Christian Caple isn’t buying the idea that the 119th Apple Cup is just another date on the schedule.
On Cougs on the Couch, the former Athletic and Spokesman-Review writer laid out why Sunday’s matchup between Washington and Washington State feels different, starting with the unusual kickoff window. For the first time in series history, the game will be played on a Sunday, and Caple said that kind of move fits the way college football is being packaged now.
“It seems like TV networks are doing all they can to maximize TV windows and inventory and, all the ways that that TV has totally changed the way we consume college football. The Big Ten tries hard to isolate its more interesting matchups especially in the non-conference season and the opportunity to move a game to an exclusive window on a Sunday ...”
He added that the setup makes sense for the region and the sport’s broadcast landscape.
“I think it makes a lot of sense: Pacific Northwest football doesn't always get the spotlight on it that I think we all out here believe that it should. And so to play at 1 p.m.
Pacific, nice afternoon kickoff for everybody. To have the whole country watching, really be that the one game in that window, I think it's pretty ideal if you're going to move the Apple Cup off of a Saturday, if you're going to move any game off of a Saturday, and I like that it's week one, too.”
The biggest storyline on the Washington side is quarterback Demond Williams Jr., and Caple said the first real read on the fan reaction won’t come until Sept. 6. Williams has been at the center of offseason controversy, and Caple believes the mood inside the program is not the same as the one outside it.
“Yeah, I think that's what everybody's waiting to see. I think the mood and you asking about the fan base I think is appropriate because I do think that the mood internally is much different. Look, unless you're a Husky fan who went to the spring game or went and saw a practice or a mock game or whatever, Sept. 6 is the first you're seeing Demond Williams Jr. since this all went down in January.”
He said the long gap has given people time to sit with it, and that Williams’ play could shape the response.
“And so there's been all these months, it's been all these months for people to get over it, but there's been all these months for however you might have felt about that to kind of simmer a little bit. And yeah, I think the way he performs could dictate how people react.
Now, how much does that matter? I think is open for debate.
I do know being around the team and talking to his teammates, talking to him, seeing the way he interacts with his teammates, everybody in the program has sworn up and down for months that it's nothing ...”
Caple also said Williams met with teammates and the offensive line to explain what needed to be explained, then the group moved on. But, he noted, that still doesn’t settle things for the people buying tickets and showing up on Saturdays.
On the Washington State side, Caden Pinnick was named QB1 last week, and Caple said the matchup is intriguing because of how much has changed around him since he last played Washington. Pinnick and UC Davis lost 70-10 in Montlake on this same date a year ago, but Caple stressed that the comparison stops there.
“I think for Wazzu, I'm just curious in the ways you're always curious about a first-year coaching staff. I don't even know if it's comparing what Caden Pinnick is now to what he was at UC Davis last year, right?
Like that's is just a completely different roster around him. Completely different atmosphere.
He's a year older. He had a great year in the Big Sky last season.”
He said the film may not tell the whole story, but it will be worth watching how Pinnick handles this level with a better supporting cast.
“I don't know how telling any of that that film will be, but I am curious to see sort of what he looks like now playing at this level and against a similar level of competition, but with quite a bit better roster around him.”
Asked whether Washington and Washington State’s athletic directors, Jon Haarlow and Pat Chun, could work out a new Apple Cup agreement, Caple said the decision will likely be driven by the larger college football landscape rather than the two schools alone.
“I think it's going to end up bigger than either AD and what I mean by that, I just think that the winds of college football are going to dictate this entirely ... there's been talk about non-conference scheduling partnerships at some level between the Big 10 and SEC. Well, if that happens and you have room for a home-and-home with an SEC team or even with a Big 12 team or an ACC team. You can only have one home-and-home, right?”
He pointed to Washington’s scheduling math and the conflict that could create down the road.
“Washington has to play seven home games at least as its financial models currently construct. You guys know this, every other year you can play a non-conference road game is what that means basically.
And so right now that's allotted to the Apple Cup, and in 2029 and 2030 they have a home-and-home on the books with Tennessee. So those two things are in conflict, right?”
Caple also said Washington’s strength appears to be on defense after watching training camp. He highlighted returning safeties, the addition of Emmanuel Karnley, and a group of familiar names who played a lot last season. He said Jedd Fisch has called linebacker the best room he’s been around, with Jacob Manu and Zaydrius Rainey-Sale now healthy after missing the early part of last season while recovering from major knee injuries.
Finally, Caple pointed to former Coug Taariq Al-Uqdah, who is facing Washington again in his second season. Caple said Al-Uqdah stayed focused on what’s ahead when asked about playing his former team.
“We talked with him last week and he was pretty focused on the future and going forward. I think he was asked about like, 'Oh, is this is it weird, playing the Apple Cup in your former team and everything?' And he was like, 'Yeah, I mean, it was it was a little weird last year, but kind of got the year behind me now.'”
In Other News...
Washington State Just Got A Rare College GameDay Honor
College GameDay marked its 500th on-the-road episode during the 2026 season opener with a familiar piece of Washington State history front and center. Host Rece Davis used the milestone broadcast to unveil the College GameDay Hall of Fan, and the first induction went to Ol' Crimson, the Cougars flag that has become one of the show's most recognizable traditions.
For Washington State fans, it was the kind of nod that carries real meaning because Ol' Crimson's run has stretched across more than two decades and well over 300 episodes. The flag has turned up in all sorts of places over the years, and its long journey eventually included a 2018 stop on the Washington State campus, making this latest honor feel like a full-circle moment for a program that has long claimed the flag as its own. [Read more 🡒]
Apple Cup Tradition Just Took A Hit WSU Fans Will Notice
The Apple Cup carried a different feel this year, and Washington State fans noticed it before the second half even got underway. The Cougars band did not take part in the halftime show, breaking a long-standing tradition that has been part of the rivalrys rhythm for years. Washington State officials said the change came down to logistical and experiential concerns, while both schools have been dealing with the practical realities of moving a full band to a road game in an increasingly expensive college sports landscape.
Washington pointed to Big Ten conference rules and cost considerations as part of the explanation, underscoring how much even a classic rivalry has to bend to modern travel and budget constraints. Both schools have acknowledged the financial and operational strain around band travel and placement at games, but the absence of Washington States band was still a noticeable shift for a matchup built on pageantry as much as points. [Read more 🡒]
Washington States Apple Cup Upset Hopes Rest On One Tough Balancing Act
Washington State heads into the Apple Cup needing more than just emotion and rivalry energy to make this thing interesting. The Cougars have to find a way to bother Demond Williams Jr. enough to keep Washington from settling in, and that starts with a defensive front that has to make life difficult across the line of scrimmage. At the same time, WSU cannot let this turn into a one-sided pressure game on its own quarterback, because the Cougars will need enough of a running presence to keep the offense balanced and give Caden Pinnick some room to operate.
Pinnicks assignment is just as tricky in a setting that rarely forgives hesitation. Washingtons defense brings enough strength to make the Cougars work for every clean look, and the atmosphere at Husky Stadium adds another layer for a quarterback still trying to settle in. For WSU, the formula is simple to describe and hard to pull off: create enough disruption on one side, avoid getting overwhelmed on the other, and hope the game stays close long enough for the upset talk to feel real. [Read more 🡒]