The first bye week may have come at the perfect time for the CMU football team.

With injuries mounting and the thick of the Mid-American Conference schedule ahead, the team took the week to conduct shorter practices, rest players and work on fundamentals.

“This week really came at an opportune time for us,” said coach Butch Jones. “There’s a lot that goes into a bye week – obviously, becoming healthier, but also working on individual improvement and becoming stronger as a team.”

CMU beat Buffalo 27-25 on Saturday and is off until Homecoming on Oct. 11, when it faces Temple at 4 p.m. at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. Coaches will use the weekend off for recruiting, while the players get two days off before returning to practice next week.

Some players are using the extra week to rest their injuries. Junior wide receiver Bryan Anderson, who sat out against Buffalo with a shoulder injury, still is day-to-day, but is hopeful to return for next week’s game against Temple, Jones said.

“Even for a lot of people down with knicks and bruises, this gives them a little time frame to get the treatment they might not be able to get during a typical week,” said senior running back Justin Hoskins.

MAC ATTACK

CMU (3-2, 2-0 MAC) faces conference foes in six of the final seven games, beginning with Temple. It then faces rival Western Michigan the following week at home.

Sophomore linebacker Nick Bellore said this week was a good time for a bye so it can better prepare for the thick of the conference schedule.

“I know that some teams have (the bye week) later in the season,” he said. “But now seems like a great time for us. We’ve got a lot more time to prepare for Temple.”

Temple may enter Mount Pleasant without senior quarterback Adam DiMichele, who suffered a shoulder injury in the team’s 45-3 loss at Penn Sate on Sept. 20.

But Jones said backup freshman Chester Stewart is talented in his own right.

“He’s a dual threat,” Jones said. “He’s an extremely dangerous football player.”

Stewart was 26-for-50 for 176 yards, throwing for three interceptions and rushing for 44 yards in his appearance against Penn State and his start against Western Michigan, a 7-3 loss.

LAVARUS OUT

CMU recently lost a newcomer coming off a breakout game two weeks ago.

Freshman defensive back LaVarus Williams, who led the defense in CMU’s 32-25 loss to Purdue with an interception and eight tackles, injured his ACL and could be out for the rest of the season.

Williams filled in for sophomore Tommy Mama.

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