Some coaches and players would rather not have a bye week following a loss. Colorado State, however, is welcoming this break.
The Rams will not play this weekend after dropping a 38-31 decision to San Jose State last week. They next take the field on Oct. 15 against Boise State.
CSU coach Steve Fairchild said he was in favor of the down time.
“Earlier (this season) maybe would have been a little bit better, but it’s good,” Fairchild said. “It’s good timing. You figure a week like this helps on somebody like Nuku (Latu), you figure it gives you a chance to get a guy back. And in the areas where we’re not getting a guy back, like with (offensive linemen Mason) Hathaway and (Ty) Sambrailo, it gives you another couple of practices to get them ready, so bye weeks are a good thing.”
And a semi-rare thing.
Colorado State hasn’t had a bye week since September 2008, meaning it has played 39 straight regular season weeks of football since then. This year’s bye week comes nine weeks after the start of training camp.
“It’s refreshing,” said Latu, who is using the time to recover from a knee injury and be ready for Boise State. “Last year was just long. We didn’t get to recuperate, everybody was dinged up. But they kept playing on it. Everybody is dinged up this year and we have a bye week, so we are able to recuperate as a team.”
Said linebacker Shaq Barrett: “We need this time to regroup as a team and just get our mind back into it and get a little break … and just bounce back for Boise State.”
Colorado State is reducing the practice load for a number of regulars this week, and giving a chance for young players to get more live practice action. It’s also been a time for the team to begin to install portions of the game plan against Boise State and continue to develop reserve talent.
“Honestly, I think it is a great time for a bye week,” cornerback Momo Thomas said. “Some people say they don’t like to go into a bye week with a loss, but it gives us an extra week to prepare for a good team and correct the things that we did mentally wrong.”
Chris Dempsey: 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com
