SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4 Sports) – After one of the most dramatic wins in school history, the #15 Utah football team as time to enjoy a well-placed bye week.
After a 43-42 comeback win over USC on Saturday at Rice-Eccles Stadium, winning in the final minute on a gutsy two-point conversion by quarterback Cam Rising, the Utes were still buzzing about it Monday afternoon at practice.
“It was a hard fought game,” said cornerback Clark Phillips III. “It was a game that was literally fought until the last second. Those are the type of victories that you take with you the whole season.”
“I think we showed exactly who we are, the heart and determination that we have,” said tight end Dalton Kincaid. Cam [Rising] used the term unwavering belief, and I think you couldn’t say anything better.”
Rising had unwavering belief in Kincaid, who hauled in 16 catches, 234 yards, both school records for a tight end, to go along with a touchdown in the third quarter.
“Me and Cam were just clicking,” Kincaid said. “I didn’t know until after the game when Cam came up to me in the locker room, so it was pretty cool.”
“He just kept getting open,” Rising said. “We were calling some great plays, and they were made to go to him. They just didn’t cover it.”
“16 targets, 16 catches,” head coach Kyle Whittingham said. “That’s absurd.”
Defensively, USC was dominating in the first half, putting up 28 points on the Utes. But at halftime, players didn’t play the blame game, but rather stepped up their game.
“That’s what a good team will do to you,” safety R.J. Hubert said. “If you’re not a good team yourself, you’ll fall apart, start pointing fingers and you won’t be united as one. I was just saying, look, some of us have made mistakes already, but now it’s more important than ever to stick together as a unit.”
As for starting running back Tavion Thomas, who did not play in the fourth quarter and seen on the sideline without his pads on, Whittingham isn’t saying anything about Thomas’ status with the team.
“No, we’ll keep all that internal, regardless of what it is,” Whittingham said. “Unless it’s something very permanent in nature.”
So after such an emotional and physical game, the bye week couldn’t come at a better time.
“It will give us a nice little break from football,” Kincaid said. “People will have the option of spend time with family, catch up on class, catch up on the body. But it gives us more time to prepare for them as well.”
The Utes (5-2, 3-1 Pac-12) next play at Washington State Thursday, October 27th.
Utes riding high into the bye week
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