
On if anything Bryson Barnes did surprised him…
"We practiced against Bryson, so we've seen it with our own eyes. We know what he's capable of and what he can do. Nothing today really surprised me."
Sophomore Defensive Lineman Keanu Tanuvasa
On the message after Utah State's first two touchdowns…
"I think the message was, we're experiencing adversity, but that's where we feel at home. Let's just keep fighting, playing our game. We don't have to change anything. We prepared the right way, let's just keep attacking the game and having the next play mentality."
On how they defensed Bryson Barnes…
"We know who Bryson is. He's a hard worker. We respect that about him. That's one of my greatest teammates, but this week, he wasn't our teammate and we were focused on who is in the battle with us and that was what we did. We knew what type of player he was, so we just went at the best way we could, but respect to him and his team."
Senior Running Back Micah Bernard
On his long run in the second half…
"It felt pretty good. To break one for a big gain, it felt pretty good to get our offense in a good situation and we just went down there and put it in the end zone."
On if he feels like this was a glimpse of how potent the offense can be…
"Oh yeah, of course. Now we had everything working. [Isaac] was throwing the ball pretty well, we had a lot of receivers getting open. He's making those passes. We start to run the ball efficiently and when you get a game like that, that's what we're going to be."
Freshman quarterback Isaac Wilson
On how it feels to get his first win as a starter…
"It feels amazing. With these boys, they've been believing in me and so I had to go out and show out."
On if there was a moment where he felt like he settled in…
"Definitely after that first drive, I felt comfortable and ready to go. I mean, that first drive is the first drive, but I felt good after that."
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Players Mentioned
QB
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RB
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TE
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TE
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WR
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CB
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DT
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QB
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