Postgame Quotes: Utah 30, UCLA 28
October 05, 2014 | Football
October 4, 2014
Pasadena, Calif. – Rose Bowl
Postgame Quotes
UCLA head coach Jim Mora
opening statement
“Obviously, this is a disappointing loss. My hat is off to Utah. They played a great game and beat us. We all take responsibility for that loss. It doesn't matter if it was offense, the defense, special teams or the coaching. We have to figure out why. We have to push on from there.”
on evaluating the play of UCLA's offensive line
“I can't until I look at the film. Now, you are referencing the sacks. I'll say it again and until the day that I die or get out of football. Sacks are a component of all 11 [players]. Sometimes it's a rush, sometimes you get beat, and sometimes the quarterback holds it for too long. It's a function of all of those things.”
on Utah playing Kendal Thompson primarily at quarterback
“It wasn't something that they'd shown a lot of. We had a feeling that they'd play him some, but we didn't think they'd play him that much.”
on Brett Hundley's role in quarterback sacks
“Like I said, it's hard to evaluate those things without looking at the film. For me, I'm looking either at the quarterback or the rush [not the whole field]. I know this sounds like coach's cliché or a cop out. And it's not. You have to analyze each one when you look at the film. I'm not trying to give you coach-talk or a cop out. That is God's honest truth.”
on UCLA's decision to kick a field goal or run one more play at the end of regulation
“With four seconds left? No, because we were trying to win the game with a field goal. You don't get another shot with four seconds. A play takes more than four seconds.”
on Utah's difference on offense between two quarterbacks
“Just a little bit more mobility out to the left. A guy who – I think the other guy [Travis Wilson] is a good runner – but this guy [Kendal Thompson] is a more agile, faster runner. He is probably a little more nifty. He doesn't throw the ball quite as well, but he runs the ball well.”
on the status of running back Paul Perkins
“He's sick.”
on what he was thinking after the roughing the kicker penalty (end of regulation)
“I was hoping we'd make it. Fifty yards is a makeable kick. So, you've got to make those. It's all our guys. It's not one play. There are a lot of plays that led up to that play that you've got to make."
Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham
opening statement
“I'm proud of our players and our coaches. That was a gutsy performance. It was a tough, hard-fought win. For our guys to bounce back after a disappointing loss last week and play with the resolve and determination like they did. It speaks to the character of who they are as people.
“Same goes with our assistant coaches. I'm trying to put our guys in position to win. It's a great job by our players. I can't say enough about them. Individually, [Devontae] Booker had another big night, I think he had over 150 yards. Our defense came up big. We scored on defense. We had several sacks. I don't know how many sacks we came away with. But we had a boatload of sacks, led by Nate Orchard.
“And Andy Phillips, I mean, what more can you say about him? He's got ice water in his veins. Tom Hackett and his punting and the way that he flips the field for us each week. It's good to come down and beat a quality opponent at their place. It's good to get back in the win column and get that last one out of our system. The scoring system this week was eerily similar to what happened in that game last week. It's a different ending, obviously, but it's a very similar game to last week. But, this week we had enough in the tank to get it done.”
on the coaching staff's decision to pull quarterback Travis Wilson
“We had gone with three 3-and-outs with the first series, and we couldn't move the ball. We had had that discussion all week with Travis and Kendal in the game. We gave Kendal a shot to see what happens. It felt like it was the thing to do, so it was no surprise. Kendal came in and did a nice job and was able to move the team. [It's about] taking care of the football. And it was our judgment as coaches to stick with it, and it continued throughout the rest of the game.
on whether Kendal Thompson will start at quarterback next week
“I don't know that I don't want to answer that right now. We have to have discussions and evaluations and deliberate about what the best course of action is. That will be coming up on Monday, those discussion and evaluations.”
on whether he told the team about other upsets occurring in college football on Saturday
“Absolutely. We talked about that as a team before we would get off the bus to come to the stadium. We said, 'Hey, have you seen what's going on last Thursday with Arizona and Oregon, and the upsets that were taking place?' We have a chance to be right in that same conversation. Our players knew it. They knew that there were upsets going on.”
