Saturday's Apple Cup game in Pullman had all the makings of a memorable matchup. There were big plays, trick plays, multiple lead changes, questionable calls, some late pushing and shoving and two teams battling out until the final minutes. In the end, Washington came out on top and kept Oregon out of the Pac-12 Championship in the process.

The second representative in next week's Pac-12 title game would be determined by what happened Saturday night at Martin Stadium. A win for UW meant Utah would punch its ticket to Las Vegas to meet USC. A victory for Washington State would put the Ducks into the title game.

The Huskies didn't care about any of that as quarterback Michael Penix, Jr. and the UW offense exploded for 703 total yards en route to a 51-33 win over its in-state rival to win the 114th Apple Cup.

It wasn't a completely perfect night for Penix as he tossed an interception at a key juncture in the second half of the game. However, the good far outweighed the bad for the top passer in college football.

Penix added to his FBS-leading passing numbers by throwing for 485 yards and three touchdowns to help secure the victory for UW. The first-year Huskies signal caller was at his best for a big portion of the night as he escaped pressure and made plays all over the field for Washington in the win. He ended the night with five total touchdowns.

His 75-yard touchdown pass from Penix to Jalen McMillan on the first play from scrimmage to open the second half proved to be a key moment in the game. It helped put the Huskies go up 8 points and created enough separation to earn the win and bounce back from last year's Apple Cup loss.

On the other side of the ball, Wazzu quarterback Cameron Ward made life difficult on the Washington defense, at times, with his ability to escape would-be tacklers. However, that group stepped up when it mattered most coming through with 11 tackles for loss and six sacks to help UW earn 10 wins for the first time since 2018 — a season that ended with the Huskies in the Rose Bowl.

UW needed Cal or Colorado to win this weekend to advance the Pac-12 Championship. That won't happen, but the Huskies will finish Kalen DeBoer's first regular season at the helm as one of two teams in the conference to reach 10 wins. USC locked up its 11th win earlier in the night Saturday with a victory over Notre Dame.

First quarter

12:18, WSU: Dean Janikowski 50-yard field goal; 3-0 WSU

5:23, UW: Michael Penix, Jr. 26-yard pass to Ja'Lynn Polk (Peyton Henry PAT); 7-3 UW

0:53, WSU: Cameron Ward 14-yard run (Dean Janikowski PAT); 10-7 WSU

Second quarter

13:27, UW: Michael Penix, Jr. 47-yard pass to Rome Odunze (Peyton Henry PAT good); 14-10 UW

11:05, WSU: Cameron Ward 34-yard pass to Robert Ferrel (Dean Janikowski PAT good); 17-14 WSU

9:41, UW: Michael Penix, Jr. 30-yard run (Peyton Henry PAT good); 21-17 UW

5:07, WSU: Cameron Ward 15-yard pass to Nakia Watson (Dean Janikowski PAT good); 24-21 WSU

1:40, UW: Michael Penix, Jr. 4-yard run (Peyton Henry PAT good); 28-24 UW

0:00, WSU: Dean Janikowski 50-yard field goal; 28-27 UW

Third quarter

14:50, UW: Michael Penix, Jr. 75-yard pass to Jalen McMillan (Peyton Henry PAT good); 35-27 UW

6:30, WSU: Nakia Watson 4-yard run (2-pt attempt fails - Cameron Ward run); 35-33 UW

Fourth quarter

14:30, UW: Rome Odunze 5-yard run (Peyton Henry PAT missed); 41-33 UW

5:02, UW: Peyton Henry 20-yard field goal; 44-33 UW

1:28, UW: Wayne Taulapapa 40-yard run (Peyton Henry PAT good); 51-33 UW

There were two key moments in the game that ultimately determined quite a bit about how the night would end up. They each happened within a few minutes of each other, and ultimately both favored the Huskies. The first came on the first offensive play to open up the second half. UW wasted no time on a shot play with Penix finding McMillan streaking down the field for a long 75-yard touchdown completion. It stunned the Cougars, who had pulled to within one point entering halftime.

WSU responded with a touchdown of its own later in the quarter to bring the game within 2 points. The Cougars decided to go for the tie at that moment and Ward nearly pulled the game even with a run to the left side of the field. However, before he reached the end zone, the Wazzu quarterback moved the ball to from his right hand to his left hoping to avoid a charging Jeremiah Martin. The move prevented the ball from crossing the goal line despite Ward reaching most of his body over the pylon. He was ruled out at the 1-yard line leaving the score at 35-33 in favor of the Huskies. That sequence kept WSU in a position where it needed to play from behind allowing UW to create some separation late.

There are certainly several deserving players on both sides of the ball, but Washington would not have won the game Saturday night without its starting quarterback. It would also not be sitting at 10 wins after 12 games without a stellar season from Penix. The Indiana transfer has been key to the quick resurgence for the Huskies, and he again showed why that's the case in the win over the Cougars.

Penix entered the night as the top overall passer in college football 3,869 yards passing this season. He capped the regular season by having his second-best statistical performance of the year.

Martin came up with a crucial play on the missed 2-point conversion attempt for the Cougars as his pursuit to catch Ward running to the end zone was disruptive enough to force the WSU quarterback to move the ball keeping it outside the pylon. That play was important, but his overall performance in the game was equally as impressive. The senior edge rusher stuffed the stat sheet in the Apple Cup win as he finished the night with three tackles, two sacks, two tackles for loss, two quarterback hurries and a forced fumble.

Penix had a number of highlight plays throughout the game, but it was a tricky one that Ryan Grubb pulled out of his playbook that stood out most. In addition to throwing three touchdown passes, the UW starting quarterback was also credited with two rushing touchdowns in the win. His 4-yard touchdown late in the second quarter eventually proved to the game-winning score, but his first "rushing" touchdown actually came on a pass play.

With just under 10 minutes to play in the first half, Penix threw the ball back to McMillan who then threw it back to the UW quarterback who found running room on the left side of the field allowing him to slice through the WSU defense and find the end zone.

The score helped UW briefly regain the lead in the first half and was an impressive play plus a nice changeup for the Huskies quarterback who has made so much noise with his arm this season.

Like so many other games this season, Washington's offense made it too difficult on its opponent to keep up. The Cougars did a good job of keeping pace with the Huskies for a big portion of the game, but when UW was able to create even a sliver of separation it proved to be too much for the Cougars to overcome down the stretch. Washington hit on several explosive plays, and in any game when a team reaches 700 total yards it is going to be difficult to pull out a victory.

Penix was as dominant as he has been all season, yet the Huskies found a way to balance out the game on offense with over 200 yards rushing as well. It all combined to one of the best offensive performances of the season in the Pac-12.

Throw into that the play of the defense down the stretch, and it made for a good night for the Huskies.

No, the Huskies will not be playing USC next week for the Pac-12 Championship. However, all is not lost in a 10-win season for DeBoer and his team. A win by USC over Utah in Las Vegas on Friday means a spot in the Rose Bowl is not out of the question for UW. USC beating Utah in the title game likely would be enough to earn the Trojans a spot in the College Football Playoff meaning the Pac-12's spot in the Rose Bowl would be up for grabs.

Washington would be in great position to be the pick over the Utes in that scenario due in large part to their record.

Passing

Michael Penix, Jr.: 25/43, 485 yards, 3 TDs

Rushing

Wayne Taulapapa: 13 rushes, 126 yards, 1 TD

Cameron Davis: 6 rushes, 55 yards

Michael Penix, Jr.: 2 rushes, 34 yards, 2 TDs

Rome Odunze: 1 rush, 5 yards, 1 TD

Receiving

Jalen McMillan: 6 catches, 150 yards, 1 TD

Rome Odunze: 5 catches, 157 yards, 1 TD

Ja'Lynn Polk: 4 catches, 82 yards, 1 TD

Giles Jackson: 2 catches, 37 yards

Jack Westover: 2 catches, 14 yards

Devin Culp: 2 catches, 12 yards

Taj Davis: 1 catch, 12 yards

Wayne Taulapapa: 1 catch, 9 yards

Cameron Davis: 1 catch, 6 yards

Quentin Moore: 1 catch, 6 yards

Defense

Alphonzo Tuputala: 9 tackles (7 solo), 2 TFL

Mishael Powell: 8 tackles (6 solo), 0.5 TFL

Zion Tupuola-Fetui 6 tackles (5 solo), 1 sack, 1 TFL

Asa Turner: 5 tackles (3 solo), 1 TFL, 1 PBU

Jeremiah Martin: 3 tackles (2 solo), 2 sacks, 2 TFL, 2 QB hurries, 1 forced fumble