What Stood Out From Kyle Whittingham’s Week Four Press Conference
Sep 15, 2025, 1:14 PM
SALT LAKE CITY – Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham met with reporters on Monday for his fourth in-season press conference of 2025, fresh off a 31–6 win at Wyoming.
The Utes overcame a sloppy first half full of penalties and missed field goals to dominate after halftime, improving to 3–0 on the season.
Next up: a top 20 showdown and pivotal home test against No. 17 Texas Tech on Saturday, September 20, at Rice-Eccles Stadium.\
It’s 𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊‼️ Time to roll out the 𝐑𝐄𝐃 carpet for @BNKonFOX‼️
🆚 Texas Tech
🏟️ Rice-Eccles Stadium
⏰ SAT 09.20 | 10:00AM MT
📺 @CFBONFOX
📻 ESPN 700 / 92.1 FM🎟️: https://t.co/wf2B2e4P6D#GoUtes | @SeatGeek pic.twitter.com/OaF4pphqjD
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) September 15, 2025
The press conference lasted about 15 minutes. Here are five key takeaways from Whittingham’s comments:
One – FOX Big Noon Kickoff is a significant opportunity for Utah
For the first time ever, FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff pregame show will broadcast live from the University of Utah campus.
“Big Noon Kickoff coming, it’s a great opportunity not only for our program, but for the university in general,” Kyle Whittingham stated. “It’s a chance for our fans to showcase what Rice-Eccles is all about.”
UTAH, WE'LL SEE YOU NEXT SATURDAY 🎉
Big Noon Kickoff is heading to Salt Lake City for @Utah_Football's matchup with @TexasTechFB 🙌 pic.twitter.com/qLUBwNRSHc
— Big Noon Kickoff (@BNKonFOX) September 13, 2025
Big-name talent will be on hand: FOX Sports’ Rob Stone anchors the broadcast, joined by former college football stars Mark Ingram II, Matt Leinart, and Brady Quinn. Adding extra Ute flavor, former Utah head coach and 2025 College Football Hall of Fame inductee Urban Meyer, who guided Utah to its historic undefeated 2004 season, will also appear.
“It’s a nationally televised opportunity, and to have our program showcased on the Big Noon Kickoff game is a big plus,” Whittingham explained.
FOX’s Big Noon Saturday time slot is a premier TV window on the college football slate, featuring Gus Johnson on play-by-play, Joel Klatt as the analyst and Jenny Taft reporting from the sideline.
“We’ve had big games here before; it’s nothing new to us, but anytime you have a chance to get in front of a national audience and have people get a chance to see our stadium, our MUSS, the crowd, and the hostile environment, that is a positive for us,” Whittingham said.
The nation’s eyes will be on Salt Lake City‼️@BNKonFOX will be 𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐄 from Rice-Eccles for Utah vs Texas Tech! Be 𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐘 and bring the 𝐍𝐎𝐈𝐒𝐄!🚨
Keep an 👀 out for more information in the coming days!
Texas Tech 🎟️: https://t.co/olYroeAFhZ#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/TGhT7nabzi
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) September 13, 2025
The popular college football preview kicks off at 8 a.m. MT from Ute Village, located at the southwest corner of Guardsman Way and 500 South, right next to the Smith’s Ultimate Tailgate Experience. Fans can also catch the Barstool College Football Show starting at 7 a.m. at the same location.
“The Big Noon Kickoff show, I’m sure we’ll have people that will attend that and have a good outing,” he shared. “Our players deserve to play on this stage, and it should be a great game.”
Two – Texas Tech’s spending shows they’re trying to win
“Texas Tech, they’ve got a lot of good players,” he shared. “They wouldn’t be able to be doing what they’re doing without a bunch of good players.”
The Red Raiders have started the season 3-0, with three sizeable margins of victory in those contests. The Red Raiders went heavy in the transfer portal and added to build out the roster.
“They’re certainly committed to winning, and good on them for being able to attract those players and get the type of players they have,” Whittingham shared. “There are a lot of programs out there that want to win badly.”
𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐝, 𝐰𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐰𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐢𝐧 @Rice_Eccles 𝐚𝐫𝐞!
Excited to welcome @BNKonFOX to SLC this week!
🎟️: https://t.co/olYroeAFhZ pic.twitter.com/huuKdOTCtP
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) September 14, 2025
The Red Raiders program was the talk of the country throughout the offseason for their spending spree in the transfer portal. Texas Tech landed the No. 2 transfer portal class, according to 247 Sports.
“If they have support and all that, that’s great, more power to them,” Whittingham said. “They’ve done a nice job of assembling that roster and getting talent infused into the program.”
Three – A+ grade so far for Devon Dampier
Through three games, Devon Dampier has been everything Utah hoped he would be. He has been one of the top quarterbacks in the country.
“I give him an A+,” Whittingham said of his signal caller. “Not only what he’s doing on the field, but his leadership, his impact on the team overall.”
He’s 65-of-89 for 628 yards and seven touchdowns, good enough for a 158.25 QB rating, and a 76.4 QBR. He’s also generated 198 yards and one touchdown on the ground.
“To this point, he’s completing the ball at a high rate, he’s protecting the football, he’s our leading rusher,” Whittingham explained. “He’s doing it all, and we just have to keep being intelligent with how we use him. He runs the ball so effectively, but you hope that he’ll stay out of harm’s way as much as possible.”
Above all else, Dampier has been the sort of leader and personality that Utah needed this season.
“He is, without question, one of our team leaders. Players have embraced him. I think that we couldn’t have asked any more from him,” Whittingham said. “Couldn’t have been any better than what he’s done, and his numbers really speak to that.
Four – Jason Beck’s offense embracing positionless football?
The Utes have not only embraced two-way usage, but Beck seems to be pushing positionless football with the offense. Players like Hunter Andrews, Nate Johnson, and others have added a unique look to the offense.
“That’s exactly what he does, and what it does is put D-coordinators in a situation where how do we treat this guy? Is he a wideout? Is he a running back? Is he a tight end?” Whittingham shared.
With those players, Whittingham explained that it can create some issues for defenses.
“That is a challenge for teams that have sub-packages, that sub in and sub out with different groups,” he continued. “Some defenses will play the same 11 no matter what you put out there, which is not as big a deal to those guys, but those matchup defenses cause problems.”
Five – Rabbit Evans is officially done for the year, it’ll be on Nate Ritchie to step up
On Monday, Whittingham confirmed that safety Rabbit Evans is indeed done for the year after suffering an injury against Wyoming.
“Losing Rabbit is a big loss, he’s a terrific player, and it will be for the season, I can confirm that,” he said. “The silver lining would be that he will get a redshirt year and be able to come back.”
Utah has to move forward with what they have, and that responsibility will rest primarily on Nate Ritchie.
“Nate is a really good football player,” Whittingham stated. “He hasn’t been as sharp at tackling as he needs to be in the first few games; he knows that, we know that.”
Ritchie enters his fourth season with the program this year and now has a big opportunity ahead of him.
“He’s a season vet, he knows the position inside and out,” Whittingham stated. “Just needs to be a little more efficient, that’s the area he needs to work on.”
