PULLMAN - Washington State’s latest shot at the Apple Cup comes with plenty of familiar fuel and a few major new faces.
For defensive tackle Kaden Beatty, the memory of last year’s loss to Washington still burns. He was on the field for 24 snaps then, stuck in a backup role while the Huskies closed hard in the fourth quarter and left Gesa Field with the trophy.
Now Beatty is a starter, Kirby Moore is the Cougars’ first-year coach and the old Pac-12 setup is long gone. Still, the rivalry is here again, and WSU gets another swing at No.
17 Washington in Apple Cup No. 118 on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Husky Field in Seattle.
“I’ve lived with that now for an entire 365 days and some,” Beatty said. “So now we can go out and show who we really are and show that last year that wasn’t what we’re about.”
That starts with a Cougars defense that has spent the summer and fall talking about itself as one of the team’s defining strengths. Its biggest assignment is obvious: trying to corral dual-threat quarterback Demond Williams Jr., who accounted for five total touchdowns in last year’s Apple Cup and returns to lead a revamped Washington offense.
Williams’ path back to this matchup was anything but simple. Nine months after a chaotic stretch that included signing a new revenue-sharing deal to stay at Washington, then changing course and entering the transfer portal before reversing again and returning to the Huskies, he is once again the centerpiece for UW.
But the supporting cast around him looks different now. Washington no longer has several of the playmakers that helped power last season’s attack, including running back Jonah Coleman, wide receiver Denzel Boston and running back Adam Mohammed, who transferred to Cal over the offseason.
Instead, WSU defensive coordinator Trent Bray’s group will have to deal with receivers Christian Moss, Rashid Williams and Dezmen Roebuck, plus running back Quaid Carr, who is entering his second season after arriving with plenty of high school acclaim but little college production so far.
The first task, though, is getting to Williams in the first place. Washington’s front should make that difficult. The Huskies are bringing one of the Big Ten’s best offensive lines into the game, a group that includes five-star freshman tackle Kodi Greene, returning freshman All-American John Mills and fifth-year senior Drew Azzopardi.
That puts a spotlight on WSU edge rushers Matyus McLain and Linus Zunk, two of the Cougars’ most notable camp standouts. If they can create heat, WSU can make life uncomfortable. If not, Williams has the tools to punish a defense in a hurry.
“I just think we gotta do a good job of keeping him in the pocket,” WSU veteran linebacker Keith Brown said. “Don’t let him run free as much as he wants. He’s a good player, so I think as long as we can keep him in the pocket and make him throw the ball and throw the ball downfield, we’ll be in a good spot.”
“It’s a lot easier said than done,” WSU coach Kirby Moore added. “You look at containing the quarterback and making sure we’re sticky in coverage, and it really takes all 11 on defense. And then when you get in those positions, you gotta get him on the ground, and if it’s not the first guy, the second guy’s gotta be really close.”
WSU’s offense has its own pressure point: Caden Pinnick will make his first start in crimson and gray. He has already started at Husky Stadium once, going 8 of 16 for 50 yards with one touchdown and one interception for UC Davis last fall. Sunday gives him a chance to do more, but only if the Cougars can keep Washington’s pass rush from dictating the game.
UW’s starting edge rushers are expected to be true freshman Ramzak Fruean and veteran Jacob Lane. If they get steady pressure, Pinnick could be forced into the kind of mistakes that showed up at times during WSU’s fall camp. If the pocket holds, he’ll have a chance to work with receivers Tony Freeman, Daniel Blood and Darrius Clemons.
“Really starts with command and operation,” Moore said of Pinnick, “the pre-snap, doing a really good job of communication with his teammates from play to play. The other team’s got really good players.
They’re gonna make plays, making sure we’re picking guys up when that happens. We gotta be accurate.
We gotta make great decisions. And then when scramble drill opportunities come up, he’s gotta do an excellent job of finding guys downfield or using his legs.”
Even with the conference shift, WSU is treating this like the same old Apple Cup - a rivalry that still carries the weight of more than a century. This is the third nonconference version of the game, but the Cougars are not approaching it like a side note.
Earlier this week, Moore said the rivalry “still means a ton for both sides and for this state.” His own history adds another layer: in 2015-16, he worked as a graduate assistant for Washington under Chris Petersen, one of the mentors he is closest to.
Beatty’s connection is simpler and sharper. Last year’s result stuck with him, and he wants Sunday to feel different.
“Winning the Apple Cup would mean absolutely everything,” Beatty said. “That is what makes this place go around here.
If you’re wearing crimson and gray, this is why you watch on Saturdays - well now Sunday. Now we’re gonna see it on Sunday.
It’s something that I’ve worked for all off season, something that I’ve definitely pinned on my calendar to look at and something that I’m excited for. So I’m just thrilled to be a part of it and to make history.”
In Other News...
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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 🡒]