The annual Apple Cup between the Washington Huskies and Washington State Cougars always has high expectations whenever the two teams compete on the football field. Going into the game the Huskies had an undefeated record of 11-0 facing the struggling Cougars at 5-6. The Cougars came into Seattle after dropping six of their last seven games which ultimately left them with nothing to lose against the Huskies. The Huskies, ranked at #3 in the country, were trying to stay in the College Football Playoff Race with a lot on the line. There were huge implications in this year’s Apple Cup because of this factor, and the Cougars wanted to crush the chances of a playoff berth for UW. Typically when rivals face off. the outcome can appear to be closer than stats would predict. In his case, that is exactly what happened as the Huskies edged out a 24-21 victory.
The start of the game was a bit iffy for both teams as there weren’t many points scored at all, as it was just punts for both teams on each possession besides a pair of touchdowns on each side. Quarterback Heisman candidate Michael Penix Jr. for UW wasn’t able to have the kind of performance he would have hoped for, compared to the Cougars quarterback Cam Ward who was able to keep his team in the game as it was 14-14 at the half.
As the second half started, the game was not as entertaining as fans would have hoped for. Coming out of the gate there wasn’t any scoring that happened the entire quarter until Rome Odunze caught a 21-yard touchdown as the time expired. Besides this scoring from UW, there were many punts and a couple of interceptions thrown ultimately keeping the quarter almost scoreless. Heading into the final quarter of play, UW held to a 21-14 lead until six minutes left in the game as Washington State was able to break through and answer on an 8-yard touchdown pass from Cam Ward to Lincoln Victor. This shifted the momentum in the game as the Cougars were able to get another stop on defense forcing the Huskies to punt. The stadium was shaken by the fact that the Cougars were threatening which did not sit well with Washington fans.
The Huskies then were able to get a defensive stop which forced Washington State to punt once again, leaving the Huskies with the football with only two minutes left on the clock. Michael Penix Jr. and the UW offense were able to drive down the field and get into field goal range with a few seconds left, to allow Grady Gross to attempt a 42-yarder for the win. As time expired, Gross was able to knock it through to keep the undefeated record for the Huskies alive and deliver a rivalry win for the team. With this field goal, the Huskies were able to stay alive in the College Football Playoff hunt with a 12-0 record.
There were mixed feelings about the outcome of the game for both sides, as Cougar fans were disappointed, and Huskies fans were delighted. Washington Huskies fan Jonah Eilers (11) was asked about how the Huskies were able to close the door on a tight game.“Big calls from Kalen DeBoer allowed the Huskies to move the ball down the field to do just enough when it came to scoring when they needed it. The defense was also able to step up and make stops when it mattered most,” Eilers said.
On the other end, Cougars fans were not so thrilled about the final score, including Eli Hopkins (11). Hopkins was asked about why the Cougars weren’t able to close out the game when they had momentum, to which he responded by saying, “The refs sold in the third quarter.”Hopkins expressed his frustration with the job the refs did, which he felt ultimately slowed down the Cougars’ gameplay throughout the rest of the game. Washington State fan Mason Sams (10) explained, “We had all the momentum but I think we used up our energy in the first three quarters and that caused them to be exhausted late in the fourth quarter, leading to defensive mistakes and the Huskies capitalized on those opportunities.”
The yearly matchup between the two teams was one full of exciting moments and a turn of events. The popcorn was out to enjoy this one as the Huskies were able to fend off the Cougs in the 115th annual meeting. The Huskies now lead the overall record of 76-33 as they look to keep up this momentum into the final Pac-12 Championship against the Oregon Ducks.
