Morning links: Cougars head east

The opening chords of AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” ripped through the Pullman air as the Cougars stretched in the morning shadows and begun their 7 a.m. practice.

It was a fairly typical Thursday practice except there was no underclassmen scrimmage, so the practice was mostly stretching, special teams and some light passing work. Everyone seemed very limber after stretching and the drills went fine.

Whether or not the Cougars are ready to beat Rutgers, well, we’ll find out on Saturday. For now, I wrote a story for today’s paper about special teams coach Eric Mele, for whom the upcoming away game is a homecoming . I also made my Pac-12 Picks, so check those out before heading to the sportsbook for fun.

If you’re jonesing for practice news that’s a little more thorough, check out yesterday’s report . Stefanie Loh has a story in the Seattle Times today about defensive coordinator Alex Grinch, who is taking ownership of Saturday’s loss.

The Pac-12 blog lists all the true freshmen who played last weekend, including five from WSU.