Coach held his weekly press conference where discussed the UNLV win and looked to Utah's game against Colorado State this Saturday.
"I thought we played well on offense. Brett (Ratliff) had his best day of the season. (Darryl) Poston had his best day of the season. (Brent) Casteel had his best day. Robert Conley, our right guard, has his best game as a Ute. So there were a lot of positives coming out of that game. We put 45 points on the board. On third down we were very effective. It was real positive from an offensive standpoint.
Ok, you did well against a crappy team and put up 45 points on a terrible defense. I'm not about to get out the party hats just yet.
"Defensively, we played well up until the fourth quarter. We got a little soft in the fourth quarter. Overall, we scored again on defense and set up a score at the end of the first half, which really gave us momentum going into halftime. That's our sixth score on defense this year.
Yes, the fourth quarter struggles on defense really concerns me, because UNLV's offense is not that good. I would have liked to hear Whittingham talk more about how the team struggled early, both on offense and defense.
On CSU...
"It's a game we need to win if we want to stay in any sort of hopes for ... postseason play and so forth. We have to take care of our business and hope to get some help along the way as well (with regard to the conference standings). Those two games (BYU-Wyoming and TCU-New Mexico), in addition to ours, will make it a more definitive race than it is now. That will take care of a couple of the question marks.
Big game, as a loss will most likely kill any chance Utah has of getting to 6 wins. With that said, I really don't know what to expect. I think Utah's got the talent to win it, but who really knows with this team. I do think it's cute Whittingham is still talking as if Utah has a shot at the conference championship. It ain't going to happen, no matter how much you pray, Coach!
"The attitude of the team is very good. We got three days off ... Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Hopefully that rejuvenated their minds and their bodies. We should have everybody healthy this week, except for Mike Liti. He won't be available for the remainder of the season. But Kelly Talavou should be back and all the bumps and bruises we had earlier should be healed up. So the bye came at an opportune time. We've got three to go and the only one we're looking at is the one right in front of us, which is CSU at Noon on Saturday."
Good to see they're not overlooking Colorado State. The Rams have had Utah's number over the past 10 or so years, so this is not a game that can be taken lightly. Mike Liti being out definitely doesn't help Utah with its running game.
"Our goal right now is to get to six ... six wins. Technically, that gets you bowl eligible. So all our focus is on this Colorado State game this Saturday. If we can take care of business there and get to six, we're at that magical number and then we'll worry about who's next."
Yes, Colorado State should be their number one goal. After that, it's Air Force. That Falcons game really concerns me, especially since it's on the road.
"Every player has it in the back of his mind. We don't make a big deal about revenge and payback and that type of deal. But as a player and as a competitor, I don't see how it can not loom in the back of your mind."
This really irks me! Whittingham should use revenge as a big factor at getting them up for a game. It should be more than in the back of their mind, it should dominate every discussion. These players need to HATE Colorado State and it starts by reminding them with how the Rams defeated Utah last season. If Utah struggles to get up for this game, it'll be because Whittingham can't motivate.
