Bye weeks are about balance. West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen fully understands that as he places emphasis on developing his own team and preparing for the next opponent.

But something is different this year. In the past, Holgorsen avoided showing film to his team and introducing upcoming opponents in fear of overloading the players.

Now, the introduction is part of the process although he still has to guard against over killing the game a week in advance.

“You have to watch that,” he said.

Holgorsen said that West Virginia began prep work for the next opponent, independent BYU, Tuesday but unlike the typical practice week the entire portion wasn’t dedicated to the Cougars. West Virginia also will practice Wednesday and Thursday before the coaching staff hits the road recruiting.

One reason for the shift is that BYU presents some challenges for West Virginia on both sides of the ball, particularly defensively with how they mix up coverages as well as the fact that the unit is older, in both experience and actual age. The Cougars employ a three-man front and are similar to the Mountaineers.

“We’re talking about a bunch of grown men. They’re older obviously from an age standpoint. Their depth is good and they play a lot of bodies,” Holgorsen said.

The Cougars are currently 1-1 on the season beating Arizona in the opener on the road before falling to Utah in the waning seconds this past Saturday. In that game, the Cougars scored a late touchdown and trailing by one point elected to go for two instead of a tie.

It was a move that didn’t surprise Holgorsen given the history between those two schools as he likened the match up to what West Virginia has with Pittsburgh in the Backyard Brawl.

“I knew they were going to do it the minute it happened,” Holgorsen said.

The Cougars are coached by a new staff after the departure of head coach Bronco Mendenhall to Virginia and are now led by one-time fullback Kalani Sitake. Because of the new group, Holgorsen will have the benefit of another game’s worth of tape as the Cougars are set to play UCLA this weekend.

“The third game will be beneficial this week,” he said.

The balance will be about an even 50/50 between preparing for the Cougars, while developing this week before diving head first into BYU once the game-week begins next Sunday.

“We’ll introduce them and get ahead,” Holgorsen said.