PULLMAN – Jake Dickert has almost given up trying to kill time by napping. It will be a Saturday morning, hours before Washington State’s No. 20 team is set to prepare for another late kickoff, so he may consider postponing.

“This doesn’t work,” Dickert said.

Instead, in WSU’s four scheduled late-night events this season, the Cougars’ head coach will be using his time in other ways. He doesn’t watch other college football games — “It just stresses me out,” he said — so he’ll meet with the team in the morning. Cougars will stretch, chat, and participate in meetings with each other and their coaches.

This fall, WSU has had to get creative with passing the time before kickoff. The Cougars started at 7 p.m. or later four times during eight games: 7 p.m. against Texas Tech, 7 p.m. against San Jose State, 8 p.m. against Boise State and most recently on Oct. 19. vs. San Diego State at 7:30 p.m. 26.

WSU went 3-1 in these games, with its only loss coming to BSU, which was ranked 12th in the College Football Playoff rankings.

Two of WSU’s final four regular-season games are also scheduled for similar times: Saturday against Utah State at 7:30 p.m. and Nov. 16 at New Mexico at 7:30 p.m. mountain time.

The Cougs have been on a break for the past two weeks (kickoffs for their games against Oregon State and Wyoming are scheduled for 3:30 p.m.), but they’ve all played WSU six times at 6:30 p.m. or later, or half their games. He said they would start. games.

This is largely a function of the situation the Cougars find themselves in. After the Pac-12 collapsed without a media rights deal with a television network, WSU and Oregon State struck a deal with The CW, which aired six games each. school this season. The network has three slots for WSU and OSU games: noon/12:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m., and 7/7:30 p.m.

The Cougars have earned a two-time first-place finish, in the season opener against FCS Portland State and in the Oct. 19 win over Hawaii. They are scheduled to pick the later option twice for a double-overtime victory over San Jose State on Sept. 20 and a game against Utah State on Saturday. They will get the middle option for the final two games of the regular season.

WSU’s other late starts came courtesy of other TV deals. The Cougs’ home win against Texas Tech was set for 7 p.m. on Fox due to the Big 12’s deal with that network, and there was an opening at that time. WSU’s away game against SDSU was delayed due to the Mountain West’s deal with CBS, and the same goes for WSU’s away game against New Mexico later this month.

“I think it’s a little tough to get another one next week, especially getting one late,” Dickert said of his team’s game against New Mexico. “CW was a great partner and they turned it around just as I thought it would. “They wanted the best game to be played late to get these ratings.”

This was such a theme for the Cougars that not only did they get used to it, but they got into a rhythm and found ways to structure their days around these late kickoffs. Some men take naps, some are very stressed. Some attend other college football games, while others prefer to focus on their schedules later that day. Given an unusual hand, the Cougs are having unconventional game days.

WSU right guard Brock Dieu thinks it’s easier to get some sleep before late kickoffs. He takes multiple naps, one early in the day and another after lunch. He said stadium lighting at night can sometimes play a role.

“It depends on the stadium,” Dieu said. “Sometimes, if the sun is a little low and it’s more like a noon game and the lighting is weird, you have to squint a little more. You strain your eyes a little more with the lights. But it’s not a huge factor.”

For other Cougs, it’s more about finding ways to get through the day before kickoff arrives.

The team usually arrives at the home or away stadium approximately 2.5 hours before match time; So for Saturday’s match at 19:30, the group must have time until 17:00. After overtime and meetings, Dickert will give the team about three hours off and then it will be time to get on the bus and head to the field.

With games starting late, WSU also took advantage of the extra time by flying from the Washington/Idaho border to the Moscow theater (the Pullman is permanently closed in September) where the Cougs like to watch movies on Friday night. They recently attended screenings of “Venom: The Last Dance,” a horror movie – “I left that one out. I’m not a horror movie guy,” Dickert said, and there is another horror movie on the horizon, “Smile 2,” which Dickert isn’t sure he wants to see.

“You have a lot of time to think about it and really get into that type of game mode,” WSU linebacker Buddah Al-Uqdah said. “I feel like those night games, who doesn’t want to play under the bright lights? All the fans are outside and very loud. When we come out of the tunnel, out of the locker room, there’s smoke and fire in the air, that’s what you love. Those moments are beautiful. “Honestly, we love them.”

This provides a distinct advantage for WSU, which is having a special season. The Cougs are seeded 21st in the first round of the College Football Playoff rankings, so a lot of chaos will have to ensue among the teams above them to have any chance of sneaking into the 12-team field from the outside.

But the one thing they can count on is to be ready should kick-off arrive at sundown.

“Hopefully it’s great for the fan base to come out here and have a fun Saturday,” Dickert said, “watching ball, drinking a few beers and then celebrating the Cougs that night. We’re used to it now. That should work to our advantage because we’ve done it so many times.”