Kyle Whittingham Pleased With Utah Having Bye Week Before USC Road Game

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Utah head football coach Kyle Whittingham said that he was pleased that their bye week will come just before their road game against USC.

What has become a rivalry over the years since Utah joined the Pac-12, the Kyle Whittingham and the Utes will have their bye on October 2. Then they will head to Los Angeles to face the Trojans on October 9.

Whittingham joined Yogi Roth and Guy Haberman on the Pac-12 Network to react to the schedule, including where their bye week falls.

“I would say yeah, not only for that reason but when you look at fall camp, and the season combined, week four is right about midway,” Whittingham said. “It’s not midway through the season, obviously but when you combine two-a-days, and the grind that it is gives them a nice break right about the midpoint. Then of course, it’s always great to have a little extra time to prepare for the Trojans.”

Something that stood out at the end of the interview on the Pac-12 Network was Whittingham giving high praise to linebacker Devin Lloyd.

"I think Devin Lloyd is a future first round draft pick." – Kyle Whittingham.#GoUtes

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) March 2, 2021

“I think he’s a first round draft choice if he has the kind of year that we are hoping he has,” Whittingham stated. “He’s an incredible worker, an incredible preparer, and he watches film constantly. He does everything he can possibly do to be the best player he possibly can be and that shows. That’s why he came from a place of really raw and inexperienced in our program as a linebacker never having any experience at that position in high school, to the elite player that he is today.”

Utah will begin the 2021 season on Thursday, September 3 at home against Weber State.

Trevor Allen is a Utah Utes Insider for KSLSports.com and host of the Crimson Corner podcast. Follow him on Twitter: @TrevorASports. You can download and listen to the podcast, here.