Mobility, versatility and evoking fear. Those three things might characterize a solid football player, but on this particular day at Thursday’s press conference, those qualities described football Head Coach Mike Leach’s ideal Halloween costume. 

The coach suggested strategies for getting the most candy on Halloween night, including the idea to visit three-bedroom communities because of the high volume of kids and the likelihood that the families will participate in the holiday. 

“As we would talk among our friends, ‘Let’s go to the rich neighborhood.’ Well that’s a sucker bet all the way,” Leach said. “You think you’re going to be rewarded with, instead of just a candy bar, say five candy bars. That’s not how they operate.”

Some of those people aren’t home because they are at parties, and often the space between houses is larger, Leach said. 

Leach, who said he won the prize for best costume in his third-grade class, might know what he’s talking about. 

The ultimate cop-out on Halloween is to dress up as a bum and run to as many houses as you can to get candy, Leach said. However, the Cougar football team did the opposite of copping out of a bye week before the matchup against the Arizona State Sun Devils. 

“I don’t want (the players) to look back,” Leach said. “I just want them to rest a little bit but focus, get better and utilize our additional time to improve. This is an opportunity to improve.”

The team needs to improve a combination of everything, Leach said. The team lacks experience, but watching film, attending meetings and practicing can all compensate for the experience deficit, he said. 

Senior safety Deone Bucannon appreciated the time off, but knew what that time really represented. 

“It’s definitely great,” Bucannon said. “It feels good to just get your legs back and just focus on whatever we have next. It just gives us more time to prepare for the next game.”

Football can cause some wear and tear on the players, but they know to expect it, he said. 

“It takes a toll on anyone having all these games back to back,” Bucannon said. “You get little aches, little pains here, little bruises, but that happens with football. Everyone on the team should be used to it.”

By the time the Cougars suit up for the Thursday night Halloween game, they will be ready, despite having lost two in a row bringing them to a 4-4 record. 

“No matter what the record is, we’re going to go into each and every game with an intent to win,” Bucannon said. “We’re going into each and every game fighting and to play as hard as we possibly can, whether we’re undefeated or don’t have any wins at all. I don’t really know if it’s a reset button, but we’re going in with the same mindset. We’re going to go in there and play Cougar football and play hard.”