Well, sort of.

During his Monday press conference, Cougar coach Kalani Sitake mentioned that the team will largely follow the same script it does for game preparation this week although there’s no game to be played this coming weekend.

“This week will be a work week, and so we’ll have to get some things done,” Sitake said regarding the regimen outlined for his team this week. “It’s the only bye week we have. We’ll go nine in a row after this, and w e already knew that, (and) how to plan for all of it to happen. So we’ll execute the plan starting today.”

Indeed the football facilities will be as crowded as usual with little to no indication that the Cougars will not be playing this weekend prior to heading out on the road again to take on TCU on October 3.

“We’ll have our meetings, and practice, and lift, and everything, and then we’ll go throughout the whole week,” Sitake said. “The only difference is we won’t be playing a game. So, this will be another work week for us, and I’m excited to see our team get better this week, and then be ready to play against TCU … can only take 74 on the travel squad, so we’ll have to iron those ads out, and then get that roster ready to roll by the time we get to, to Texas.”

If the first and only bye of the season for the Cougars feels a bit too early, it’s because it probably is. But feelings aside, the prospect of having the only bye of the season coming in late September has been known for a while by Sitake and his staff, which have made the necessary preparations.

“If you ask coaches, they’d rather have it later, like more towards the middle of the schedule,” Sitake said. “But this is what we had, and when we looked at the schedule, we already applied … what we were going to do daily and weekly. So we’re right in the middle of it, and … we’re going to take advantage of it.”

An aspect BYU has been able to take advantage of through the early season is granting ample opportunity for backup players to gain some valuable game-time experience. In last Saturday’s 41-23 win over Colorado State, and especially during a 63-7 opening week win over Utah Tech, Sitake emptied his bench, with players on the second and third-string playing throughout almost the entirety of the second half during both of those games.

Granted that the play set forth by the backups hasn’t been exactly pretty, and perhaps particularly so versus the Rams due to too many penalties incurred, turnovers and miscues receiving Sitake’s necessary attention.

“I think we could have just ran the ball and made everybody be bored with my style of football. But wee wanted to throw the ball, and try to get some points and try to run some regular ball, and it backfired,” Sitake said. “We threw two picks, and (scored) no points, and (the) quick turnaround for the defense when we had great field position, midfield, and gave the ball right back to them … the defense had to go back out there and they were kind of gassed from before, and now they’re out there playing a little bit more.”

In short, those fans who have been vocal about Sitake not being aggressive enough when his team is leading by large margins, may continue to be disappointed in the near future when the Cougars capture early big leads in games.

The Legend grows

For the second time in just three weeks, BYU receiver Legend Glasker was named the Big 12 Conference’s Freshman of the Week following his performance in the win over the Rams, which included five receptions for 131 yards along with a touchdown run of nine yards. While his performance has certainly provided a boost to the offense’s production, it’s also come with certain challenges moving forward to the final nine games of the regular season.

“Teams know about Legend now … (He’s now been named) Freshman Player of the Week twice now, and so, they’re going to notice that,” Sitake said. “But (BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick) is smart coach, and so is (BYU receivers coach Fesi Sitake), and they’ll figure some ways out (to get Glasker the ball.) We need Legend to make plays, and other times we’re going to need the other guys to do it, and so it’s a committee of receivers that we feel really good about.”

Paving the way ahead

BYU running back LJ Martin received a lot of just praise for his performance versus the Rams, although he certainly wasn’t able to do what he did all by himself. During Monday’s press conference Kalani Sitake pointed out just how pleased he’s been with the performance of his offensive line through three games played this season, and particularly during Saturday’s win over Colorado State.

“Our O-line did a great job blocking and they don’t get a lot of, uh, publicity for it,” he said. “We actually sat out Kyle Sfarcioc in that game, and started Trevin Ostler because we felt good about the depth there, and then, and then you saw Bott Mulitalo play quite a bit and even early on. And then we got a lot of those guys  valuable reps in the second half, so I was just really pleased with what (offensive line) Coach (TJ) Woods, and his staff is doing.”