It was a brisk 1 1/2-hour morning practice on Montlake. The weather was cool, 60 degrees, with intermittent sun breaks and an occasional gusty wind. It's similar to what they're having in South Bend, Ind. today, however, the forecast for Saturday says 52 degrees and showers.

Anyway, coach Steve Sarkisianbv broke from routine this week and went with a morning practice and afternoon flight to Indiana because he didn't want the team to feel rushed on Friday.

Said Sarkisian: "The kickoff time there is such that it's really 12:30 our time so it's obviously a pretty lengthy flight, a little over four hours. It's just the advantage of flying, getting there so we have a really good Friday of our walk-thrus and not feel rushed on Friday and Saturday. Let's get rushed on Thursday and get into our routine on Friday and Saturday."

As for practice, LB E.J. Savannah (plantar fasciitis) and WR Devin Aguilar (knee) were held out again and did not practice this week. Sarkisian was unsure if they'll play Saturday.

"I want to see them move around full speed," he said. "In a perfect world if they're not capable of playing, I don't want to play and we'll go play with the guys we have. But if they're capable of playing, they're good players, good-spirited guys, guys that I know can give us a winning edge when they're on the field. So if they can go, we'll play them."

Late in practice, CB Quinton Richardson looked as if he suffered a right leg injury during a kickoff drill. And CB Desmond Trufant had his left calf wrapped and appeared limited.

During the start of a team drill, reserve corners Vonzell McDowell Jr. and Adam Long were running with the No. 1 defense. (Note: I covered Seahawks practice Wednesday and the scene was eerily similar as the Hawks are also mising their top two corners Marcus Trufant and Ken Lucas.) Desmond Trufant returned and worked out with the No. 2 defense before practice concluded, however, Richardson limped off the field.

Also, DE Talia Crichton appeared to aggravate a groin injury, but he finished with the No. 1 and 2 defense. And backup OT Nick Scott (ankle) ran with the No. 2 offense.

With the exception of Aguilar and Savannah, Sarkisian said everyone is okay and expected to play.

And finally, the Huskies will also take 76 players to Notre Dame, which is an increase of 12 from last week's game at USC. Schools are allowed 64 players on the travel squad for conference game, but the number is unlimited for non-conference games. Sarkisian couldn't remember each of the 12 new players added to the travel squad.