BYU Football Game Week — at Utah

No. 9 BYU faces Utah on the road Saturday, Nov. 9, at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, at 8:15 p.m. MT on ESPN.

BYU Football Game Week — at UtahBYU Football Game Week — at Utah

PROVO, Utah — No. 9 BYU faces Utah on the road Saturday, Nov. 9, at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City at 8:15 p.m. MT on ESPN.

Use this page as a one-stop shop throughout the week for everything related to the game. Updates will be made leading up to kickoff, including broadcast plans, news, fan events and game notes. 

Game Info

Game Info

BYU (8-0) at Utah (4-4) Saturday, Nov. 9 Kickoff: 8:15 p.m. MT

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TV: ESPN

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Game Notes

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BYU Notes

Utah Game Week—BYU Media Availability

Opening Statement
We are really excited about game number nine coming up this weekend, heading up to Salt Lake City in Rice Eccles. We are looking forward to the matchup. I thought we had a really productive bye week last week. I am really proud of how the guys attacked that week. We had some really good practices there and got a lot of work done. Now that it’s within reach, it’s an exciting time for us to get ready for this game. We are excited that the rivalry is back.
 
On the Rice-Eccles Stadium environment
It’s a lot of fun. Obviously, I have a lot of memories there as a player and coach. Personally, I have a different perspective than a lot of other people. When it’s all said and done, a game becomes a game once the ball is kicked off and the game clock starts. It comes down to game mode. I’m excited to see our players take the field. I am not playing, which is a relief for me right now. But, I am just excited to see these young men compete on both sides. It’s an exciting time for our guys. 
 
On Utah recovering through a rough patch
That’s part of the game. You look at these types of situations in college football, especially when you get towards the end of the season in November, and it becomes a real test on how you are going to finish. I think everyone’s been there. Coach Whittingham has been there before, so he will have those guys ready to roll. And I’ve got to make sure I have our guys ready to roll. College football is unpredictable. There is a lot of parody in this conference, and we have said that from the very beginning. We are really looking forward to this game. I am excited that the game is right around the corner.
 
On playing complimentary football
I think it’s going really nicely. I have to give credit to all the players themselves in understanding the complimentary part of football. You have to buy into your 1/11th, which is something our coaches have taught them. Maximizing opportunities that come their way is what happens when everyone is doing their part. I think our guys are doing a great job at it. Are we perfect at it? No, but we can always play better. I thought last week was a really good week of prep for us. There are a lot of things for us to fix. It was a good jump start for us in the prep against Utah.
 
On explaining the rivalry to players outside of Utah
That’s part of it. We are all about “love and learn” and part of that is educating them on what this game means. You also want to keep it to them just doing their job. For the new players that are here, the fans themselves have already educated our players about how important this game is. For us, as the coaching staff, we have to get back to the basics. It doesn’t really matter who is on the other side. There are a lot of things that we can do differently and do better as a team first before we can start worrying about the drama and emotions that go into the game. I think passion will be what matters most. I think if players don’t know about the rivalry, they still care about the fans and their family.
 
On preparing for Utah’s starting quarterback
We have to prepare for anything they can throw at us. I’d rather be over prepared than anything. I don’t think you can give Utah a hard time about it. We have been there before. We have to prepare for all those guys. Part of it is being assignment sound and not worrying about it. We see the talent and the toughness that they bring on film. We have to take a look at all of the quarterbacks on their roster, and we just have to be ready for it in every phase.
 
On expectations against Utah’s defense
We just got to play ball. You can’t sit there and just predict what is going to happen. You have to play your best and live with the results. That’s what we are focused on. We have seen it on film. We know how talented they are. We have lived through this multiple times before. We are expecting our guys to play better. We have to bring a lot of energy and effort to the field, and then we’ll see what happens after the first ball snap.
 
On close games against Utah
It’s a lot of emotions. It doesn’t matter about your record. There is a lot of pride that goes into both sides, and tradition. We are going to get their best effort. It’s more definite now than ever before. We need to make sure that we give ours as well. Who knows what is going to happen. It’s a fun game to be a part of, and we’re glad that it’s back. We want our guys to enjoy every second of it. 
 
On improvement
We have been nitpicky this whole time. These guys are used to us correcting things every week. They are good at staying focused on those things. I’d like to see us make a jump from the eighth game to the ninth game. We also have to combine that with praising the things that they are doing well on. Sometimes it’s focusing on the small and simple things. That’s what we have to do. All these things matter, and there’s no change.
 
On passion in the rivalry game
It’s not a different scenario. It’s the same scenario every week. I think everyone is making it a big deal, but when football starts it’s just a game. These guys are a great group of leaders, and are doing a great job at reminding the players what to expect. We do our best as coaches and then let them get the opportunity to lead. The best thing I can do as a head coach is sometimes step out of the way and let the boys handle it. They are up for the challenge. We have entered many hostile environments before, and this is going to be another one. They are excited for it, and they should be. A game is a game.
 
On Kyle Whittingham
He is a great mentor and friend. He is a great competitor. He’s a football guy. He’s tough and holds his team accountable, but there is a good side to him that I’ve seen. He cares about his players and staff. I have been a benefactor of that. I have been able to be a close friend of his. He wants to win this game as much as I do. I am honored to be his friend. As soon as we’re done with the game, we’ll go back to being friends again. He has taught me to do this the right way and make sure to focus on the boys first. That is what he’s doing, and that’s what I am trying to do as head coach.  
 
On connections between the two coaching staffs
It’s not an uncommon thing. It’s going to happen when you have guys who come from the same coaching tree, and our connection to LaVell Edwards. That’s a very common theme. When it comes down to it, it’s about the players and what they do down on the field. It’s not about the coaches, the assistants or the analysts. We have a lot of players who are very familiar with playing in Salt Lake City. The same thing goes for them. That is why this rivalry is so unique. We are looking forward to a very competitive game on Saturday, with a lot of energy and cheering. And then after that, regardless of the result, we will show a high level of respect and love for each other.
 
On quarterback Jake Retzlaff
He’s doing a great job. There is room for improvement, of course. I am really proud of the way he’s been able to get better every week. I love the way he’s embraced all these opportunities whether it’s a difficult circumstance or a favorable one. He is super humble and always looking for a way to get better. I am really proud of his leadership. I’m really honored to be his coach. 

On playing at Utah
“It’s going to be fun. We know that place is super hostile, especially when we go up there, so we’re super excited for it. It’s obviously going to be another test and another tough game, and especially up there, it gets a little tougher.”

On his approach to rivalry games
“I play with enough emotion as it is, so I just try to remove the emotion from the rivalry and attack it like a football game. It’s not something the fans wants to hear, but it’s the truth. That’s how you go and win these games, you remove than intense emotion out of it and then you just go play ball and keep executing like we’ve done all year.”

On his impressions of the rivalry
“Ever since I’ve been here on campus, you learn about the rivalries, and you get to talk to people about it. I’ve been fortunate to talk to guys like John Beck about his experience in the rivalry. Obviously, he’s played some good games and won a game in this rivalry, so we know it’s important and we know it’s a big game, but we still have to approach it like professionals, go out there and execute.”

On benefitting from a bye week
“It was great, but they (Utah) got the same head start, so we just know that we have to be ready for anything when a team comes off a bye week. You never know what they’re going to come out in, they can switch up a lot of things in a two-week span. So, we have to be hitting it hard, we have last week, and we’ll hit it even harder this week with the film and stuff like that. That’s the thing about a bye, there’s a lot more unknowns. We saw it with Oklahoma State, their offense came out in a totally different structure and style of play, so you have to be ready for anything. It’s nice to have the bye week to get the body feeling great again, and the mental side of it too, but it’s also going to take even more mental strength.”

On his evaluation of the offense
“I think I’m doing a good job getter better as the weeks go on, that’s what our offense has done and that’s the game of the game for our offense so far this year. If you watch our progressions game-by-game, we just look better and better with a more polished result week by week. So that’s the best thing, we’re getting towards our peak at the best time of the year, when would you rather be playing your best ball than late in the year, November and on. I’m proud of the guys for keep that up. I think I’m taking ownership of that and hopefully leading the guys in that direction to feel that way where it’s about getting better. It’s not about hanging your hat on a win, you know, you could do that, but it’s about getting better for the next week.”

On the improvement in the run game
“It’s been awesome. You guys have witnessed it, we have to be the most improved offense from year to year in college football because those guys up front, Coach Woods dialed them up. The run game is so fun, I love being a part of it… LJ Martin is a great running back and we run behind a great O-line, so it’s been super fun to utilize that part of the game and open up play action shots down the field.”

On playing at Utah
“I’m super excited. I know the environment is going to be amazing, there’s going to be tons of Utah fans, tons of BYU fans, and I’m excited to hopefully come out on top and show Cougar Nation what we’re about. Growing up watching it, I know it’s going to be an exciting and impactful game.”

On handling the emotions of rivalry games
“I think just trying to stay grounded and know that it’s just another game. I know for a lot of fans and different people, it’s going to be bigger than another game, but at the end of the day, we’re just going out there playing football and we’re the same guys, so just trying to stay grounded and know that we’ve done this before.”

On an increase in sacks and TFLs this season
“I think the coaches coaching us up correctly and then also the players being willing to take those coaching points. All the coaches do a great job at implementing different drills to help us on gameday. All the players have done a great job accepting that coaching and producing on Saturdays.”

On the focus of the bye week
“Just getting our bodies back and our minds right. Obviously, it wasn’t a super physical week, so we were all just focused on getting our bodies healthy and staying in the film room, getting that extra work in so that our minds are ready for Saturday.”

On what they’ve seen from Utah on film
“They've got a lot of weapons. They have a big O-line up front that's physical, the whole offense is going to be physical. They've got some receivers that make plays, so it's going to be a tough game for us. We know that they're a great team, and we're going to have to bring our A-game. They've had two weeks to prepare like we have, so we know we're going to get their best shot, and we're looking forward to it.”

On the success of the run game
“I think a big reason to the success that we’re having in the run game is because of the guys up front and then also just the way our offensive unit coaches run practices. We make it a big ordeal in practice to be able to run the ball really well and we do a lot of repetitions of that. We go through all our plays and execute them the best we can every single practice. I think all the culmination of those things are attributed to us being able to run the ball hard and the mentality of the running backs in the room as well.”

On the rivalry with Utah
“I think a lot of the guys that haven't experienced it yet are in for a big one, because I remember my first experience in this rivalry, and it was one to remember. Being able to do it here in Provo and win that way, and have the crowd rush to feel, that was super fun to be a part of. Now we're going to be in their territory, up in Utah, and it's going to be the same type of environment. It's a crazy rivalry to be a part of. It's something that I've been able to grow more and more a part of since my time being here. My first year, I'm just a new guy, I don't really know what's going on and don't understand the bad blood between the two teams, or whatever it is. And then as soon as you see the way the coaches get into, and not just the coaches, but the communities get into it, and it's pretty fun to see.”

On enjoying playing in hostile environments
“I do enjoy playing in hostile environments. One of the things A-Rod always tells us when we go on the road is that our goal is to make the crowd silent, and we love when we’re able to do that in away games.”

On what the team has accomplished this season
“I think that’s a big thing that Coach Kalani preaches to us week in and week out, to be grateful for what we’ve been able to accomplish so far but then look forward to how much more we can win and still accomplish. I think that’s one thing that makes this team so different is that we’re not focused on what we’ve already done, we’re looking forward to the new week. Every week is a Super Bowl, a new statement for us, and that’s something that Coach Kalani preaches to us and I think has been a huge contributor to why we’ve been able to have the success we’ve been able to have because we just focus on the task at hand.”