Why WSU has had so many late kickoffs this season — and how the Cougs are adjusting their schedules accordingly

PULLMAN – Jake Dickert has all but given up on trying to kill time by taking naps. It’ll be a Saturday morning, hours before his No. 20 Washington State team is set for another late kickoff, and he might consider a snooze.

“That doesn’t work,” Dickert said.

Instead, on the four occasions WSU has been scheduled for a late-night kickoff this season, the Cougars head coach will bide his time in other ways. He doesn’t watch other college football games – “It just stresses me out,” he said – so in the morning, he’ll get together with the team. The Cougars will stretch, chat, go into meetings with each other and their coaches.

This fall, WSU has had to get creative in spending time before kickoff. Through eight games, the Cougars have kicked off at 7 p.m. or later four times: 7 p.m. against Texas Tech, 7 p.m. against San Jose State, 8 p.m. against Boise State and most recently, 7:30 p.m. against San Diego State on Oct. 26.

WSU has gone 3-1 in those matchups, its only loss coming to BSU, which is No. 12 in the first installment of College Football Playoff rankings.

Two of WSU’s final four regular-season games are also set for similar times: 7:30 p.m. Saturday against visiting Utah State, and 7:30 p.m. Mountain time at New Mexico on Nov. 16.

The Cougs get a break for the final two weeks (their games against Oregon State and Wyoming are both slated for 3:30 p.m. kickoffs), but all told WSU will have kicked off at 6:30 p.m. or later six times – half of their games.

It’s largely a function of the situation the Cougars find themselves in. In the wake of the Pac-12’s collapse without a media rights deal with a television network, WSU and Oregon State struck a deal with the CW, which is broadcasting six games for each school this season. The network has three slots for WSU and OSU games: noon/12:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and 7/7:30 p.m.

The Cougars drew the earliest slot on two occasions, for their season opener against FCS Portland State and for an Oct. 19 win over Hawaii. They’ve been scheduled for the later option two times, for a wild double-overtime win over San Jose State on Sept. 20 and for Saturday’s game against Utah State. They’ll get the middle option for their final two regular-season games.

WSU’s other late kickoffs have come courtesy of other TV deals. The Cougs’ home win over Texas Tech was set for 7 p.m. on Fox because of the Big 12’s deal with that network, which had an opening at that time. WSU’s road game against SDSU was late because of the Mountain West’s deal with CBS, and the same goes for WSU’s road game against New Mexico later this month.

“To get another one next week, I think it’s a little tough, especially having a late one,” Dickert said of his team’s game against New Mexico. “CW has been a tremendous partner, and they kind of flipped it, as I thought they would. They wanted the best game to be on late, to get those ratings.”

It’s been such a theme for the Cougars that not only have they become used to it, they’ve been in a rhythm, finding ways to structure their days around these late kickoffs. Some guys take naps, others are too stressed. Some soak in the other college football games, others prefer to zone in on the one on their schedule later that day. Dealt an unusual hand, the Cougs are organizing unusual game days.

For his part, WSU right guard Brock Dieu finds it easier to catch some sleep before late kickoffs. He takes multiple naps, one earlier in the day and one after lunch. He said the stadium lighting at night can sometimes play a role.

“It depends on the stadium,” Dieu said. “Sometimes, if the sun’s kind of low and it’s more of a noon game and the lighting is weird, you kind of have to squint a little more. With the lights, it’s a little easier on your eyes. But it doesn’t play a huge factor.”

For other Cougs, it’s more about finding ways to spend the day before kickoff arrives.

The team usually arrives at the stadium, home or away, about 2½ hours before game time – meaning for Saturday’s game at 7:30 p.m., the group will have until about 5 p.m. to spend their time. After stretches and meetings, Dickert will give the team about three hours off, and then it’s time to load up on the bus and head to the venue.

With so many late kickoffs, WSU has also taken advantage of the extra time by jetting across the Washington/Idaho border to Moscow’s movie theater (Pullman’s closed permanently in September), where the Cougs like to take in Friday night movies. Recently, they’ve attended showings of “Venom: The Last Dance,” a horror flick – “I sat that one out. I’m not a scary movie guy,” Dickert said – and on the horizon is “Smile 2,” another horror film that Dickert isn’t sure he’ll want to see.

“You have a lot of time to think about it and really get in the mode for that type of game,” WSU linebacker Buddah Al-Uqdah said. “I feel like those night games, who doesn’t want to play under the bright lights? All the fans are out, and it’s loud. When we run out the tunnel, locker room and the smoke’s in the air, fire, that’s the stuff you love. Those moments are beautiful. We love them, to be honest.”

It’s adding up to a different kind of edge for WSU, which is having a special kind of season. The Cougs are No. 21 in the first round of the College Football Playoff rankings, so they’ll need lots of chaos to unfold among the teams above them to have an outside shot of sneaking into the 12-team field.

One thing they can count on, though, is being ready if kickoff comes with the sun down.

“Hopefully, it’s great for the fan base to come out here and have a fun kind of Saturday,” Dickert said, “watching ball and having a couple beers and then celebrating the Cougs that night. We’re used to it now. It’s gotta turn into our advantage, because we’ve done it so many times.”