How did WSU players and coaches spend their first of two bye weeks?

PULLMAN – Around this time of year, Jimmy Rogers is learning to walk a fine line, a tightrope above a canyon. Last week was his Washington State team’s first of two bye weeks on the season, giving the Cougars a chance to rest after five straight games to open the season, and coaches had to divvy up time accordingly.

The team practiced Monday through Thursday, Rogers said, and coaches gave players the rest of the weekend off. That allowed them to get off their feet after a 3-2 start to the season.

“I think the biggest thing was, with some of our older players, is try to make sure that they’re healthy as we went through it,” Rogers said, “but at the same time, do some good vs. good and then put the focus on individual drills and the things that have shown up, week in and week out, that we need to improve on – whether that’s O-line foot work to the back end and breaking on a ball, to the footwork coming in on tackling and the angles in which we come in on tackles.”

Maybe if WSU had a few home games coming up, coaches might have taken a different approach to the week off. Not the case for the Cougs, who will hit the road to take on No. 4 Ole Miss this weekend, only to return to Pullman for a few days, then fly out to the East Coast for a date with No. 19 Virginia. Two weeks after that, WSU will square off with Oregon State, also on the road.

For the Cougs, it’s a grueling stretch, by far the most challenging portion of their schedule. They aren’t just traveling thousands of miles to play teams with which they match up evenly. They’ll be serious underdogs for their game against the Rebels, who are favored by about 32.5 points, and they will likely not be favored against the Cavaliers, who are surging with a 5-1 start to the season.

In an interesting twist, WSU will get both of those foes after their own bye weeks. The Rebels were idle last week, same as the Cougars, and the Cavaliers will be off next week, giving themselves an opportunity to rest before hosting WSU. For the Cougs, these tilts were always going to be challenging. Given the travel and the opponents’ rest, they become closer to daunting.

Which is why WSU coaches were careful about the way they used their own bye week. The Cougs did well to dispatch Colorado State in a 20-3 victory on Sept. 27, but they still encountered plenty of issues in that game, like a scoreless second half and only 35 rushing yards in the final two quarters. WSU’s running game looked improved, to be sure, but the rankings do no favors to the crimson and gray.

“You watch it as a coach, and you think we could have beat them 34-0. That’s kinda how we felt,” Rogers said. “We left a couple opportunities out of the red zone there that we need to improve on and make sure we finish.”

Rogers made sure to emphasize that he was happy with the win, happy with the way his defense made Colorado State’s offense look hapless. The Rams’ only scoring came on an early field goal. Besides that, their offense managed almost nothing against the Cougars’ defense, which generated 33 pressures and five sacks, two from transfer defensive tackle Soni Finau in the fourth quarter.

But for every promising development WSU showed in that one, coaches saw where their players could improve. Perhaps one of the bigger problems: The Cougars whiffed on 16 tackles, according to Pro Football Focus, a number coming on missed chances to bring down CSU QB Jackson Brousseau for a sack.

On the year, WSU has missed 81 tackles, per PFF. That’s the third most nationally, ahead of only Eastern Michigan and South Alabama. Those numbers don’t always tell the full story – on several occasions, the Cougars have done a good job of rallying to the ball, negating the impact of missing tackles – but it’s enough of a problem for WSU coaches to emphasize it during their week off.

“I thought we did better at keeping points off the board, obviously,” Rogers said, “but at the same time, there’s a lot of missed tackles going down the field and angles, and coming out of breaks at the right angle, and attacking the ball in the air. There’s a lot of things that we need to improve on, just as far as the physicality and making sure that guys do their job and aren’t always peeking for the football.”

WSU coaches spent the weekend on the recruiting trail, Rogers said, trying to shore up their class of 2026 and begin fortifying their class of 2027. The Cougs’ class of ’26 has taken some hits in recent weeks. In the past two weeks, four players have decommitted, including running back Gabriel Wilson, wide receivers Maurice Purify II and Hudson Lewis (flipped to Utah) , and linebacker Josh Faraimo – all three-star prospects.

Three-star running back John Hebert, a Houston native, flipped his commitment from WSU to Houston earlier this summer.

There’s likely additional context behind these decisions, including some from coaches, who are always monitoring the high school performances of their prospects.

But it is true that for various reasons, WSU’s class of 2026 has reduced from 18 members to 15.

Look for the Cougars to add a few different names to their class of 2026 before the early signing day, which is Dec. 4.

The Cougars’ updated class of 2026:

• Three-star QB Hudson Kurland (Lake Oswego, Lake Oswego, Oregon).

• Three-star edge JaVon Joseph (Oak Ridge, El Dorado Hills, California).

• Three-star S Matthew McClain (Prestonwood Christian, Plano, Texas).

• Three-star TE Luke Galer (Del Oro, Loomis, California).

• Three-star OL Beckett Schreiber (Memorial, Madison, Wisconsin).

• Three-star TE Drew Byrd (Rocky Mountain, Meridian, Idaho).

• Three-star safety Kaden Olson (Northwest, Justin, Texas).

• Three-star cornerback Kameron Hurst (Lift For Life, St. Louis).

• Three-star edge Jacob Lopez-Veasey (San Antonio).

• Three-star edge Tyler Burnstein (Liberty, Peoria, Arizona).

• Three-star S Bradley Esser (Harrisburg, Harrisburg, South Dakota).

• Three-star OL Kingston Fotualii (O’Dea, Seattle).

• Three-star OL Cooper Daines (Spokane).

• Three-star DL Jake Jones (Campo Verde, Gilbert, Arizona).

• Three-star ATH Landon Kalsbeck (Dakota Ridge, Littleton, Colorado).