Cougars continue prep for New Mexico Bowl

It's been an interesting week for the Washington State Cougars. The bowl game is now less than a week and a half away, but the players are currently in the midst of finals week. With finals schedules the way they are, the Cougars hit the practice field at 9 p.m. on Wednesday.

The bowl practices are often compared to spring football. This week they may be more like midnight maneuvers. The focus has been on younger players, but the starters got some work in 1-on-1's on Wednesday. Here a couple of interesting notes.

• According to Jacob Thorpe, WSU has sold just less than 4,000 bowl tickets thus far. That means the school isn't far from hitting its required allotment and could even surpass it with some fans still working on travel arrangements.
• Jeremiah Allison has reportedly been one of the stars of the early bowl practices. Allison has been getting work at the BUCK linebacker spot, which is interesting and new, unless I missed something. Allison has bounced between SAM and MIKE during his first two seasons. It will be interesting to see where he lands in spring and where he makes an impact next fall.
• Mike Leach took part in bowl luncheon and said the Cougars will begin installing the gameplan next week, making it like a usual week during the season. The players will be done with school, which should work out well. Colorado State, however, has finals week next week so the Rams will still be handling important school issues while prepping for the bowl and traveling.
• Deone Bucannon is the best. This is what he said about being invited to the Senior Bowl.

"That was true honor," Bucannon said. "That's something you dream about as a kid and it's all just kind of hitting me. I just want to get out there and represent Washington State the best I possibly can, and represent my family the best I possibly can, and just do what I can and control what I can control."

Football:

Bowl season preview: 35 things to watch - CBSSports.com
24. New Mexico Bowl: Last year's Arizona-Nevada game was a tone-setter for the bowl season, and Washington State-Colorado State has potential for similar fireworks. Mike Leach's offense will throw the ball 183 times and Colorado State is rejuvenated in Jim McElwain's second season.

Leach Highlights Gildan New Mexico Bowl Luncheon - Washington State University Official Athletic Site
The 2013 Gildan New Mexico Bowl held its annual team announcement luncheon for local media and board members Wednesday at the Canyon Club at Four Hills Country Club.

Wednesday WSU practice report - SportsLink - Spokesman.com - Dec. 11, 2013
The Cougars had a 9 p.m. practice today to accomodate the players' finals schedules, and they will take tomorrow off. It was also the first bowl practice that the veteran players fully participated in, as WSU coaches devoted the first few to getting extra work for the underclassmen. The Cougars coaches said they practiced mostly 1's vs. 1's and will get into the game plan later in the week.

WSU seniors reap rewards for persistence - Spokesman.com - Dec. 11, 2013
It has been a productive week for Washington State safety Deone Bucannon, who found out he is headed to not one, but two, bowl games.

Mike Leach's "tough love" turned arouind Washington State - The Denver Post
Washington State safety Deone Bucannon remembers all the shouting and the criticism spewed by coach Mike Leach in 2012 while the Cougars struggled to win three games in Leach's first season in Pullman.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.: New Mexico Bowl to feature teams in transformation | WSU Cougars | The Bellingham Herald
When second-year Colorado State Rams coach Jim McElwain got word his team was heading to the New Mexico Bowl, he gathered them in an auditorium to break the news. The ecstatic players broke out in cheers and began high-fiving each other.

Baseball:

Baseball TV schedule!

Pac-12 Networks Announces Baseball TV Schedule - Washington State University Official Athletic Site
The Washington State University baseball team is scheduled to play 11 games in 2014 on the Pac-12 Networks.