Our Washington State Cougars are 4-1 entering the bye week and sitting mostly pretty, if you’re monitoring 2024 win totals. The Cougs O/U is 7.5 per BetMGM and with seven games left, WSU is ahead of schedule.
But the most important thing during the bye week is getting healthy. There is good news and bad news on the injury front for WSU.
Head coach Jake Dickert announced this week that bruising running back Dylan Paine is done for the year with a torn ACL. The news is brutal for Paine, who came up huge for WSU in the double OT win over San Jose State two weeks ago. Paine was the team’s fifth-leading rusher and fourth among running backs, so while it’s not a huge loss in terms of volume, Paine proved to be effective when WSU needed him most.
On the flip side, there is some good injury news. Dickert also announced wide receiver Carlos Hernandez and cornerback Jamorri Colson will return in a week at Fresno State. Hernandez should provide more depth at the wide receiver position, while Colson will bolster the team’s secondary depth. Both were on track to start this season prior to their injuries—a broken foot for Hernandez and a broken jaw for Colson.
What to Watch This Weekend
Bye weeks are fun for fans, as there’s no stress and you get to enjoy all the other big games. Unfortunately, there’s a dearth of big games this weekend. No. 9 Missouri vs. No. 25 Texas A&M is the only ranked vs. ranked matchup.
You could watch a rematch of last year’s National Championship Game when Michigan travels to Washington (Go Blue!). But that’s a misnomer, as both teams experienced plenty of turnover in the offseason.
You can’t scout the Fresno State as the Bulldogs, as they’re on a bye, too. You could watch future opponent Utah State battle Boise State if you want to make sure we’re not the only ones getting run over by Ashton Jeanty.
I say you all follow the Idaho Vandals, one of college football’s best stories this year. They lost some key up-tranfers after last year’s breakout season and are playing well despite being down to their third string quarterback at times. They host upstart Northern Arizona today in Moscow.
Whatever you watch, you can do so with no stress. What a feeling.