Friday, November 25
Pullman, Wash.
12:30 PM
University of Washington
at
Washington State
109th Apple Cup On Tap For Friday In Pullman
November 21, 2016 | Football
Huskies and Cougars ready to compete for Pac-12 North title.
THE GAME: The 2016 regular season comes to a close when the 109th meeting between Washington (10-1 overall, 7-1 Pac-12) and Washington State (8-3, 7-1) kicks off Saturday at 12:30 p.m. PT in Pullman. The game will air live on FOX television, and the winner will earn a spot in the Pac-12 Championship game against either Colorado or USC. The Huskies are currently ranked No. 6 in the AP Top 25 and No. 5 in the coaches poll while WSU is No. 23 in both major polls.
QUICK SLANTS: UW leads the FBS in turnover margin (+1.36 per game) and is second in takeaways (26) and fumble recoveries (13), third in pass efficiency (183.3); fifth in kick return defense (16.64), and ninth in third-down defense (.296) ... UW is also No. 4 in scoring offense and 10th in scoring defense, leading the Pac-12 in both ... Jake Browning, who is No. 4 the FBS in pass efficiency (180.7), broke the school record with six TD passes at Oregon and then tied that with six more at Cal ... with at least two games left to play, he's broken the UW single-season record with 37 TD passes (tied 7th-most in Pac-12 history; six behind the record of 43) ... Browning is second the nation in TDs and No. 6 in yards per attempt ... Dante Pettis broke the UW record vs. Utah with his 5th career punt return for a TD ... he's one of just five players in the FBS with multiple punt return TDs this season ... the Dawgs have allowed just 14 points after turnovers this season while they've turned 26 takeaways into 99 points ... of the 11 times the Huskies have turned it over, they've gotten a takeaway on the ensuing drive six times ... Keishawn Bierria leads the FBS with five fumble recoveries this season, tying the UW record ... only one other player in the FBS has more than three ... the Huskies had a kick return for a TD (Ross, 92 yds.) and a punt return for a TD (Pettis, 68 yds.) in the win over Rutgers ... only twice before in recorded history have the Huskies done that: 1940 vs. WSU (Ernie Steele had an 87-yd. KOR and an 83-yd. PR) and 2001 vs. Idaho (Roc Alexander, 95-yd. KOR; Charles Frederick, 87-yd. PR) ... Ross now has five scoring plays of 90 or more yards in his UW career – four kickoff returns and a 91-yard TD reception ... Ross (15 rec. TDs, No. 3 in the FBS) and Pettis (12 rec. TDs; No. 6 in the FBS) are the first teammates in UW history to have double-digit TD catches in the same season ... Myles Gaskin enters the Apple Cup with 1,130 rushing yards, second-most in the Pac-12 ... he's reached 1,000 yards in each of his two years and currently holds the UW career record with an average of 101.3 rushing yards per game.
TELEVISION: The Apple Cup will air live to a national audience on FOX with Gus Johnson (play-by-play), Joel Klatt (color) and Shannon Spake (sidelines) providing the commentary.
RADIO: The Washington IMG College Network, with its flagship station KOMO AM-1000 and FM-97.7, will carry the live broadcast of every football game on 17 Northwest radio stations. Longtime play-by-play man Bob Rondeau and analyst Damon Huard are joined by sideline reporter Elise Woodward. The WSU broadcast of the game will also air on Sirius (84) and XM (84) satellite radio.
THE YOUNG AND THE OLD: Washington was one of the country's youngest teams in 2015, as the UW roster included 52 freshman (both true and redshirt freshmen) and 24 sophomores, as compared to just 13 seniors. Not surprisingly, the Huskies returned a great deal of experience in 2016. In fact, not counting specialists (kickers, punters, long snappers, returners), a total of 33 different Huskies have started at least one game in a Washington uniform, 18 on offense and 15 on defense. However, the 2016 roster still includes just 13 seniors to go along with 41 freshmen and redshirt freshmen, as well as 28 sophomores.
HUSKIES vs. COUGARS HISTORY: The Washington-Washington State series dates back to 1900, when the teams played to a 5-5 tie in Seattle. Washington holds a commanding 70-32-6 edge in the 108-game series, including a 38-15 record in Apple Cup games (1962-present). The UW is 40-15-5 against WSU in games played in Seattle, Washington is 10-7 in games played in WSU's Martin Stadium as the first UW-WSU game wasn't played there until 1982. UW is 30-15-1 in away games in the series, including games played in both Spokane and Pullman. The Huskies have won 13 of the last 18 Apple Cups. Last year, Myles Gaskin ran for 138 yards and two TDs, and the Huskies got interception returns for scores from Sidney Jones and Azeem Victor in a 45-10 win. In 2014 in the Palouse, Dwayne Washington rushed for 135 yards, including TD runs of 60 and 51 yards, to lead the UW to a 31-13 win. The Huskies held the Cougars scoreless until five minutes into the fourth quarter. In 2013 in Seattle, the Huskies overcame a 10-3 halftime deficit in a 27-17 victory. Bishop Sankey led the Dawgs with 200 rushing yards on 34 carries while Keith Price completed 15-of-20 for 181 yards. In 2012 in Pullman, WSU overcame an 18-point deficit in the fourth quarter to force overtime, then won 31-28 in overtime. In 2011 at CenturyLink Field, the UW won, 38-21, behind 291 yards and three TD passes from Price. In 2010, Washington beat the Cougars, 35-28, in a tightly-contested game in Pullman. The winning score came on a 27-yard pass from Jake Locker to Jermaine Kearse with 44 seconds remaining. In 2009, the Huskies posted the first Apple Cup shutout since 1964 with a 30-0 win over the Cougars at Husky Stadium, breaking a two-game losing streak in the series. In 2008 in Pullman, the Cougars prevailed, 16-13, in double overtime. The year before at Husky Stadium, Alex Brink passed for 399 yards and hit Brandon Gibson with a pair of fourth-quarter TDs to lead WSU to a 42-35 win. The Huskies broke another two-game losing streak with a 35-32 win in Pullman in 2006. In 2005 at Martin Stadium, the Cougars beat the Dawgs, 28-25, behind a solid performance from Brink, who threw for two TDs and ran for another. Before that, in 2003, UW pulled a third-straight upset (by AP ranking) in the series when an unranked Husky team notched a 27-19 win over No. 8 Washington State. In 2002 in Pullman, in a game that surely ranks as one of the most memorable ever in the series, Washington shocked the No. 3 Cougars with a triple-overtime, 29-26 win, despite trailing by 10 with only 4:30 to play. In 2001, when the two teams met at Husky Stadium, the 16th-ranked Huskies upset the No. 9 Cougars with a 26-14 win.
DAWGS AND THE NORTHWEST: Washington's most-played rivalries are against the other three other northwest Pac-12 schools. The Huskies have faced Washington State 108 times, Oregon in 109 games and Oregon State on 101 occasions. Washington owns the advantage in all three series. The Huskies lead the Ducks 59-45-5, Washington State 70-32-6 and Oregon State 63-34-4. Combined, Washington has a 192-111-15 (.627) record against its northwest rivals. Washington has played all three of the Northwest teams in a season on 87 prior occasions. Over those 87 seasons in which Oregon, OSU and WSU were all on the UW schedule, the Dawgs have swept all three 28 times. In the meantime, the Huskies have lost to all three in the same season on only seven occasions.
APPLE CUP FACTS: A few notes on the Apple Cup, proudly presented by Boeing:
• This year's game will be the 109th meeting between UW and WSU. The Huskies lead 70-32-6. The series began in 1900, when the teams played to a 5-5 tie.
• The UW-WSU game wasn't called the "Apple Cup" until 1962. Prior to 1962, the two teams played for the Governor's Trophy (1931-61).
• Washington has played just 10 overtime games in its history (overtime didn't start until 1996 in college football). Four of those 10 games have come against WSU: 1996 (UW win), 2002 (UW win), 2008 (WSU win), 2012 (WSU win).
• The last four times that the Cougars were ranked in the AP top 25 heading into an Apple Cup, the Huskies have won the game (2001, 2002, 2003, 2015).
• The Huskies have never lost more than two games in a row to WSU. On the other hand, UW has had 9 streaks of three or more wins in the series.
• From 1955 through 1981, the Apple Cup was played in Seattle (odd-numbered years) or Spokane (even-numbered years).
RECORD COLLECTION: The Huskies have broken or tied a few school records over this season. The UW scored 40 points or more in six straight games (dating back to the 2015 Oregon State game). Never before had they scored 40 in more than four straight (1944). Against Rutgers, John Ross' fourth career kickoff return for a touchdown broke Jim Krieg's old mark of three while Dante Pettis tied Beno Bryant's career punt return TD record of four. At Utah, Pettis posted his fifth career punt return TD to take over the school record by himself. He's now just one shy of former Cal star DeSean Jackson's Pac-12 record of six. Against Idaho, the Huskies tied the school record for passing touchdowns (6; tied record set vs. UCLA in 1970) and Jake Browning tied the Husky record for individual passing TDs in a game, with five (shared with Keith Price, 2012 vs. Colorado; Jake Locker, 2010 vs. Oregon State; and Chris Rowland, 1973 vs. California). Browning broke that record with six TD passes at Oregon, taking sole possession of the mark. He also rushed for two TDs, giving him eight total, also a school record. Additionally in that 70-21 Oregon win, the UW set modern (post-1945) records for points, touchdowns (10) and PATs (10) while linebacker Keishawn Bierria tied the Husky record for single-season fumble recoveries with his fifth. Browning tied his own school record for passing TDs with six more at Cal. The Huskies also broke the team record with seven total scoring passes vs. the Bears while Browning took over the school record for single-season touchdown passes with his 34th, breaking Keith Price's school standard of 33, set in 2011. Also in the Cal game, Ross and Pettis each caught three TD passes, giving them 14 and 11 for the season, respectively, at the time. They're the first pair of teammates in UW history to reach double-digit TD receptions in the same season (they're just the fifth and sixth Huskies ever to reach double digits altogether).
THREE DAWGS NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT: Three members of the Washington football team earned a spot on the CoSIDA Academic All-District 8 team, announced in the first week of November. Quarterback Jake Browning (3.38, pre-arts & sciences), guard Jake Eldrenkamp (3.71, business administration/finance) and linebacker Ben Burr-Kirven (3.71, pre-arts & sciences) were each honored and will be eligible for Academic All-America. The three Huskies were the most named to the All-District team since 1997.
QUICK SLANTS: UW leads the FBS in turnover margin (+1.36 per game) and is second in takeaways (26) and fumble recoveries (13), third in pass efficiency (183.3); fifth in kick return defense (16.64), and ninth in third-down defense (.296) ... UW is also No. 4 in scoring offense and 10th in scoring defense, leading the Pac-12 in both ... Jake Browning, who is No. 4 the FBS in pass efficiency (180.7), broke the school record with six TD passes at Oregon and then tied that with six more at Cal ... with at least two games left to play, he's broken the UW single-season record with 37 TD passes (tied 7th-most in Pac-12 history; six behind the record of 43) ... Browning is second the nation in TDs and No. 6 in yards per attempt ... Dante Pettis broke the UW record vs. Utah with his 5th career punt return for a TD ... he's one of just five players in the FBS with multiple punt return TDs this season ... the Dawgs have allowed just 14 points after turnovers this season while they've turned 26 takeaways into 99 points ... of the 11 times the Huskies have turned it over, they've gotten a takeaway on the ensuing drive six times ... Keishawn Bierria leads the FBS with five fumble recoveries this season, tying the UW record ... only one other player in the FBS has more than three ... the Huskies had a kick return for a TD (Ross, 92 yds.) and a punt return for a TD (Pettis, 68 yds.) in the win over Rutgers ... only twice before in recorded history have the Huskies done that: 1940 vs. WSU (Ernie Steele had an 87-yd. KOR and an 83-yd. PR) and 2001 vs. Idaho (Roc Alexander, 95-yd. KOR; Charles Frederick, 87-yd. PR) ... Ross now has five scoring plays of 90 or more yards in his UW career – four kickoff returns and a 91-yard TD reception ... Ross (15 rec. TDs, No. 3 in the FBS) and Pettis (12 rec. TDs; No. 6 in the FBS) are the first teammates in UW history to have double-digit TD catches in the same season ... Myles Gaskin enters the Apple Cup with 1,130 rushing yards, second-most in the Pac-12 ... he's reached 1,000 yards in each of his two years and currently holds the UW career record with an average of 101.3 rushing yards per game.
TELEVISION: The Apple Cup will air live to a national audience on FOX with Gus Johnson (play-by-play), Joel Klatt (color) and Shannon Spake (sidelines) providing the commentary.
RADIO: The Washington IMG College Network, with its flagship station KOMO AM-1000 and FM-97.7, will carry the live broadcast of every football game on 17 Northwest radio stations. Longtime play-by-play man Bob Rondeau and analyst Damon Huard are joined by sideline reporter Elise Woodward. The WSU broadcast of the game will also air on Sirius (84) and XM (84) satellite radio.
THE YOUNG AND THE OLD: Washington was one of the country's youngest teams in 2015, as the UW roster included 52 freshman (both true and redshirt freshmen) and 24 sophomores, as compared to just 13 seniors. Not surprisingly, the Huskies returned a great deal of experience in 2016. In fact, not counting specialists (kickers, punters, long snappers, returners), a total of 33 different Huskies have started at least one game in a Washington uniform, 18 on offense and 15 on defense. However, the 2016 roster still includes just 13 seniors to go along with 41 freshmen and redshirt freshmen, as well as 28 sophomores.
HUSKIES vs. COUGARS HISTORY: The Washington-Washington State series dates back to 1900, when the teams played to a 5-5 tie in Seattle. Washington holds a commanding 70-32-6 edge in the 108-game series, including a 38-15 record in Apple Cup games (1962-present). The UW is 40-15-5 against WSU in games played in Seattle, Washington is 10-7 in games played in WSU's Martin Stadium as the first UW-WSU game wasn't played there until 1982. UW is 30-15-1 in away games in the series, including games played in both Spokane and Pullman. The Huskies have won 13 of the last 18 Apple Cups. Last year, Myles Gaskin ran for 138 yards and two TDs, and the Huskies got interception returns for scores from Sidney Jones and Azeem Victor in a 45-10 win. In 2014 in the Palouse, Dwayne Washington rushed for 135 yards, including TD runs of 60 and 51 yards, to lead the UW to a 31-13 win. The Huskies held the Cougars scoreless until five minutes into the fourth quarter. In 2013 in Seattle, the Huskies overcame a 10-3 halftime deficit in a 27-17 victory. Bishop Sankey led the Dawgs with 200 rushing yards on 34 carries while Keith Price completed 15-of-20 for 181 yards. In 2012 in Pullman, WSU overcame an 18-point deficit in the fourth quarter to force overtime, then won 31-28 in overtime. In 2011 at CenturyLink Field, the UW won, 38-21, behind 291 yards and three TD passes from Price. In 2010, Washington beat the Cougars, 35-28, in a tightly-contested game in Pullman. The winning score came on a 27-yard pass from Jake Locker to Jermaine Kearse with 44 seconds remaining. In 2009, the Huskies posted the first Apple Cup shutout since 1964 with a 30-0 win over the Cougars at Husky Stadium, breaking a two-game losing streak in the series. In 2008 in Pullman, the Cougars prevailed, 16-13, in double overtime. The year before at Husky Stadium, Alex Brink passed for 399 yards and hit Brandon Gibson with a pair of fourth-quarter TDs to lead WSU to a 42-35 win. The Huskies broke another two-game losing streak with a 35-32 win in Pullman in 2006. In 2005 at Martin Stadium, the Cougars beat the Dawgs, 28-25, behind a solid performance from Brink, who threw for two TDs and ran for another. Before that, in 2003, UW pulled a third-straight upset (by AP ranking) in the series when an unranked Husky team notched a 27-19 win over No. 8 Washington State. In 2002 in Pullman, in a game that surely ranks as one of the most memorable ever in the series, Washington shocked the No. 3 Cougars with a triple-overtime, 29-26 win, despite trailing by 10 with only 4:30 to play. In 2001, when the two teams met at Husky Stadium, the 16th-ranked Huskies upset the No. 9 Cougars with a 26-14 win.
DAWGS AND THE NORTHWEST: Washington's most-played rivalries are against the other three other northwest Pac-12 schools. The Huskies have faced Washington State 108 times, Oregon in 109 games and Oregon State on 101 occasions. Washington owns the advantage in all three series. The Huskies lead the Ducks 59-45-5, Washington State 70-32-6 and Oregon State 63-34-4. Combined, Washington has a 192-111-15 (.627) record against its northwest rivals. Washington has played all three of the Northwest teams in a season on 87 prior occasions. Over those 87 seasons in which Oregon, OSU and WSU were all on the UW schedule, the Dawgs have swept all three 28 times. In the meantime, the Huskies have lost to all three in the same season on only seven occasions.
APPLE CUP FACTS: A few notes on the Apple Cup, proudly presented by Boeing:
• This year's game will be the 109th meeting between UW and WSU. The Huskies lead 70-32-6. The series began in 1900, when the teams played to a 5-5 tie.
• The UW-WSU game wasn't called the "Apple Cup" until 1962. Prior to 1962, the two teams played for the Governor's Trophy (1931-61).
• Washington has played just 10 overtime games in its history (overtime didn't start until 1996 in college football). Four of those 10 games have come against WSU: 1996 (UW win), 2002 (UW win), 2008 (WSU win), 2012 (WSU win).
• The last four times that the Cougars were ranked in the AP top 25 heading into an Apple Cup, the Huskies have won the game (2001, 2002, 2003, 2015).
• The Huskies have never lost more than two games in a row to WSU. On the other hand, UW has had 9 streaks of three or more wins in the series.
• From 1955 through 1981, the Apple Cup was played in Seattle (odd-numbered years) or Spokane (even-numbered years).
RECORD COLLECTION: The Huskies have broken or tied a few school records over this season. The UW scored 40 points or more in six straight games (dating back to the 2015 Oregon State game). Never before had they scored 40 in more than four straight (1944). Against Rutgers, John Ross' fourth career kickoff return for a touchdown broke Jim Krieg's old mark of three while Dante Pettis tied Beno Bryant's career punt return TD record of four. At Utah, Pettis posted his fifth career punt return TD to take over the school record by himself. He's now just one shy of former Cal star DeSean Jackson's Pac-12 record of six. Against Idaho, the Huskies tied the school record for passing touchdowns (6; tied record set vs. UCLA in 1970) and Jake Browning tied the Husky record for individual passing TDs in a game, with five (shared with Keith Price, 2012 vs. Colorado; Jake Locker, 2010 vs. Oregon State; and Chris Rowland, 1973 vs. California). Browning broke that record with six TD passes at Oregon, taking sole possession of the mark. He also rushed for two TDs, giving him eight total, also a school record. Additionally in that 70-21 Oregon win, the UW set modern (post-1945) records for points, touchdowns (10) and PATs (10) while linebacker Keishawn Bierria tied the Husky record for single-season fumble recoveries with his fifth. Browning tied his own school record for passing TDs with six more at Cal. The Huskies also broke the team record with seven total scoring passes vs. the Bears while Browning took over the school record for single-season touchdown passes with his 34th, breaking Keith Price's school standard of 33, set in 2011. Also in the Cal game, Ross and Pettis each caught three TD passes, giving them 14 and 11 for the season, respectively, at the time. They're the first pair of teammates in UW history to reach double-digit TD receptions in the same season (they're just the fifth and sixth Huskies ever to reach double digits altogether).
THREE DAWGS NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT: Three members of the Washington football team earned a spot on the CoSIDA Academic All-District 8 team, announced in the first week of November. Quarterback Jake Browning (3.38, pre-arts & sciences), guard Jake Eldrenkamp (3.71, business administration/finance) and linebacker Ben Burr-Kirven (3.71, pre-arts & sciences) were each honored and will be eligible for Academic All-America. The three Huskies were the most named to the All-District team since 1997.
Players Mentioned
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