The snow bowl of WSU practices

COUGARS • UPDATED: 10:15 P.M.

Spent the last hour and a half standing quietly in a light snow shower watching the Washington State Cougars going through their penultimate workout before Saturday’s Apple Cup. Some thoughts on the link, so read on.
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• I’m not a big believer that practicing in snow is crucial to performing in it. But I’m more of a believer now than I was two hours ago. Watching the Cougars run on the wet, icy, snow-covered turf it was obvious the more the players moved on the surface, the more they felt comfortable with it. If the conditions are similar on Saturday, that has to help. … The stands were mainly clear of snow this afternoon, but the light snow that was falling throughout practice was building up as I left the field. Looks like Friday will be a busy day for the cleanup crew. … There were no lineup changes to report, as it looks like everyone that was a little banged up got healthy over the break and will be ready to go, other than cornerback Daniel Simmons. For example, linebacker Alex Hoffman-Ellis practiced more this week than any one in the second half of the season. And all the running backs looked as if they will be able to go 100 percent. … That’s about it from the field, except one thing. Watching the ball fly through the air on punts, it wouldn’t surprise me if one is dropped if the weather conditions are the same. … One last note that won’t surprise you. Snowballs were flying fast and furious before practice. I left before the team huddle broke afterward, just to avoid any flying snow. … UPDATE: My story is up. You can read it here .

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• That’s all for tonight. We’ll be back in the morning with our usual post. Until then …