Apple Cup

The Apple Cup is the annual college football rivalry game between the two largest universities in the U.S. state of Washington; the University of Washington (UW) Huskies and the Washington State University (WSU) Cougars. It is traditionally the final game of the regular season and takes place on the Saturday preceding Thanksgiving at Husky Stadium in Seattle during odd years, and WSU's Martin Stadium in Pullman during even years.

From 1950-80 (except for 1954), WSU hosted the game at Spokane's Joe Albi Stadium. The WSU Cougars won three of these fifteen games in Spokane (1958, 1968, 1972), and have won six of the fourteen played at Martin Stadium (1982, 1988, 1992, 1994, 2004, 2008).

Before 1962, the teams played for the "Governor's Trophy." The game was renamed the "Apple Cup" in 1962 because of Washington's famous apple crop. The Apple Cup trophy has been awarded to the winning team ever since.

With the recent lengthening of the regular season schedule to 12 games, there was a movement change the date of the Apple Cup from the weekend before Thanksgiving to the weekend following. This would have allowed a bye week sometime during the season. In the 2006 season, both teams played 12 straight weeks without a break, leaving the two teams noticeably fatigued. For the first time, the 2007 edition of the Apple Cup was played two days after Thanksgiving.

The Apple Cup has been sponsored by Boeing^[1] since 2007.

The first rivalry game was held in 1900 and resulted in a tie between UW and the Washington Agricultural College. From 1900 to 2008, there have been 101 games between the schools. The Huskies hold a 64-31-6 advantage. UW's longest winning streak has been eight games, achieved twice: (1959-66 and 1974-81). WSU has never won more than two consecutive Apple Cups, but the Cougars have won back-to-back games on eight separate occasions: (1929-30, 1953-54, 1957-58, 1967-68, 1972-73, 1982-83, 2004-05 and 2007-08). Although Washington currently leads the overall series, the Cougars have taken four of the past five meetings including a double-overtime win in the 2008 meeting. ^[2]

All-time football results

Memorable games

According to most WSU fans their favorite Cougar games include: the 1997 come-from-behind win over the Huskies in Seattle which gave the Cougars a Pac-10 Co-championship and a Rose Bowl berth; a 1992 WSU win played in the snow often referred to as the snowbowl; the 1982 WSU win (first Apple Cup in Pullman in over 25 years) that denied Washington a berth in the Rose Bowl; and the 2004 Apple Cup that ended a string of UW victories in the series.

Among the Husky faithful, the more recent memorable victories include: a stunning 2002 triple overtime win over the 3rd-Ranked Cougars in Pullman; a 2003 upset of a top-10 ranked Washington State team; and the 1981 Apple Cup that denied the Cougars a bid in that year's Rose Bowl. Husky fans also remember the 1975 come-from-behind win (WSU was ahead 27-14 with three minutes remaining) when Al Burleson intercepted a pass and ran it back more than 90 yards for a touchdown. After forcing the Cougars to punt, the Huskies scored the winning touchdown on a pass from Warren Moon to Spider Gaines.

The 2008 edition, the 101st game of the series, turned out to be a superb duel, albeit between two teams that had turned in dismal seasons. The Huskies arrived in Pullman winless, while the Cougars had set a Pac-10 record for points surrendered in a season. Equally challenged, both teams recognized that this one game was their only chance to salvage a glimmer of redemption from an otherwise lost season. Rising to the occasion, they played lights out football in a tough, conservative, field-position battle. Early in the fourth quarter the Huskies held a 10-7 lead and the ball. They put together a beautifully controlled drive, eating up the clock while the Cougar defense bent, bent some more, and then finally held with the Husky 14-play, seven-minute drive stalling at the Cougar 11. Ray Perkins missed a 28-yard field goal, giving the Cougars a tiny sliver of opportunity. However, taking over with 3:24 to play, the Cougs could not sustain a drive. On fourth and seven from their own 37, Kevin Lopina's pass fell incomplete. Once again the Huskies could not put the game away, managing only seven yards on three plays. Rather than attempt a long field goal, Husky Coach Ty Willingham elected to punt on fourth down. After the punt sailed into the end zone, the Cougars took over on their own 20 with 56 seconds to go. Then, wonder of wonders, the Cougars finally connected on a long pass, Lopina to freshman Jared Karstetter who was hauled down at the Husky 18. Nico Grasu, an unlikely hero if ever there was one, kicked the tying field goal as time expired. In the overtime period, the both teams traded field goals. Then the Huskies missed their field goal attempt in the second overtime. On fourth and five from the Husky 20, Nico Grasu once again nailed his attempt and the Cougar fans stormed the field, having sent their cross-state rival on to their first winless season in their history (the Huskies would lose to California 48-7 two weeks later to finish 0-12, the first 0-12 finish in Pac-10 history). In contrast, the Cougars finished with a comparatively sparkling record of 2-11, having beaten the Huskies for the fourth time in five tries. Watch this YouTube of the winning field goal.

References

External links

• Apple Cup 2007
• Play-by-Play from ESPN