Kyle Whittingham

[Jim McMahon]

Most normal BYU fans I know hate Whittingham for one reason: because he has owned us in the rivalry. Second to that would be the fact that he is a BYU guy and played under Lavell and so it’s doubly painful to see him have so much success at Utah and against us.

I’ll admit, I think it’s kind of childish how he won’t say BYU and won’t simply admit that it’s a rivalry game, but if the roles were reversed and we had a legacy Utah guy who had owned you guys over the last 15 years, I probably wouldn’t mind it if he played head games with my rival either.

I listened to his Checketts interview. It was a nothingburger. He wasn’t crapping on the B12. He was simply speaking truth about the fact that the landscape could very well change again in a few years.

One thing that rubs me a little wrong is that you have Kalani, a Whitt disciple who heaps praise on Utah and on Whitt. You would think Whitt would simply be able to say BYU and at least stop pretending like the two teams don’t have over 100 years of history. It is one of the best rivalries in college football, and in an era like today where NIL is shredding rivalries and conferences, it ought to be celebrated. I whish Whitt would at least acknowledge that and stop pretending like the game means nothing. “The in-state game”.

But I digress. Whitt is an excellent coach who has had our number. And being a legacy BYU guy who played under Lavell, that’s what stings the most.

[chinngiskhaan]

I’ve personally heard him say BYU and refer to BYU with zero animosity. At this point, he probably avoids saying it in public simply because he knows it makes BYU fans angry.

The idea that he hates BYU is ridiculous. Kyle can absolutely be petty if he thinks it’ll help him win, but he doesn’t hate BYU.

[Ute_tastic]

Coach Whitt totally understands the TDS fan base. With them, and most fan bases when it comes to their rivals, it doesn’t matter what he says. Any comment that Whitt makes, good, bad, or even if it is not about them at all, will be taken as a slap in the face.

[tanute3]

I have to admit that I have come to love the fact that Whitt won’t say BYU’s name simply due to 2 things: 1) how upset it makes BYU fans for really no reason, and 2) that whatever he’s doing to motivate his teams to win the “in state game” is clearly working for him. I hope he continues to do exactly what he’s been doing for the last 20 years.

[ProudUte]

When BYU was on top of the world – their offensive and defensive coordinators were former Ute players. They owned the Utes. But I don’t remember any Ute fans saying terrible things about these guys.

Whitt does not hate BYU but he does play the rivalry card.

I don’t understand the terribly hateful posts on CB the last few days. I get that the CB is an extremist group of fans but still what was posted yesterday sounded more like gang retaliation posts than normal rivalry stuff.

[chinngiskhaan]

They’re just losing their Sh!t because they knew the second Utah joined the Big12 that they lost any chance they had of overtaking Utah as the state’s premier program. Along with that came the reality that they would rarely (if ever) compete for a Big12 title. They have realized the only way they can beat Whitt is on the internet where reality is frequently ignored if not outright shunned.

They should just shout SCOREBOARD! and leave it at that.

[AZUTE]

Whit isn’t just living rent free in Zoobie heads he’s their landlord.

All he said was there will be another major shakeup in conference realignment in a couple of years and Utah is trying to be a part of that. As they should be.

BYU fans have taken his comments as a personal insult and are attacking his character on Cougarboard.

They think he should show some kind of loyalty to byu-Provo and lavell and to some extent the Big12. He dose all of that he just does it privately and he has said that he talks to Sitaki at least twice a week.

Whit is a media savvy genius. He knows what he is doing when he says the things he says.

My advice to you is don’t take it personal.

The future P2 is bigger than than Utah/byu

I think BYU fans have surrendered to the idea that they are not going to be invited to the power 2 and get all upset when Utah makes any kind of suggestion they are trying to be included in the future of CFB.

Utah is a bigger player in CFB than they want to admit

[Anfernee]

Bless your heart. Daddy issues. My ex had them. Therapy does wonders.

[utefansince79]

A couple of incidents come to mind.

2009 the “Max Hall hates Utah” game. BYU fans are gleefully taking pictures of Kyle’s daughter who is tears after the game and at least one of them seemed ready to assault his wife when she took the phone out of his hand and threw it aside. (Yes she did throw it in a manner that could have damaged it but it should be noted this was after repeated pleas to stop teasing and taking photos of her crying daughter were ignored).

A few years later, BYU is kicking Utah’s ass in the Hunty and the visiting fans are taking over the arena. Kyle and some of the football team came out at half time to encourage the Utah fans to attend the upcoming bowl game and many of the visiting fans are loudly booing and yelling disparaging remarks. I turned around to a few of them sitting behind us and told them Kyle was one of the greatest linebackers that ever played for BYU and they should be more respectful.

If cougar fans want Kyle to respect his alma mater, then they should show some respect to him.

[ProudUte]

Exactly 79!!! BYU fans get upset at things and act like BYU or its fans have never done anything wrong.

When Whitt did the onside kick against Wyoming years ago – I thought it was a bit much. In a moment of anger, Whitt crossed the line of good sportsmanship IMO. CB fans bring this up at least monthly. However, they don’t speak of all the times Lavell blew teams away and kept starters in to break records, i.e., BYU was up 38-8 against the Utes in 1977 and put Marc Wilson back in the game to set an NCAA single-game passing record.

Jim McMahon – explain how it was okay for Edwards to do what he did year in and year-out and Whitt making a mistake against Wyoming is not forgivable.

[Jim McMahon]

Yeah, the Max Hall comment was embarrassing. No defending that. He had a fall from grace and has matured a bit since then. However, he claims his family got some awful treatment from Utah fans in previous games and he took it very personally. But he definitely took it too far.

Eric Weddle is my favorite Ute of all time. He was so magnanimous in his loss in 2006 and specifically went over to John Beck ton congratulate him. Just a good, humble dude who was so dang good too. He always scared me when we played him.

https://www.deseret.com/2010/11/24/20155756/weddle-beck-rivalry-has-blossomed-into-friendship

[Tony (admin)]

I liked this board more when we didn’t talk about byu. Man that was nice. This is why I’m not happy about the new Big12 gig 🙁

[Anfernee]

The SS Poo Poo needs to stay docked at Utah Lake.

[The Miami Ute]

Tony, nothing good ever comes out of talking about BYU. In my book, it’s an instant downer.

[Central Coast Ute]

Where do byu fans get that he won’t say byu? He says byu all of the time, and ive heard him praise Sitake as well. The thing with you guys is, when he turned down the byu job for Utah, byu treated him horribly. If you and your family were treated that way, even by your Alma mater, you’d think differently too. And yes, his comments on Checketts show were absolutely nothing but the truth. For some reason, byu fans have to get all nutted up and make something out of nothing. Which is exactly why every conference you’ve been apart of has hated you.

[//r00t4Utes]

He’s also said this samething for a couple years now. Go look it up. He’s predicted two 20 to 24 team conferences at PAC12 media day interviews.

[Jim McMahon]

Are you serious? Look, I mentioned in my post that I really don’t care. I more care about the fact that he has owned us. But he clearly avoids saying BYU around the media.

https://kslsports.com/465794/next-question-kyle-whittingham-politely-refuses-to-say-nice-things-about-byu/#:~:text=SALT%20LAKE%20CITY%2C%20Utah%20%E2%80%93%20With,the%20week%20of%20the%20game.

[Central Coast Ute]

I’m very serious. If all you’re going to do is cherry pick articles instead of watch interviews, especially before and after they play each other where he says “that’s a good football team” or “they’re a well coached team” or “they have good players”, I’m sorry but that’s your fault.

[Jim McMahon]

How is this cherry-picking an article? You: “Where do BYU fans get that ye won’t say BYU?”

I post an example of an article from an interview he did and I’m cherry-picking?

And to be clear, I don’t really care. I am more annoyed that he has dominated us. But you asked a question and I provided some evidence.

[Central Coast Ute]

You: “He doesn’t say BYU here’s one article where he doesn’t and he therefore refuses to say BYU!”

Look at that objectively and see how it looks.

[Jim McMahon]

I’ve always tried to be respectful on your site. I’m really not trying to argue. But I feel like you’re twisting my words so I’ll respond. This is what I said in my OP:

“You would think Whitt would simply be able to say BYU and at least stop pretending like the two teams don’t have over 100 years of history. It is one of the best rivalries in college football, and in an era like today where NIL is shredding rivalries and conferences, it ought to be celebrated. I whish Whitt would at least acknowledge that and stop pretending like the game means nothing. “The in-state game”.”

That’s what I said. Show me a recent article or interview where he speaks to the rivalry, actually says BYU, or in the very least acknowledges that there is a rivalry. He downplays it at every turn. I didn’t say he hates BYU or doesn’t have a good relationship with Kalani.

But I also said that he has owned us and that is my main issue with him. Pure jealousy that we didn’t land him.

[2008 National Champ]

at least stop pretending like the two teams don’t have over 100 years of history.

Pretty sure that the parochial school fanbase disputes the first 30-40 years of that history ever happened.

Seems disingenuous to call out Whitt in repeated posts while claiming it doesn’t bother you. You usually have decent takes but you’re barking up the wrong tree on this one.

[Jim McMahon]

Fair enough.

[ukiyoronin]

Hey Jim, props on coming here and posting some genuine thoughts. Pretty rare these days.
I’m not sure how the media portrays their relationship 100% because I’m not paying that close attention to when he says BYU and when he doesn’t. But from what I understand they are pretty good friends outside of the media. Like they chat off line quite often from what I understand.

https://kslsports.com/415402/kyle-whittingham-i-feel-very-close-to-kalani/

I think it’s easy as fans to get sucked into our respective fan vacuums. It’s a much bigger rivalry between the fans than it is the players and coaches imo. Let’s just all love us some football, because it’s almost here!

[utefansince79]

Afraid that Utah and BYU fan bases are overwhelming some of the BIG 12 Facebook pages (even the ones that weren’t created in the last few months). On one of them, I just saw a comment (from a fan of one of the other schools) lamenting that there isn’t any football talk on that page anymore, just a battle of words between Utah and BYU fans.

[CityCreekUte]

And this thread embodies all the reasons I hate going to the Big12

[Tony (admin)]

Yup.

[Dallas]

I’m gonna miss battling SC, Oregon, and UW for the conference championship.

[UteFanatic]

Here’s the thing. Whitt is extremely competitive and with that comes a bit of pettiness. It’s what makes him a great coach. All the great coaches have that kind of “edge” to them (Urban, Saban, Dabo, Gundy, Harbaugh, etc.). The best coaches aren’t “nice” in the traditional sense.

In my opinion, he treats a rivalry exactly like it should be treated. Petty, angry, dismissive, vindictive, etc.

I get that it bothers the absolute hell out of BYU fans, but that is intentional. He is always looking for ways to gain a competitive advantage. The minimization of BYU by not saying their name drives fans nuts, but it ALSO irritates BYU players. We’ve seen that irritation among BYU players over the years. It’s a psychological tactic and it works, Whitt’s rivalry record proves it. He is a master rivalry troll. It’s one of the reasons why I think BYU commits so many turnovers against Utah, they play nervous and uptight.

Here’s how I know BYU fans are full of it when they espouse such hate for Whitt. If he had chose BYU over Utah back in 2005, BYU fans would LOVE his attitude and pettiness toward the rivalry. They hate him because they didn’t get him and he owns them.

Anyway, if I were a BYU fan I wouldn’t let his attitude bother me because I would understand that it’s all just an act.

[Jim McMahon]

Spot on. I tried to make it clear in my OP that the thing that hurts the most is simply that he has dominated us. It stings. I have said on this site multiple times (looks at my post history) that Whit is an elite coach. I have congratulated you on your big wins.

And yes, 100% we wish we had gotten him in 2005.

Seeing how you describe it makes a lot of sense. I did say in my OP that while his head games bother me, I fully admit that I would enjoy them if the shoe were on the other foot and we were dominating the series.

I’ll just end by saying what I tried to say in my OP. All rational BYU fans I know will fully admit that Whit is an elite coach and that he has dominated us. And that’s what hurts the most. One of our own went to our rival and completely dominated us. But I respect the heck out of him and fully recognize that he is elite.

[Duhwayne]

Personally I thought your OP was solid and respectful and I am glad to see BYU and Utah fans able to be something other than asses to each other. My main objection to Big XII was to stay away from all the toxicity. It was bad for everyone.

I’m too lazy to google it but he said the beer on his family thing about Zona fans before he even got to BYU. The repeats make it pretty questionable anywhere.

You gotta be in pain inside and out to find himself where he was. I hope he’s doing better. Doesn’t matter who you played for. If a man loses his humanity over football he’s not that great a human.

[EagleMountainUte]

I wish I could design bot to just argue with TSPP fans online. It would be very humorous.

[Tony (admin)]

I could. 😹

[ukiyoronin]

Just wanted to set the record straight here. That is all. Start at the 4 minute mark.

[Jim McMahon]

Yep. I’ll eat crow on this one. I had not seen it in a recent interview. I acknowledged as much in Central Coast Ute’s earlier post today.

Good interview.