SEATTLE — There can be only one reaction to the University of Washington football team’s 44-18 victory over Arizona State on Saturday at Husky Stadium:
Bring on the Apple Cup!
Sure, it was nice to see the Huskies bounce back in a positive fashion following their only loss of the season, last week’s disappointing 26-13 loss to USC. Washington’s defense was immense early in Saturday’s game, giving the offense a chance to get itself going after a sputtering start.
But let’s be honest, Saturday’s game against the Sun Devils was merely a stepping stone to one that really matters: next Friday’s battle in Pullman against Washington State for the Apple Cup. This week was less about how Washington would specifically do against Arizona State, and more about making sure the Huskies didn’t trip themselves up while looking ahead to their historic showdown with the Cougars.
And historic is exactly what Friday’s 109th edition of the Apple Cup will be. Washington enters the game 10-1, including 7-1 in the Pac-12 North. Washington State comes in 8-3, and the Cougars are also 7-1 in the division. That means whichever team prevails in the Apple Cup will earn a place in the Pac-12 championship game on Dec. 2 in Santa Clara, Calif.
“I’m excited,” Washington receiver John Ross said about the enormity of the Apple Cup following Saturday’s victory. “I can’t wait to play against them. Both teams are playing at a high level right now.”
Just how rare is it for the Apple Cup to matter this much to both sides? This will be just the third time in the history of the Washington-Washington State series in which both teams enter the game with conference championship aspirations. In 1936 the teams met in a winner-takes-all game to determine the Pacific Coast Conference title and a trip to the Rose Bowl, with the Huskies prevailing 40-0. In 1981 both teams went in with a chance at the Pac-10 title and a Rose Bowl berth — though Washington needed a win and some help — and the combination of a 23-10 UW victory and a USC upset of UCLA had the Huskies smelling the roses.
The stakes are a little different this time, as the conference’s expansion to 12 teams in 2011 created the need for a conference championship game. Therefore, the Apple Cup is no longer capable of being for all of the conference’s marbles.
But under the current conditions, this is as big as it gets.
“I think it’s going to be a good game,” said UW cornerback Kevin King, one of the defensive stars of Saturday’s victory. “Washington State is a great team. I haven’t really got a chance to watch them too much on film yet, but I’m excited to get there and prepare, prepare like we never prepared before. We try to up to the ante a little bit every week, so I think we’ve been doing that. I’m excited to see how this team goes in and prepares, I know we’ll bring our A game, and being a rivalry game I know they’ll bring their A game, too. That’s all you can ask for.”
One could argue a little of the luster of Friday’s game was rubbed off by Washington State’s 38-24 loss at Colorado on Saturday. The Cougars’ defeat could mean it will no longer be a battle of two teams ranked in the top 25.
But any lost intrigue due to WSU’s defeat is more than compensated by the national championship implications. Washington still remains in the hunt to be one of the four teams invited to the College Football Playoff. The Huskies took a hit with their loss to USC, but they only dropped to No. 6 in the CFP rankings. No. 5 Louisville was throttled 36-10 by Houston on Thursday, taking the Cardinals out of the picture. Meanwhile, No. 2 Ohio State faces No. 3 Michigan next Saturday in what amounts to an elimination game. A win in the Apple Cup, followed by a victory in the Pac-12 championship game, will almost certainly put the Huskies into the playoffs.
But the Cougars love nothing more than spoiling a good UW party. As if WSU didn’t have enough motivation in keeping their conference title chances alive, bringing their cross-state rival’s national championship dreams crashing down would be the cherry, sprinkles and chocolate chips on top of that sundae.
“Oh man, I don’t know if you’ve been around Apple Cups or not, but they’re always pretty intense,” King said. “Regardless if one team is 0-12 or 12-0, it’s always going to be a battle, it’s always going to be a fight. So now you know it’s pretty much going to be the same thing.
“I’m happy the state of Washington is doing real well this year, so one of us will be able to represent the Pac-12 North down in Santa Clara.”
Those are words that haven’t been uttered during the lifetime of any of Washington’s or Washington State’s players. So bring the Apple Cup on, we’ve all been waiting long enough.
For more on the Seattle sports scene, check out Nick Patterson’s Seattle Sidelines blog at www.heraldnet.com/tag/seattle-sidelines, or follow him on Twitter at @NickHPatterson.
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