Tired Cougs get breather

The Washington State Cougars are one of three Pacific-10 Conference teams with a bye this week and head coach Bill Doba doesn’t think it could come at better time.

“We’re beat up emotionally, mentally and physically,” Doba said during Tuesday’s conference call.

Doba mentioned that he is following a different schedule this bye than in the past, giving the team Saturday and Sunday off. They’ll do fundamental drills on Thursday and Friday, then get ready for UCLA starting Monday.

Don’t expect to see underclassmen unseat a senior down the stretch.

“I’m not going to dump these seniors and start building for next year,” he said. “I think that wouldn’t be fair. Some of these guys have been here for five years and they’ve paid the price, and I’m going to do everything I can to help them have as much success as possible.”

Doba also felt quarterback Alex Brink put too much of the loss on his shoulders.

“It surely wasn’t all his fault after looking at the tape,” Doba said.