Bye weeks can help a team heal -- physically and emotionally -- and provide coaches with extra time to game plan for their next opponent.

Those are obviously good things, but is there anything negative that comes from having a bye?

BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall was asked about that during Tuesday's MWC teleconference.

"I don't see really any negatives, but I also believe a bye week is what you make of it. I think for us we had a chance to heal, which is always a great thing after eight football games ... and to get maybe two days' head start on our next opponent" Mendenhall said.

Wyoming coach Dave Christensen -- BYU's upcoming opponent -- agreed with the notion that having a bye can be advantageous. He said that rest and preparation can give a team a bit of an edge, but not enough for him to worry more about BYU than he already is.

For BYU, the most beneficial aspect of its bye this year might be the extra time it gave the Cougars to forget about the TCU loss. Mendenhall was asked to compare his team's response to this year's TCU loss to last year's nearly identical blowout loss -- but they didn't have a bye -- at TCU.

"I would say there haven't been many similarities other than disappointment right after the game ... t e difference is it's not nearly as lingering," he said.

The BYU coach talked about his team's effort to refocus and recommit for the rest of the season.

"It's been something that has been emphasized, but more importantly, just something that was asked for by me," he said. "I don't think we've reached our potential yet -- and they've responded very well in terms of practice and just how their supporting each other and playing hard."

Wyoming has had some trouble stopping the run the past couple of weeks, but that doesn't mean BYU is overlooking the Cowboys.

"We're certainly not chomping at the bit ... they're playing improved football from a year ago, so I don't see anything wrong in the coaching, nor the strategy, nor the scheme," Mendenhall said. "I think it's just going to be time before Wyoming gets exactly to where they would like to be in terms of personnel and execution, but to this point I think they've done a remarkable job."

No. 25 BYU will be the third ranked team that Wyoming has played this year. The Cowboys played No. 2 Texas earlier this season, and they played at No. 14 Utah last week.

The Cowboys are 2-2 in league play after a 2-0 start, but both losses came on the road against good teams -- Utah and Air Force -- in games they had a real shot at winning.

"We just came off of back-to-back close losses where I thought our team came out and competed extremely hard for 60 minutes in both the Air Force and the Utah games" Christensen said. "We had opportunities in the fourth quarter to win the football games and. at this point in time. we weren't able to come up with the plays it took to win those games."

Christensen was asked which BYU player worries him the most -- Max Hall, Harvey Unga, or Dennis Pitta.

"Well, I think all three of them," Christensen said. "They're very similar to what we were when I was at Missouri -- and they got McKay Jacobson back this week also. When you have so many weapons, it's hard to focus in and try to take one guy away. And that's what everyone wants to try to be offensively, is have as many go-to guys as you possibly can to make it more difficult for a defense to slow you down."

BYU's offense is usually what scares opponents, but for Wyoming, the Cougar defense could be the bigger obstacle. Wyoming's offense has been anemic lately, scoring a total of 10 points in its past two games.

Christensen said the Cowboy's offensive struggles can be attributed to a new system, a young team and a tough schedule, but he deflected blame from freshman quarterback Austyn Carta-Samuels. He said that the 10 guys around Carta-Samuels need to step up and things will go better, but the freshman quarterback is doing his job well.

There isn't a bye this week for anyone in the MWC because Air Force is playing its yearly game against Army. Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said the emotion and energy in armed services games is greater than any other rivalry he's been a part of.

TCU stayed at No. 6 in the BCS poll, but the Horned Frogs passed Boise State in the coaches poll, where they moved up to fourth. The Horned Frogs were extremely impressive on Saturday, shutting out UNLV 41-0. TCU is on the road this week to play San Diego State.

TCU coach Gary Patterson praised the Aztecs for the improvement they've made during the season. He pointed out that he's said all year that San Diego State would become a very good team by the end of the season.

New Mexico is still looking for its first win of the year, and it won't be easy trying to do that at Utah. The No. 14 Utes are tied with TCU at 4-0 for first place in the conference.

If TCU and Utah can avoid losing games they are both expected to win easily, they will play each other next week with a lot on the line. The game has big-time BCS implications, and the winner of that game will be in the driver's seat for the MWC championship.

Colorado State takes on UNLV in Las Vegas. The Rebels will be looking to bounce back from their shutout loss to TCU, while the Rams will be trying to end a six-game skid. A win would give CSU its first conference win of the year. Both teams are close to the six-win mark, which would make them bowl eligible.