Cougars discover remedy for aches

PULLMAN – There is something recuperative about game day.

The closer it gets, the healthier players seem to be.

With the season opener against Wisconsin less than 72 hours away, some of Washington State’s walking wounded became running wounded Wednesday.

Receiver Brandon Gibson participated fully in the helmet and shoulder pad practice, actually making two touchdown catches in drills against the scout team, one a one-handed, leaping grab.

Backup running back Chris Ivory shook off the effects of a hip pointer to practice.

With everyone back, the Cougars are ready.

“We’ve got our game plan down,” said junior defensive tackle A’i Ahmu. “If we can execute that, we really could do well.”

Washington State will spend one more day working on the game plan, with a no-pads, walk-through practice today before leaving for Madison on Friday.

“WSU doesn’t expect to hear linebacker Jason Stripling’s status until Friday morning before it heads on the road.

“The Cougars worked on hurry-up field goals for an extended period, with Romeen Abdollmohammadi struggling to connect as the clock was counted down. Finally, with the pressure on, Abdollmohammadi sent his last kick from more than 40 yards directly down the middle.

“With the sun beating down and the temperatures nearing 90 in Pullman, WSU players were happy to hear Madison is expected to be no more than the mid-70s at game time. The humidity, however, is forecast at 72 percent. It was 13 percent in the Palouse.