The Washington State Cougars are looking to retain the Apple Cup trophy as they take on rival Washington Huskies.
WSU (7-4, 4-4 in Pac-12) personally went a perfect 3-0 in November with wins over Stanford and a sweep of Arizona schools. UW (9-2, 6-2) also had a perfect November with a sweep of Oregon Schools and a blowout win over Colorado last week.
This year, the Apple Cup is scheduled for late evening and will begin at 7:30 p.m. You can watch the game on ESPN, stream the game on the ESPN website or on the ESPN app on your favorite devices.
The Cougars are two-point underdogs to the Huskies on DraftKings. Points should be high with the point total set at 60. WSU is +105 on the money line. A $100 bet nets you $105 with a Cougar win.
For the first time since 2018, Pullman, Washington will be the scene of Evergreen States’ biggest rivalry. Naturally, it will be cold. Temperatures will be between 30 and 30 degrees throughout the day, with a 25% chance of precipitation overnight closer to kick-off.
Before, that usually meant bad news for the offensive-minded Cougars. But this year, the Apple Cup presents a complete change in mentality. The Huskies and their high-octane offense will have to worry about being limited by cold, rain and snow this year as the solid Cougar defense looks to freeze the Husky offense.
If the Cougars want to defend their Apple Cup trophy, they need to answer two questions. First, can the defense continue to dominate and meet the test of the nation’s number one passing attack? The Cougars are 62nd in the nation in opposing yards per pass attempt with 7.2. Washington is averaging 8.2 yards per pass attempt, good for 21st in the nation. The Cougars slowed a very good Arizona offense to a complete stop last week and will need a repeat of that performance this week. WSU is also one of the best first-half defenses in the nation, ranking seventh in first-half opposing points per game, averaging just eight.
Second question, will the Cougar offense continue their momentum against the best defense they have seen this month? WSU’s offense took advantage of the low point in its schedule to do well, averaging 37 points per game in November. They have also returned to health with a rejuvenated running game led by Nakia Watson and Jaylen Jenkins returning from injuries this month. The return of Watson and Jenkins has led to a remarkable 5.5 yards per rushing attempt in WSU’s last three games. UW’s defense isn’t exactly as touted as it once was. While still solid at 36th in opposing yards per attempt (3.8), the secondary has some major issues the Cougars will need to expose. The Huskies rank 120th in the FBS in yards per pass attempt with 8.4. If Cam Ward and company can exploit the Huskies secondary early and often and score at least 27+, the Cougars should be in great shape.
The Cougars are looking to win back-to-back Apple Cups for the first time since 2007 and 2008. Jake Dickert would be the first coach to do so since Bill Doba won back-to-back wins in 2004 and 2005.
Travel safe and stay warm with everyone heading to Pullman for the Apple Cup.
Win the game. Win the quarter. Win the reader. Earn the fluff. Win the snap. Achieve victory. Win the day. Happy Cougar Football Saturday.
Dimensions/lines subject to change. The T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for more details.
