Cougars enjoyed getting cat nap

PULLMAN — With no game on the schedule for this Saturday, Washington State’s football team got three days off this week. But some habits — like practice, for instance — are tough to break.

“The first day it was real weird,” Cougars defensive end Mkristo Bruce said. “I came out of class and go sit down in the locker room, and I was like, ‘Man, people are late today.’ I just waited and waited and then I was like, ‘Ohhhh.’ I got caught on that.”

After realizing his presence was unnecessary on Monday, Bruce took the time off for a little rest and relaxation. Those two things are a sharp departure from the normal routine — and a much-appreciated change of pace.

“It just felt so good to go home and sit down,” Bruce said. “You play football all day and by the time you get home you got to do some homework, try and cook something. I wanted one more day (off) so bad. They wouldn’t give it to me, though.

“Sometimes I wonder what it’s like to be a regular student. But they probably wonder what it’s like to play Pac-10 football, too.”

The Cougars returned to the practice field on Thursday for a session slightly shorter than usual. They’ll have another afternoon practice today, then a morning session on Saturday before taking Sunday off and launching into full preparation mode for the Pac-10 home opener against Oregon on Oct. 9.

But before getting back to football, Bruce said he had one other bye-week task to take care of: fixing his car.

“My bumper was falling off. Someone hit me and I didn’t know who it was. … I couldn’t find a new bumper so I had to get some screws, just patch it up,” the sophomore said, even taking a moment for a little self-deprecating humor. “It was real productive. More production in the bye week than I’ve had on the field so far.”

Injury update

The Cougars held a long list of players out of practice on Thursday, though some were just for precautionary reasons as the team uses the bye week to heal.

Quarterback Josh Swogger is still wearing a brace on his injured right knee, but team trainer Bill Drake said there’s no cause for concern and that the team is just giving Swogger ample opportunity to get better without going through every drill.

“Josh we’re just resting,” Drake said. “He may stand and throw a little bit (today). … We’ll look at trying to have him back on Monday.”

Also held out of Thursday’s session, and most likely until Monday, as Saturday’s practice will be mostly for scout team players to scrimmage, were wideout Trandon Harvey, who has turf toe; safety Hamza Abdullah, who has been fighting a groin pull for about two weeks; defensive end Reyshawn Bobo, who has a mild knee sprain and missed the Arizona game; and linebacker Chris Baltzer, who suffered a sprained knee against Colorado.

Drake said defensive tackles Steve Cook and Ropati Pitoitua, who have both missed the last two games, could return to practice on Monday if things continue to go well. Cook, who has a knee sprain, and Pitoitua, who has a high ankle sprain, have both attempted running with the injuries.

Abdullah and middle linebacker Will Derting are finally out of casts after suffering thumb and wrist injuries, respectively, in camp. They will play with a softer cast that acts more like a splint in future games.

Three pass-catchers who got hurt at Arizona are still under evaluation. Tight end Troy Bienemann suffered a fibula contusion and is day-to-day. Still, Drake and head coach Bill Doba have not yet given the green light for Bienemann to practice, and his game status is not yet definite.

The outlook is not as sunny for tight end Cody Boyd and wide receiver Marty Martin, who both have right shoulder sprains. Boyd had an MRI on Tuesday, but it was not conclusive enough to make a final decision on the proper course of action. Drake said the team will re-evaluate in 1-2 weeks before deciding if Boyd has a chance to come back this season or if he will have the shoulder surgically repaired. Martin’s sprain isn’t quite as serious but he is still out for the Oregon game. The current estimate has Martin missing 2-4 weeks, which would put the games against both Stanford and Oregon State in doubt as well.

Freshman defensive end Jason Roberts had surgery on Tuesday to repair a meniscus tear suffered in practice. Drake said he expects Roberts to return to practice in 3-4 weeks.

Also, on a positive note, offensive lineman Drew Hansen is back after a long absence due to an ankle sprain.

WSU-Oregon matchup now a night game

Fox Sports Northwest has picked up the Oregon game, and as a result the start time has been moved to 7 p.m. Originally, the game had been slated for a 2 p.m. kickoff.