Speaker 1: All right, it's almost here. We're almost a game day.
Speaker 2: We visited with Colonie Satake on Monday, and today it's
Speaker 2: our pleasure to bring in the head coach at the
Speaker 2: University of Utah. You know him, you love them, coach
Speaker 2: with coach. How are you So we're almost the game time?
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's getting close. And you know, finally, you know,
Speaker 3: three plus years later, it's here.
Speaker 2: So away we go, certainly, and this is a week
Speaker 2: that I always really enjoy, but it's a week that
Speaker 2: some people do not enjoy it.
Speaker 1: It brings a lot of anxiety, It brings a lot
Speaker 1: of pressure.
Speaker 2: You've been a part of this thing for a long time,
Speaker 2: back in the day on the other side, and now
Speaker 2: for basically two plus decades you've been coaching up here.
Speaker 2: What sort of energy it kind of permeates through you?
Speaker 1: Starting on?
Speaker 2: You know, really and you guys had a bye week,
Speaker 2: But when it's actually rivalry week, when you know it's
Speaker 2: b YU week Monday morning, what sort of energy does
Speaker 2: that bring in your life?
Speaker 3: Yeah, it certainly gets your attention. And you know, the
Speaker 3: rivalry has been on and off for the last several years,
Speaker 3: and so now that we're in the same difference. It's
Speaker 3: going to be a regular thing as long as we're
Speaker 3: in the same conference. Who knows when that will change again.
Speaker 3: But it brings a lot of energy into the building
Speaker 3: our players, even though we only have nine guys that
Speaker 3: have participated in this game off one hundred and twenty
Speaker 3: five man roster, which was shocking to me when we
Speaker 3: talked about that in a team meeting last week. But
Speaker 3: we're in, you know, in doctrinating. I guess the word
Speaker 3: our guys, the guys that haven't been through it as
Speaker 3: to the intensity of it and what to expect. And
Speaker 3: of course we got a lot of in state guys
Speaker 3: on the roster that have not played in it, but
Speaker 3: are very aware of the rivalry just because of being
Speaker 3: in the state of Utah. But we're juiced up, and
Speaker 3: that's what rivalry games are all about, getting excited and
Speaker 3: playing with a lot of passion and emotion. And you
Speaker 3: can feel it in our building for certain.
Speaker 2: So I'm a numbers guy and I like to dig
Speaker 2: into the metrics. Nine of one to twenty five, I
Speaker 2: didn't know that that is.
Speaker 1: That's a very low number.
Speaker 2: I want to follow up because we've had a bunch
Speaker 2: of guests on this week that played it University of
Speaker 2: Utah and played at BYU, some out of state, some
Speaker 2: in state.
Speaker 1: And if you grew up here, and if you were
Speaker 1: part of the rivalry, I mean, my parents want to
Speaker 1: bringing me on. I went to Utah.
Speaker 2: I've been covering the game now for basically twenty years
Speaker 2: from the side, so I know what it means.
Speaker 1: You know what it means.
Speaker 2: How do you get that message across coach to these
Speaker 2: players that aren't as familiar as to just how important
Speaker 2: Saturday Night is.
Speaker 3: Well, first of all, we had a little history lesson
Speaker 3: of sorts where I went through the history of the
Speaker 3: rivalry and the origin and how it's gone back and
Speaker 3: forth through the years and some of the more colorful
Speaker 3: quotes that have come out of the rivalry over the
Speaker 3: last fifteen twenty years. And it's you know, our guys
Speaker 3: as they've gone through the week and last week as
Speaker 3: well and become more familiar with it and read about it,
Speaker 3: they started to get it, like I said, and it is.
Speaker 3: You know one thing about this week for certain is
Speaker 3: it's not hard to get your team ready to play.
Speaker 3: I mean that takes care of itself. You know, some
Speaker 3: week are more difficult than others as far as what
Speaker 3: buttons you need to push and that type of thing.
Speaker 3: But you can count on this week and this game
Speaker 3: being no need for that. It happens on its own accord.
Speaker 2: So ultimately, as you know as well, if not better
Speaker 2: than anybody, Saturday Night is a chance for your guys
Speaker 2: to show the community for one game, and that's all
Speaker 2: that matters. You have to take this stuff that way,
Speaker 2: as you know, for one game, in one moment, if
Speaker 2: you can be great, you're remembered in this community when
Speaker 2: it comes to this game. And you know, ultimately, Coach,
Speaker 2: as you know, all of us expected you guys to
Speaker 2: be in a different place. You expected you guys to
Speaker 2: be in a different place. It's been a tough year.
Speaker 2: This stuff is hard. Winning is hard. Consistency is hard.
Speaker 2: As Jerry West said back in the day, that's the
Speaker 2: difference between mediocrity and greatness is consistent performance.
Speaker 1: But what have you shared with your players about what.
Speaker 2: Saturday Night could mean as far as the legacy they
Speaker 2: leave behind, Because we talk about players that have incredible
Speaker 2: performances in this game for decades and decade and decades
Speaker 2: to come.
Speaker 3: Yeah, well, exactly that that this game is one that
Speaker 3: they'll remember the rest of their lives, in particular the seniors.
Speaker 3: I mean, I can remember my senior year in the
Speaker 3: Rivalry game like it was just yesterday. And and so
Speaker 3: that's the first thing is is, uh, it will it
Speaker 3: will stick with you.
Speaker 2: Uh.
Speaker 3: Secondly, you know a lot of years the current record
Speaker 3: and you know, the state of the program or whatever
Speaker 3: is tossed out the window in the Rivalry game. Anything
Speaker 3: can happen in this game. And you're right, there's been
Speaker 3: guys go down and in history in this rivalry by
Speaker 3: by their performances and plays they made, and and it
Speaker 3: you know, is remembered for for ages and ages. And
Speaker 3: so our guys are, like I said, they're excited and
Speaker 3: they know it's a chance to put a turnaround on
Speaker 3: this skid we're on right now. You know, we've had
Speaker 3: a tough four game stretch that that we've been able
Speaker 3: to uh, you know, continue to battle and fight. We're
Speaker 3: not you know, we're losing by slim margins and just
Speaker 3: finding ways to not get quite enough plays made to
Speaker 3: get to win. But this is a chance for us
Speaker 3: to really hopefully get things turned around in a positive
Speaker 3: direction for us.
Speaker 2: So the most reductive thing. And it's really even accurate
Speaker 2: that I could say about why I perceived that you
Speaker 2: guys are on the spot that you're at is Cameron
Speaker 2: is not under center and he's been hurt. You can
Speaker 2: be that reductive coach, like you haven't had your quarterback
Speaker 2: period out of story. So but between that reductive statement
Speaker 2: and where you're at it four and four, how do
Speaker 2: you analyze why the season is not gone the way
Speaker 2: we all thought it was going to.
Speaker 3: Well, we haven't been productive enough on offense, and that's
Speaker 3: where you can really pinpoint things. I mean, our defense
Speaker 3: is leading the league in total defense and first or
Speaker 3: second scoring defense and doing some really good things and
Speaker 3: doing some very consistent things on that side of the ball.
Speaker 3: But the quarterback position and its importance cannot be overstated.
Speaker 3: It just can't be. It's the most important position in
Speaker 3: any team sport, hands down, and has so much to
Speaker 3: do with with your success or lack thereof. And Cam
Speaker 3: Rising is an elite quarterback and and have not having
Speaker 3: him in the lineup is something that obviously we hope
Speaker 3: wouldn't happen. I mean, we dealt with it last year
Speaker 3: and we were hoping that they wouldn't repeat itself. But
Speaker 3: and the plan was for Isaac to be Cam's understudy
Speaker 3: and get reps here and there during the course of
Speaker 3: the season and you know, get gain as much experience
Speaker 3: as he could getting ready for spring ball next year
Speaker 3: to be the guy. But here it is. He's played
Speaker 3: four hundred snaps for US and we're only two thirds
Speaker 3: of the way through the season. And his you know,
Speaker 3: he's a true freshman. You know, true freshmen typically have
Speaker 3: there's an adjustment period to the speed and the complexity
Speaker 3: of the college game. And and uh, it's just been
Speaker 3: a you know, a tough go trying to get things
Speaker 3: generated on an offense, and particularly the throw game. That's
Speaker 3: where we really not have been. We have not been
Speaker 3: able to be efficient or productive in that regard and
Speaker 3: that has really hampered the offense.
Speaker 2: You referenced in your media availability earlier this week that
Speaker 2: you guys feel good about the plan under center. I
Speaker 2: will not ask you who the starter is because I
Speaker 2: know what that would do. I do not want to
Speaker 2: get on your bad side, So I'm not going to
Speaker 2: ask you who the starter is, but I will ask
Speaker 2: you update our listeners as the home of the Utes
Speaker 2: on how that plan is playing out throughout this week.
Speaker 3: Well, we think it's played out well, and we think
Speaker 3: that it gives us our best chance to win in
Speaker 3: this particular game. Not necessarily indicative of the future and
Speaker 3: what will you know, potentially take place there. But but
Speaker 3: you know, I want to make that perfectly clear. But
Speaker 3: as coaches, what you do from week to week is
Speaker 3: put a plan together and get the players on the
Speaker 3: field that you feel give you the best chance to
Speaker 3: win in that particular game. And and so that's what
Speaker 3: we've done. And and uh, you know, we'll find out
Speaker 3: very soon if you know, if it was if we
Speaker 3: were correct in our in our planning.
Speaker 2: So as a reference, we had Klani on on Monday,
Speaker 2: and you know, we try to do our best to
Speaker 2: cover both schools. Obviously, as the home of the youths,
Speaker 2: we want to make sure we service our good partners.
Speaker 2: And what I continue to say, Kyle is whether it's
Speaker 2: Kilani who obviously coached under you for years, Aaron Rodgerck,
Speaker 2: the same thing.
Speaker 1: Jay Hill, Utah Grad.
Speaker 2: It feels like they have utilized what they learned from
Speaker 2: you and took it down there and they're actually using
Speaker 2: your script to play very good complimentary football at eight.
Speaker 1: No, what stands out most of you about these BYU Cougars.
Speaker 3: Well, first of all, they're doing a great job with
Speaker 3: their coaching and you know, whether it's new, whoever it's
Speaker 3: due to, I don't know. They're just really good coaches
Speaker 3: and we have a lot more than that on the staff. There.
Speaker 3: It was four or five other guys out there that
Speaker 3: in various positions, but they are playing exceptional complimentary football,
Speaker 3: which is how we've made a living for years. You know,
Speaker 3: they're not really other than the turnover margin, that's really
Speaker 3: where they're really excelling, and particularly taking them all away.
Speaker 3: On defense, I'm pretty sure they're leading the conference and takeaways.
Speaker 3: But other than that, offensively and defensively, they're just they're
Speaker 3: both in the top third in the conference in most categories.
Speaker 3: But there's not one real area you could point to
Speaker 3: other than the turnover march and they say, hey, these
Speaker 3: guys are just dominating in this particular area. They're just
Speaker 3: doing very well in all areas and like I said,
Speaker 3: playing off each other offensively and defensively as well as
Speaker 3: you can possibly do it.
Speaker 2: Right now, they've outscored their opponents. Kyle sixty nine to
Speaker 2: ten off turnovers this year. It leads the country. It's
Speaker 2: an insane stat, but it also is It also indicates
Speaker 2: there has to be some sort of regression of the mean,
Speaker 2: and I feel like, because of the nature of this
Speaker 2: game coming up, you can never predict how this is
Speaker 2: going to go.
Speaker 1: The line's pretty close.
Speaker 2: So before I set you loose, I've heard you say
Speaker 2: in the past your favorite Utah BYU game three zero,
Speaker 2: and I was there. It feels like that is a
Speaker 2: coach with Utah BYU game. What's giving you the most
Speaker 2: confidence about coming out on the right side coming up
Speaker 2: Saturday night.
Speaker 3: I would say the attitude and the mindset of our
Speaker 3: players and the preparations that's always so critical. I mean,
Speaker 3: you can't just show up on game day and magically
Speaker 3: flip a switch and play hard and play effective. You
Speaker 3: gotta have prepared the right way, and that is something
Speaker 3: that our guys have done all season long. And that's
Speaker 3: what's been so frustrating is there's been no drop off
Speaker 3: in our practice, prep, in our intensity and our passion.
Speaker 3: We just can't get over that hub. And so we're
Speaker 3: just hoping that this is the week that all that
Speaker 3: hard work and focus pays off and our players get
Speaker 3: rewarded because of it.
Speaker 1: Well, thank you so much for your time, sir.
Speaker 2: I know you're busy, and I know how hard this
Speaker 2: season has been on everybody, so I'm pulling for you.
Speaker 2: Best of luck coming up Saturday night, and thanks again, coach.
Speaker 3: All right, Okay, Spence, appreciate you having me on. Thank you,