If the history of the Apple Cup has taught us anything, it’s that we have no idea who will make history in the Apple Cup.
Sometimes, the stars do shine bright when Washington and Washington State square off each November, but part of what makes the rivalry so fun is the unpredictable nature of the games. Not just the end result, but who comes up with the memorable plays.
If you think you know who will be the standout from Saturday’s 100th Apple Cup, you’re probably wrong.
Sure, the safe bet is to predict a big game from Jake Locker or Louis Rankin if the Huskies win, or from Alex Brink or Brandon Gibson if the Cougars come out on top. But looking at recent history, I’ll be banking on a game-winning catch from Johnie Kirton, who has two this year, or an interception return for a touchdown by a backup cornerback (paging Vonzell McDowell and Matt Mosley).
And if you like the Cougars on Saturday, how about a big catch from Benny Ward, who has all of three this year (or one more than Kirton, if you’re keeping track)? How about third string running back Marcus Richmond busts off a 56-yard touchdown run, doubling the freshman’s rushing total this season.
If this Apple Cup plays out like the last few, one of those plays that seems so improbable the day before the game could very well happen Saturday.
Take the 2003 Apple Cup, for example. With the Huskies needing a touchdown late for a win, who predicted the winning catch would come from freshman Corey Williams, and not, say, Reggie Williams? Go ahead, let’s see a show of hands. OK, now everybody not named Vincent and Diane Williams in Las Vegas can put your hands down now.
Even if his parents were hoping their boy would shine that day, Williams wasn’t expecting it.
“I can’t believe I made that catch still,” said Williams, now a fifth-year senior. “I can’t believe they decided to throw it to me. Every time I watch it, I still get chills.”
Two years later, it was Trandon Harvey catching a game-winning pass, giving the Cougars their first Apple Cup win in Seattle in eight years. That 39-yard catch with 1:20 to play improved Harvey’s touchdown total that year to one. Oh, and he happened to have fumbled a punt earlier in the game to set up a Washington touchdown. Again, who saw that coming?
Then there was 2002, when John Anderson became an unlikely star in a triple-overtime win. As Washington’s kicker, one could have reasonably assumed he could play the hero role coming in to the game, but when he missed his first three field-goal attempts — well, let’s just say he was being crossed off the Christmas card lists of a lot of Husky fans. So of course, in typical Apple Cup fashion, Anderson came back with five straight field goals, including a clutch 46-yarder to extend the game to a third overtime, which is when he calmly nailed a 49-yard kick that ended up the game-winner.
“In a game like this, you never know where the big game is going to come from,” Husky coach Tyrone Willingham said. “There’s something about these rivalry games, that there’s some guy that’s out there that you don’t know a lot about, that all of a sudden steps up big in this football game.”
Speaking of suddenly stepping up big, take a look at last year’s showing by several Huskies. If Vegas sports books set odds on a backup linebacker blocking a punt and scoring on the play, Chris Stevens would have made someone in his family very rich. Cody Ellis, who scored one touchdown in his first 30 games as a Husky, picked a pass off his shoe tops and ran for a 64-yard score. Marcel Reece’s 69-yard score that game? His first as a Husky.
And sure there are more predictable Apple Cup heroes. Sometimes it’s Drew Beldsoe throwing strikes in the snow, like he did in 1992, with the most memorable catch coming from one of the team’s most productive receivers, Phillip Bobo.
But hey, predictable or not, I’m good with any rivalry that can make Bobo a hero (sounds like the name of a crime-fighting clown, doesn’t it? Bobo the Hero).
So maybe it will be Locker or Rankin having a big game. Or Brink and Gibson torching the Washington secondary. Maybe the players who have put up numbers all year will continue to do so.
Just don’t count on it.
Contact Herald Writer John Boyle at jboyle@heraldnet.com. For more on UW sports, check out the Huskies blog at heraldnet.com /huskiesblog
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