Playoff Implications Loom as No.5 Washington Faces No.22 Washington State
PULLMAN -- Washington will play its first of potentially three championship games Saturday as the No.6 Huskies and No.23 Washington State Cougars both have something to fight for in the 109th Apple Cup.
On one side of the field the Huskies are aiming to at minimum make it to the Pac-12 Championship Game, needing just a victory Saturday to do so. But more so Washington still has a legitimate shot to make the College Football Playoff for the first time under head coach Chris Petersen.
With just one loss, a 26-13 defeat to Southern Cal two weeks ago at home, the Huskies resume would include three wins against Top 25 opponents; Stanford (No.7), at Utah (No.22) and at WSU (No.23) should Washington prevail in the Apple Cup. Then, likely facing either Colorado or USC again, the Huskies would add a fourth Top 25 victory with only one loss.
But that first request the Huskies to beat a team that has been overlooked by most of the college football world. The Cougars have rebounded from a dreadful season opening loss to Eastern Washington to go 7-1 in conference heading into the Apple Cup. No matter the side, a Coug or a Husky, there is no doubting the 109th Apple Cup will be the most important in the history of the rivalry between the two Washington programs.
"Yeah, he's entertaining," Petersen said earlier this week on Cougars' head coach Mike Leach. "There’s no doubt about it. I really like being around him because half the time I don’t have a clue what he’s talking about and the other half I think is really funny.
Both Leach and Petersen are similar when addressing the media. Neither enjoy the part the job that comes with daily media addresses, with Leach being a little more innovative when it comes to dodging questions.
The two even talked during an ESPN segment this summer on taking a road trip together, spawning all sorts of . . . creative-ish ideas for the path they'd take and who would join them. However, the only trip that each coach truly cares about is the path to the Pac-12 Championship game, with the Apple Cup serving as the defacto semi-final round.
"I just want them to prepare like they have and go over and compete like they have, which I know they will," Petersen said of his players. "We know it’s like all this hard work kind of comes down to this. But it’s really hard for me to say, like, ‘OK, now we’re really all-in on this.’ I just think they’ve really been invested this whole year, every game, and I think that’s what you’ve kind of seen. But it’ll be exciting."