After another game in which it squandered a lead thanks to turnovers and little mistakes, a short week leading up to another Thursday night game is just what the University of Charleston was hoping for.
Sure, for most teams that are banged up and looking to get guys healthy, it's not ideal to have only five days to prepare for a game.
But, for a UC team that is sitting at 0-3 and desperate to pick up its first win of the year, the sooner the Golden Eagles can get back on the field the better.
"We're anxious to go out and get a win, we want to get it on track here," Charleston wide receiver Joey Augustin said. "We're working to get one, we're trying. I think a lot of times all it takes is to get one and they'll start to come.
"Between turnovers and some injuries, a lot of things just haven't seemed to go our way yet, but we have to keep pushing."
That next chance to pick up that first win will come against West Virginia State.
UC has been on a bit of a roll recently when it comes to the rivalry with the Yellow Jackets, with the Golden Eagles winning every meeting between the two schools since 2009.
With that said, UC is expecting to get all it can handle from West Virginia State, a team that sits at 1-2 but has shown plenty of progress despite some tough results early on.
"It's time for us to do a little bit of soul searching," said UC defensive lineman James King. "We've got to dig down deep because we don't want to lose any more games. We have to bury what's happened in the back of our minds and move on from it if we want to finish this thing right."
One thing Charleston coach Pat Kirkland has liked from his team, even through this tough stretch to open the season, is the way his players have kept their demeanor and haven't allowed those losses to pile up and turn them negative.
Instead, they've used it as a motivator to keep them moving in the right direction and right the ship.
"This isn't a situation where this group is hitting the panic button right now," Kirkland said. "Sure, right now, we've made it a little more difficult on ourselves at times, but these guys know there's a lot of football left to be played. We're looking to turn that misfortune around to something positive."
When West Virginia State coach Jon Anderson put on the film to watch the Golden Eagles, he didn't see a team that was playing much differently than the one that made the NCAA Division II playoffs a year ago. And he said the team he was watching certainly didn't look like an 0-3 team.
Anderson said he saw a team that has plenty of talent to do some good things, but had made some little mistakes against three good teams from a very stout Mountain East Conference that appears to be getting deeper every season.
"They've played three of the teams that are playing as well as anyone in the conference right now," Anderson said. "They're still a really talented football team and they do some great things. I know they're hungry to get back on track and those are always dangerous teams to play."
As it stands, the odds are certainly against Charleston making it back to the Division II playoffs. Only two teams in the last two seasons have earned a place in the field with three losses.
But right now, sitting where they are through those first three games, the playoffs are the last thing on the Golden Eagles' mind.
"Our motto all season has been that you never give up on your brothers, and that's what this team has to do right now. That's more important than ever," Augustin said. "We're not playing to make the playoffs or anything like that right now. We're fighting for our pride. You never know what can happen, so you have to keep playing."
Contact Michael Carvelli at 304-348-4810 or michael.carvelli@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @carvelli3.