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SALT LAKE CITY — For a brief second Saturday night, Kyle Whittingham got choked up during his postgame press conference.
It was a rare occasion for the always stoic Whittingham in his 21st season as the Utah head coach. But with his wife, Jamie, standing nearby and a majority of his family watching in a nearby room, his guard was down — but just for a moment.
He played it off as emotion directed toward his outgoing seniors — a plausible fact given this year's roster makeup and his love of his players — but it was difficult to not mistake it for something more.
A wild come-from-behind Utah win was likely his last as head coach at Rice-Eccles Stadium, and the emotions overtook him.
No, Whittingham has not made a formal retirement announcement, but the writing was on the wall after an emotional win that left the head coach almost speechless for a moment.
If it was Whittingham's curtain call, what a final game to go out on top after a Hall of Fame career — even if it meant setting a school record for the most rushing yards allowed against a traditionally stout run defense over the Whittingham tenure.
In true Whittingham fashion, though, Utah's back was against the figurative wall — one that carried the weight of a potential 10-win regular season and a possible bid at the 12-team College Football Playoff on the line — and the team rallied in an all-timer at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Utah quarterback Devon Dampier led and scored on a game-winning, come-from-behind drive, and senior Lander Barton sealed the victory with an interception on Kansas State's final try.
Improbable as it may have seemed — ESPN gave Kansas State a 97% chance to win the game — Utah never lost hope.
"Just the guts and the intestinal fortitude that they showed, and never-say-die attitude," Whittingham said of his favorite moments of the game. "I mean, the whole time inside no one was pointing fingers, no one was getting down on anybody. It was just very positive and very upbeat, and that's who we are, and that's our culture."
It's a culture that Whittingham has built and developed for two decades running the show. And while many programs throw around the word culture in a too-often-used buzzword, Utah's has became a reality.
Under Whittingham, Utah was always going to try to do it without pointing fingers or shifting the blame, while finding a way to get more from its players than most in an environment founded on the team being in a true family setting.
Some preach family, but Whittingham developed it and made it the identity of his program as a tough and gritty team. And if ever there was a night to showcase that, it was Saturday.
"Yeah, man, it means a lot to just to wear the uniform, to be around who I am," Dampier said. "Those guys know what it means to be Utes. I'm proud to be part of that group. So any day I'm able to suit up and be with my boys, imma give it my all."
"Everyone on the sidelines never stopped believing," Whittingham added. "Nobody threw in the towel, they had that belief — that unwavering belief that you need to have — and they continued to persevere."
And though it wasn't always pretty, it was enough.
That final environment of the season, and potentially of a career, was "incredible" as Whittingham described.
"That was deafening in there," Whittingham said. "And the MUSS — awesome, best student sections in the country — our band, just so many positives, and Rice-Eccles and the environment there, we're fortunate to be able to have that kind of home-field advantage."
And fortunate to have a coach who made an environment like that even possible.
