Apple Cup: wet, wonderful

  • John Sleeper / College Sports Writer
  • Thursday, November 15, 2001 9:00pm
  • Sports

It’s going to be wet, windy and cold.

Gusts will whip off Lake Washington and drive a game-long rain onto the poor folks in the stands who aren’t under cover.

And they’re going to love every minute of it.

It’s Apple Cup, No. 9 Washington State at No. 16 Washington. That sort of misery is written into the contract.

Indeed, that sort of misery is sort of the life blood of Pacific Northwest football fans. They shiver, they overdose on coffee and wipe their dripping noses on their sleeves.

“If you love football, you never feel more alive than at Apple Cup, huddled in your six layers of clothes,” said Alan Smith, a self-described “lifelong Husky fan” from Everett.

Smith says he’s seen every Apple Cup since 1971. He has seen much in those 30-plus years, but even he has to admit that the 2001 version is a rarity.

For just the fifth time in the 93-game series, both teams are ranked.

In 1936, the No. 6 Huskies and the No. 20 Cougs met for a Rose Bowl bid. Washington won, 40-0, but finished the season by losing to Pitt, 21-0, in the Rose Bowl.

In 1972, the Cougars beat the Huskies 27-10 in a game that Washington quarterback Sonny Sixkiller would rather forget. Sixkiller, having been manhandled all day by the WSU pass rush, flashed a one-finger salute at Gary Larsen after Larsen sacked him and danced over his body.

In 1981, No. 17 Washington beat No. 14 WSU 23-10 and went on to beat Iowa 28-10 in the Rose Bowl.

In 1997, the No. 11 Cougs intercepted Brock Huard five times and downed the No. 17 Huskies, 41-35. WSU went on to lose to Michigan 21-16 in the Rose Bowl.

Chances are, this one will be just as memorable. The Cougars have an outside chance of gaining a berth in the Fiesta Bowl as Pacific-10 Conference champions. At the very least, a win will put the Cougars in the Holiday Bowl. Washington, its Fiesta Bowl hopes extinguished last week by Oregon State, probably will go to the Holiday Bowl with a win and likely will stay home for the Seattle Bowl with a loss.

But the real motivation: Apple Cup, and the certainty that players will be a part of the lore, whatever they do.

Good or bad.

Here’s a look at Saturday’s games.

Kickoff: 12:30 p.m. at Husky Stadium

TV, radio: ABC (Channel 4), KOMO radio (1000 AM) and KRKO radio (1380 AM).

Stars to watch: Washington – Quarterback Cody Pickett is coming off his worst outing as a starter, but says his separated shoulder wasn’t the reason. Tailback Willie Hurst, playing in his last game at Husky Stadium, figures to be amped. Husky receivers Todd Elstrom, Reggie Williams and Paul Arnold give Pickett a variety of targets. Add tight end Jerramy Stevens to that mix as well, having played his first game last week after six weeks of healing his broken left foot. Defensive tackle Larry Tripplett will be double-teamed as usual. Linebackers Ben Mahdavi and Jamaun Willis are two of the surest tacklers on the defense. Corners Omare Lowe and Chris Massey will face their sternest test of the year. Placekicker John Anderson has won two games with last-second field goals, but has been inconsistent.

Washington State – Quarterback Jason Gesser returns after having suffered a slight concussion last week against Arizona State. He leads the Pac-10 in passing. Receivers Nakoa McElrath, Mike Bush and Jerome Riley have scored 20 touchdowns between them. Tailback Dave Minnich has been slowed by a knee that required arthroscopic surgery, but still averages 4.6 yards a carry and 104.6 yards a game. The Cougars have among the best secondaries in the country, with safeties Lamont Thompson and Billy Newman, along with corners Marcus Trufant and Jason David. Erik Coleman filled in admirably while Trufant was out with a broken thumb. The defensive line, led by tackle Rien Long (an Anacortes product) is deep and quick.

Breaking down the game: Best battle within the game will be Washington’s receivers against Washington State’s skilled secondary. Also, much will be decided at the line of scrimmage: how well the UW offensive line protects Pickett and gives Hurst and Rich Alexis room to run. Washington’s secondary will be hard-pressed to slow WSU’s receivers, especially if the Huskies don’t get better pressure on Gesser than their pass rush has managed the last two games. If the front line can beat blockers and get to Gesser, it will largely negate an overabundance of blitz packages, which would leave the Husky secondary in one-on-one coverage against WSU’s dangerous receivers.

Bottom line: Although the Cougars have struggled recently on offense, the edge goes to WSU because it can keep the Huskies’ passing game to workable numbers.

Pick: Washington State, 38-31.

Cal at Stanford: The Golden Bears’ slide is steep. This isn’t the same feisty team that gave Washington all it could handle. Lame-duck coach Tom Holmoe sounds almost ecstatic that it’s coming to an end. Stanford needs to keep winning to sew up a likely Sun Bowl berth. Pick: Stanford, 58-14.

UCLA at USC: Keep your eyes riveted on the battle for the Las Vegas Bowl. A month ago, Bob Toledo could have been the conference’s coach of the year. Now, he may be looking for a job. Pick: UCLA, 14-6.

Northern Arizona at Oregon State: Inserted as a late substitute after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks canceled the OSU-Montana State game, Northern Arizona finds itself as fodder for a must-win for the Beavers to become bowl-eligible. Only danger is if Oregon State is looking ahead to the Civil War with Oregon. Pick: Oregon State, 46-12.

Sleeper pick of the week: Syracuse 28, Miami 27.

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