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Bye weeks during the college football season typically give fans additional time to step back and assess the status of their favorite teams.
For Penn State fans, it provides an extra 168 hours to further lament the status of a team that has appeared to regress significantly since the start of conference play a month ago.
Usually, a bye week affords teams an opportunity to get their injured players healthy, tweak their lineups and work to make improvements in various areas.
They do not, however, always produce the desired result.
Some 44 odd years ago, in 1982, we used a bye week following an electrifying, last-second win over Nebraska to prepare for a game down at Legion Field against Alabama.
Despite the extra time off, we spent our time in Birmingham turning the ball over six times and, if that wasn't generous enough, also managed to block one of our own punts, essentially handing the contest over to Bear Bryant on a silver platter.
For those ardent Penn State supporters, I propose that we refer to these next few days as "bye-bye week" as in things I'd like to see the Nittany Lions say bye-bye to before they tee it up on Halloween against Purdue.
Let us first offer a fond farewell to the fourth-quarter collapses we painfully witnessed against Wisconsin, USC and Michigan.
Instead, let's have D'Anton Lynn dial up some creative blitz packages whenever an opponent approaches the red zone versus dropping seven men back in coverage.
In addition, Tony Rojas is a flat-out beast. I suggest we harness that aggression, cut him loose and involve him in some delayed stunts to prevent quarterbacks from shredding our secondary.
Let's also force some second-half turnovers while we're at it.
Next let's bid adieu to the many missed tackles that have plagued us throughout Matt Campbell's initial campaign.
Solid tackling has long been a hallmark of Penn State defenses. What we have seen to date has been maddeningly atypical.
Fans may be surprised to know that Rocco Becht's surname is derived from a shortened version of an ancient Germanic name meaning "bright" or "famous."
However, his performances so far, especially during the second half, have been anything but. Here's hoping Rocco decides to say "Auf Wiedersehen" to the numerous second-half fumbles and interceptions that have plagued his offense during Big Ten play.
How about we say sayonara to running exclusively between the tackles? When was the last time we ran something resembling a traditional student body right, a play that Southern Cal repeatedly used to help guys like Charles White and Marcus Allen award the Heisman Trophy?
Let's leverage our backs' speed and elusiveness to get them in more one-on-one situations with defenders out in space. Anything to improve upon what is a beyond woeful par 2.5 yards per carry (119-300) in conference games.
Penn State finds itself winless thus far in four Big Ten contests despite being within seven points midway through the fourth quarter in three of those games.
The remainder of the 2026 schedule is manageable as four of their five remaining opponents currently have sub .500 conference records.
Let's hope this bye week brings formal closure to the wildly inconsistent football we have all been exposed to under the national spotlight.
Contz was a starting offensive tackle on Penn State's first national championship team in 1982 and played six NFL seasons with New Orleans and Cleveland. He published a book in 2017, "When the Lions Roared: Joe Paterno and One of College Football's Greatest Teams." He resides in Pittsburgh.