Everyone, let's sit back and take a deep breath. Go see an old friend. Or pay attention to that significant other you have put on the back burner during football season.

Stop checking for K-State statistics on every single sports Web site and just relax, because this is a week when the fans, as well as the players, need to rest.

This is bye week.

Ron Prince probably won't be relaxing, even though his birthday was Tuesday. He has recruiting and the rest of the season on his mind. He, and the rest of his staff, will be working hard.

And that is the reason Wildcat fans should just chill and sip on the good things in life.

Prince understands the state of the football team exactly. He said he has assessed the team like it is already the end of the regular season and the Wildcats are heading into a bowl.

During the football press conference Monday, he broke down the offense, defense and special teams. He pointed out where the strengths and weaknesses have been for all three phases of the game.

He knows ­- we all know­ - that this team isn't perfect. They have a penalty problem, Josh Freeman can't seem to throw enough touchdowns to satisfy most people, and injuries are taking a toll on the defensive side of the ball.

Well, the bye week has the ability to cure these woes. Most injuries heal, and Prince is probably yelling at his players right now for the penalties. He also has said they purposely have left some of the plays out of games in order to have some surprises left for Big 12 play. Hopefully, this will help Freeman and create more big plays from the passing offense.

When K-State steps into Darrell K. Royal Texas Memorial Stadium against the Texas Longhorns, it might look like the same team, but it will be reloaded with new bullets.

Texas will handle a lot of the twists K-State will have to throw at them, but they won't be able to handle others; this should keep the game close all day. This is probably one of the reasons ABC picked up the game for their 2:30 time slot.

All teams seemingly benefit from a week off. Last year, Kansas had an off week prior to playing K-State. They weren't as talented as the Wildcats, but they had time to scheme and heal their aching players. That is why they came out with a 39-20 victory over Prince's team.

So, this bye week comes at a perfect time for the Wildcats with Texas and Kansas on the horizon. Prince, who is handling his first bye week as a head coach, has everything under control. There will be healing. There will be new twists. For the fans, there should be smiles and plenty of football watching.

Ryan Witt is a senior in print journalism. Please send comments to sports@spub.ksu.edu.