Utah Utes College Football Pregame Quote, 11/21/2022

Disappointing loss in Eugene. The short version is they made one or two more plays than we did. I thought we played exceptionally well on defense. We played the run tough, (59) yards rushing…Twenty points allowed, which should be good enough to win the game. It wasn’t in this case. Three takeaways; one of those takeaways was a score. Really the problematic area was that we weren’t our usual selves on offense. We weren’t productive enough. Ten points, (326) yards. We had our chances and didn’t capitalize. Give Oregon credit; they played well and made the plays they needed to make in the final analysis. Therefore, we came up short.

Looking ahead, we’ve got Colorado this week on the road. Obviously, last regular season game. You know the old adage; we can’t let Oregon beat us twice. Can’t have a hangover, can’t feel sorry for yourself. You’ve got to pick yourself back up and get ready for the next one. Mathematically, we still have a pathway to the [Pac-12] Championship. But all we can worry about is our part of that, and that’s where our focus lies. We’ve got to finish the season the right way and just be concerned with ourselves. We’ll see what else transpires. It’s been a year of a lot of positives and obviously some negatives, but we’ve got a chance to win our ninth ballgame and that’s where our entire focus is.

On the kicking game in the red-zone:

It has affected it, probably four to six times where it could’ve been a bigger factor in drives. We rely somewhat heavily on analytics. There was really nothing in this past game that was on the borderline; it was all cut and dry, the decisions that were there to be made in this past game. But it always helps to be consistent.

On offensive takeaways after watching film from Oregon:

We didn’t do much in the throw game. That was probably our biggest deficiency. We ran for a decent amount and had some decent production there. But we weren’t as sharp, or as productive, or as efficient in the throw game as we needed to be. All three turnovers came in the throw game. That was the most problematic area for us.

On how perceptions of Utah’s record can also stand as a measure of respect:

I think that’s a valid point. We’ve been in the league 12 years now. To have a [potential] 7-2 record [in Pac-12 play] be somewhat of a disappointment is probably a compliment in a way‚Äîin a way. But we’re not focused on that. We’re just trying to repeat as conference champs. Nine games [overall] won, if we’re able to get to that, is more than 90% of the country.

On factors leading to go for it midway through the fourth quarter:

Analytics, watching field goals in practice, the benefit of making that first down at that point in time. Everything goes into it. The ‘go’ number analytically was far greater than what we had at that point. I think it was a ‘go’ at seven. The composite of those different areas made that decision.

On the offense at Oregon:

The three biggest issues on offense were‚Ķthe lack of chunk yardage, the lack of production in the red zone and the three turnovers. Those were the three biggest issues. There had been some susceptibility to bigger plays down the field. We didn’t make any in this game and (Oregon) did. Credit their receivers; they made two, three, four plays up the field that were big chunk yard plays. That was one of the differences in the game.

On how to completely put Oregon in the rear-view and focus on Colorado:

You’ve got to‚Ķput it behind you as quick as you can as coaches. Our mentality and our attitude, the way we approach things, is critical. If we walk around feeling sorry for ourselves and moping, the players read that. Your players are reading you every single day. Everything you do, they are reading you. You better be practicing what you preach. It’s nothing new to have that mindset when you come back, to put it behind you and move forward. All positive, as hard as that can be at times. But that’s how you’ve got to approach it. As I mentioned, we’ve got a chance to cap the season off with a pretty decent record if we can take care of business. And, we’ve got a chance‚Ķto mathematically get back into the [Pac-12] championship game.