Cougars get a bye, but not a break

PULLMAN – Fans of Washington State football can take a break this week. The team has a bye week and that means next Saturday can be spent catching up on honey-do lists and cartoons.

Joe Fan can take a break. The Cougars? Well, they’ll be busy.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do, there’s no question,” coach Mike Leach said. “I think the biggest thing is we’ve got to become more cohesive on all sides of the ball. Not so much on an individual level but playing together.”

While the WSU coaches will spend a few days during the week recruiting, the Cougars will also fit in some extra practices before facing their next opponent, California, in their Pac-12 opener.

Having a bye week is no guarantee the team will improve significantly relative to the teams that will play this week. Last year, the Cougars had weeks off and were subsequently crushed by Arizona and Arizona State. In 2013, a bye week came prior to a game against ASU in which the visiting Sun Devils immediately took a big lead and cruised to a 55-21 win.

After that loss to ASU, the Cougars had another week off, however, and the extra preparation likely contributed to a 24-17 win at Arizona in their next game.

The Cougars do not have many major injuries. While safety Isaac Dotson missed two practices last week and did not play against Wyoming, the extra week will be more about getting fresh than healing.

“We’re all pretty healthy” said linebacker Peyton Pelluer. “But we’re definitely going to use this bye to get into conference play 100 percent.”

There is also the possibility that the bye will allow the first-year players whose playing time is steadily increasing to shore up their roles. Junior college transfer Treshon Broughton joined the team late and saw his first action Saturday. Safety Hunter Dale and defensive tackle Ngalu Tapa also made their on-field debuts against the Cowboys.

The Cougars will doubtlessly drill special teams this week and the defense still isn’t off the hook despite heading into the bye on a run of three shutout quarters. But the bye week will have been best spent if the team can overcome its propensity displayed over the first three weeks to play at a level similar to that of its opponent, regardless of who is standing on the opposing sideline.

“I think it’s more a mindset,” said linebacker Jeremiah Allison. “We don’t have any room to relax. I think we just ease off the gas pedal sometime. We can’t do that with any team, we don’t have room to ease off the gas pedal.”