What Coaches Said Following Utah’s 48–14 Win Over West Virginia

Morgantown, WV — Utah needed a response, and it delivered one in emphatic fashion. A week after stumbling in its Big 12 debut against Texas Tech, Kyle Whittingham’s team stormed into Morgantown and left with a resounding 48–14 victory.

The performance seems to have steadied the ship and restored confidence heading into the bye week.

After the game ended, Whittingham and West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez painted very different pictures of where their teams stand.

𝐖𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐕𝐢𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐚 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬🎙️

🎥🔗: https://t.co/QRTerd94sH#GoUtes | @AFCU pic.twitter.com/yLiFh6QnHV

— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) September 28, 2025

Kyle Whittingham: “Proud of Our Team”

For Whittingham, the message to his players all week was simple: move on.

“Proud of our team for the response from last week,” Whittingham said. “Tough loss last week, disappointing loss, and talked about not letting that be a detractor for this week, being able to flush it and move on, and not have a hangover, so to speak. I think they did exactly just that.”

The Utes flushed it immediately. Dampier’s efficiency through the air, Utah’s balance on offense, and a defense that never let the Mountaineers find rhythm turned the contest into a one-sided affair before halftime.

Whittingham credited preparation and execution.

“They were able to prepare for West Virginia, great attitude all week long. Focus, concentration, and also another challenge was to finish the game. Finish the game the right way and play the full 60 minutes. And I think we got both those. We responded well from last week and we finished the game this week.”

The offensive numbers told the story: 532 yards of total offense, split almost evenly with 242 yards on the ground and 290 through the air.

Dampier was much improved, a likely benefit from actually practicing this week. He completed 21-of-26 passes for 237 yards and four touchdowns, while adding a rushing score.

Whittingham praised both his quarterback and the group around him.

“A lot of really good performances individually. Devon Dampier was very sharp tonight or this afternoon. Offensive line, I thought, was really good. You know, we were very balanced. We over 500 yards offense and 200 plus rushing, 200 plus throwing.”

And after being called out for a stagnant passing game the week prior, Utah found the vertical spark it had been missing.

“We know that (downfield passing) was something that hurt us last week and we needed to be able to push the ball down the field better. We did that this week. Receivers stepped up, answered the challenge. I thought we had a good scheme going in and right down the field. Dose of run and pass, play action off the run game and tight ends were a factor again.”

The stat sheet backed him up: Ryan Davis and Dallen Bentley combined to go 12-for-12 on targets for 166 yards, while JJ Buchanan and Wayshawn Parker each found the end zone.

Even on a day where Utah looked sharp across the board, Whittingham still pointed to areas for improvement — particularly tackling.

“We’re certainly going to work on tackling, I can tell you that. And it’s a matter of coming to balance and breaking down. We’re in bad body position too often, and we got to get that corrected … as of late, we’ve just been missing too many tackles, so that will definitely be a point of emphasis.”

But overall, Whittingham left Morgantown with a sense of renewal: a statement win before two weeks of reflection and preparation.

“You don’t want to sit on a loss ever, but to sit on it for two weeks is double the torture. And so it’s really big to be able to end that … on a positive and get some guys healed up hopefully, and gives us momentum into the next contest.”

Rich Rodriguez: “It’s Embarrassing”

On the other sideline, Rodriguez was left searching for answers after another lopsided Big 12 defeat. His postgame tone was equal parts frustrated and accountable.

“It’s embarrassing how we failed to execute. Didn’t have anything that was really good, coaching wasn’t good, playing wasn’t good. Honestly, they never even had to punt. They didn’t punt one time.”

Final: Utah 48, WVU 14.

— West Virginia Football (@WVUfootball) September 27, 2025

The Mountaineers, decimated by injuries on offense, couldn’t match Utah’s speed or physicality. Starting quarterback Nicco Marchiol was unavailable, and his replacement, Jaylen Henderson, lasted only a half. West Virginia’s best running back and several offensive linemen were also sidelined.

Rodriguez refused to let injuries become an excuse and shared that he felt his players wouldn’t either.

“It makes it difficult, it makes it more challenging, but you can overcome them. I don’t think anyone in that locker room will lay down or quit. It’s my job to make sure we get this going in a better direction … We’ll work hard and get it fixed in a hurry.”

With a short week before facing BYU in Provo, Rodriguez admitted his team must regroup fast.

“We got four days before we play another good team at their place. We’ll work hard and get it fixed in a hurry.”

Utah left Morgantown with clarity: its quarterback answered critics, its offensive line responded with a strong performance, and its receivers stepped up.

West Virginia, meanwhile, left with more questions than answers, and have to prepare for a tough road trip this next week.

Steve Bartle is the Utah insider for KSL Sports. He hosts The Utah Blockcast (SUBSCRIBE) and appears on KSL Sports Zone to break down the Utes. You can follow him on X for the latest Utah updates and game analysis.

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