SPOKANE, Wash. -- Washington State defensive end Fred Shavies and wide receiver Nakoa McElrath won't start, but will play, in the Wells Fargo Sun Bowl for disciplinary reasons, coach Mike Price said Monday.

Price said both players lost their starts because of conduct at the Apple Cup game against Washington in Husky Stadium on Nov. 17.

The No. 13 Cougars (9-2) will practice this week, then will move to a Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, resort hotel for Christmas before flying to El Paso to play Purdue in the Dec. 31 bowl game.

McElrath, the Cougars' leading receiver, criticized play-calling after the Cougars lost to the Huskies. Price said Shavies was sanctioned for "an incident before the game that was not appropriate and not the kind of behavior we tolerate."

He declined to elaborate, saying both players had been reprimanded for their conduct.

McElrath, a 6-foot-2, 195-pound senior from La Jolla, Calif., caught 67 passes for 1,047 yards and nine touchdowns. He averaged 95.2 yards a game.

Shavies, a 6-1, 240-pound junior from Oakland, Calif. made 22 tackles -- 10 unassisted -- and three sacks this season.

Price also said as many as six players, including "two or three" starters, won't practice this week because they have dropped classes, falling below the 12 credit hours required by the NCAA.

He did not name the players, but said they could rejoin practices Saturday, after classes end for the Christmas break.

Other players might not make all practices because of final exams, he said.

Running back Allen Thompson suffered a high ankle sprain on his right ankle in practice Saturday and probably won't play, Price said. Lavell Anderson took handoffs in his place. Both are freshmen and neither are starters.

Price said the team likely will hold practices this week inside the WSU fieldhouse because of cold temperatures and darkness.

The Cougars will move to the Coeur d'Alene Resort, about 35 miles east of Spokane, on Saturday, Price said.

The team will hold a final practice Sunday morning at North Idaho College before flying to El Paso on Christmas Day.