PULLMAN, Wash. — T-minus one week until Wazzu heads the San Antonio for the Alamo Bowl.
Monday practice changed a little bit from last week. Last week was all about giving the younger guys reps. This week is all about Iowa State.
"It felt good to get back into the swing of things," said offensive lineman Abe Lucas. "Last week has been kind of weird, coming back from a week off but yeah I think we overall are doing pretty well, in a good place."
"I thought practice went well," said safety Jalen Thompson. "Like Abe said, good getting back out there with the guys. We feel loose, and I feel like we're ready to go."
"Bowl practices are kind of funny because you split them up, you get the young guys reps and such like that, but now we're leaving next Sunday," said Abe. "It's just kind of crept up on us super fast. Just going to stay locked in and just get ready for that game."
Ever since the Apple Cup, the big story line around this team has been whether or not they can get win number 11 and set a record for single season wins in the process. The players say the importance of that has not been lost on them.
"You could just hear it in the locker room," said Thompson. "Guys are always talking about making school history and getting that 11th win. That's big for us right now. That's where our mindset is."
"It's just another game. The bowl game, it's just another game like the regular season, but there's a lot riding on it," said Lucas. "You can't get too focused on that or else you'll lose sight of the goal which is just to win the game, but everybody's got it in the back of their minds."
In the midst of all of this, Wednesday is National Signing Day.
"Oh it's pretty heavy. A lot of phone and that type of thing," said Mike Leach. "We have quite a few guys committed so it's a little more clear cut than it was last year probably at this time. Recruiting never really gets routine because there's a lot of moving parts, but it's clearer than last year.
There will be a press conference on Wednesday for National Signing Day.
Coach Leach will delve into his freshman class then.