The Wyoming Cowboys were able to take advantage of their bye, almost upsetting nationally ranked Utah on the road.

Now, they'll have to try to fend off an opponent that's had an extra week to prepare for them.

No. 25 BYU had an extra week to fix what ailed them in a 38-7 loss to TCU and is ready to shake off the stunning home defeat.

"You never want to enter a bye week with a loss, especially the way we lost," BYU tight end Dennis Pitta said. "We have a bitter taste in our mouth, and we want, more than anything, to right the wrong and get things rolling again.

"I think you always have an advantage when you get a little extra time to prepare for an opponent. I think we feel like that and we'll be ready to play on Saturday."

The Cougars used the extra time to watch film -- a lot of it on themselves -- as well as tend to injuries.

And while some teams might have wanted to get right back on the field to forget about their struggles against the Horned Frogs, BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall was happy his team's bye fell where it did.

"I don't really see any negatives, but I also believe a bye week is what you make of it," Mendenhall said. "I think, for us, we had a chance to heal, which is always a great thing after eight football games. We had a chance to do some film study, which is always a great chance, especially when you've completed almost three-quarters of the year.

"We had a chance to get a day's head start, maybe two day's head start on the next opponent."

BYU scored a season-low seven points against TCU, finishing with just 298 total offensive yards.

"We were just trying to get back to basics and work on fundamentals," Pitta said. "We just weren't ourselves, so we're trying to work on the things that make us a great offense."

The defense patched its bumps and bruises and then got right back to work.

"We took a couple days to let our bodies heal up and everything, but the last couple practices have been very physical," senior defensive lineman Jan Jorgensen said. "Now that we're healthy, it gives us a chance to be a little more physical than usual."

MENDENHALL ADMITS LITTLE KNOWLEDGE OF BLACK 14: Forty years ago, Wyoming's football team changed forever when then-coach Lloyd Eaton dismissed UW's 14 black players from the team after they requested to wear black armbands in protest of the policies of the Mormon Church.

Like many of UW's players admitted last week, Mendenhall said this week that he has little knowledge of the incident.

"I couldn't speak to it probably with any factual basis," BYU's fifth-year coach said. "I've heard of the story before but don't know much about it, how it came about or what the details were. Really, [I don't know] enough to even comment, other than I'm aware of it."

COUGARS GET OVER LOSS FASTER: After their blowout loss to the Horned Frogs in 2008, the Cougars continued to let the defeat get to them, barely escaping UNLV and Colorado State in the following weeks.

This year, BYU feels as though it has already moved past another shocking loss.

"There haven't been many similarities other than the disappointment right after the game that we didn't play as well as we hoped," Mendenhall said. "The difference is it's not nearly as lingering. There had been a couple year's worth of anticipation building up to that game a year ago."

RIVALRY GAME?: Most, if not all, of the Cowboys consider this weekend's game a rivalry game and at least their second-biggest game of the year.

The Cougars, who have won five straight meetings and have lost just seven times since 1970? Not so much.

"I don't think we look at it like that," Pitta said. "Every week is important to us, and we're not going to say that they're a rival when we've got a lot of other good teams in our conference as well."

Contact Laramie-based UW sports reporter Eric Schmoldt at eric.schmoldt@trib.com. Check out his blog at tribtown.trib.com/ESchmoldt/blog

COWBOYS TRACKER

THURSDAY: The Wyoming football team closed its door on practice as it continued preparation for Saturday's game with rival BYU.

EXTRA WORK: One week after using extra preparation from a bye week in a near upset of Utah, the Pokes will face a team on added rest and preparation.

HE SAID IT: "We had a chance to get a day's head start, maybe two day's head start on the next opponent." -- BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall.

SATURDAY: No. 25 BYU at Wyoming, noon, War Memorial Stadium, Laramie, on the mtn.