It’s Apple Cup Week, so here is a completely, totally, definitely not biased Top 10 ranking of the best Apple Cups of all-time!

#10. 2008 “The Crapple Cup” WSU 16 – UW 13

Heading into the 2008 Apple Cup, the Cougars had just one win, over Portland State. At 1-10, they were second-to-last in the Pac-12. The only team worse? UW, who had an abysmal 0-11 record.

The media dubbed the game as “The Crapple Cup,” a duel between the two worst Power-5 teams in the country. It truly lived up to expectations, as a game that neither team wanted to win. The Huskies scored first in the second quarter, and took a 10-0 lead into halftime. But the Cougars fought back, as Logwone Mitz took a 57-yard run to the house. That made it a 10-7 game, and in the fourth quarter the Cougs tied it at 10-10 as time expired.

The Cougs and Huskies traded field goals in overtime, leading to the ever-so-rare double overtime, the second time in Apple Cup history that double overtime was necessary. Cougars kicker Nico Grasu nailed a 37-yard field goal to win the game 16-13. It was the fourth Cougar win in five years.

#9. 2021 “The Blowout Bowl” WSU 40 – UW 13

Heading into their matchup in 2021, the Cougars had lost seven straight, as the Chris Peterson-led Huskies had their way with Wazzu. But in 2021, the Huskies were a measly 4-7, and the Cougs at 6-5 looked like the stronger team on paper. The Huskies started freshman Sam Huard, who made his first start of his collegiate career, and the gap between QB’s was evident.

Jayden de Laura completed 21 of his first 22 passes, and ultimately went 27-32 with 245 yards. Meanwhile, Huard threw for just 190 yards and four interceptions. Those interceptions helped the Cougar defense dominate the Huskies, and running back Max Borghi found the endzone twice as well. WSU’s 40-13 win was the biggest blowout in Apple Cup history. The first and (so far) only Apple Cup victory for head coach Jake Dickert was a dominant one.

#8. 1942 “The $100,000 Miss” WSU 0 – UW 0 

Somehow 1942 wasn’t the only time this score happened. Of course, it was a different game in 1942, but it’s still hard to believe there have been not one, not two, but three 0-0 ties in Apple Cup history. 1942 was the last of these, and it was the second tie of the season for a No. 17 ranked Cougars squad that finished 6-2-2.

The game was defined by a fourth-quarter drop that could be used as a textbook example of “Couging It.” WSU QB Jay Stoves tossed a 30-yard dart to Nick Susoeff, who let the ball sail between his arms. Had he caught the ball, the Cougs would have likely won the game, which would have placed them atop the Pac-12 and won them a trip to the Rose Bowl. Instead, UCLA won the Pac-12 by half-a-game, and the Cougars missed out on the $100,000 prize of a Rose Bowl appearance. Still, the tight score made this an Apple Cup to remember.

#7. 1901 “The Second Apple Cup” WSU 10 – UW 0

Not much is known about the second Apple Cup ever played… except that the Cougars won it. In the early 1900’s, touchdowns were worth five points, and did not come with a point after. In 1900, the Cougars and Huskies tied 5-5, meaning there had still never been an Apple Cup champion. That changed in 1901, when the Cougs scored a pair of touchdowns and shut out the Huskies to win 10-0.

“The agricultural boys were stronger, faster and displayed superior teamwork,” said a writer for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

#6. 2005 “Seattle Stunner” WSU 26-UW 22

In one of the most evenly matched Apple Cups, the Cougs and Huskies went back and forth, with both teams trading leads until the late fourth quarter, when Washington led 22-19. The Cougars, in Seattle, marched down the field at Husky Stadium and put together an 80-yard game-winning drive. QB Alex Brink for WR Trandon Harvey for a 39-yard game-winning touchdown pass, leaving UW fans stunned.

#5. 1992 “The Snow Bowl” WSU 42 – UW 23

It’s rare that WSU has had a true NFL star at quarterback, but in 1992, they had one in Drew Bledsoe.  The junior signal-caller was just a few months away from being the top pick in the 1993 NFL Draft when the Cougars took the field against the Huskies amid a blizzard on Nov. 21 at Martin Stadium.

The Cougs entered the game at 7-3, two games behind the Huskies who had a 9-1 record. Led by their own future NFL QB Mark Brunell, the Huskies came to Pullman having already locked up a spot in the Rose Bowl.

With snow coming down around them, Bledsoe proved why he was such a highly touted prospect, tossing a pair of touchdowns, including a 44-yard pass to Phillip Bobo. Brunell also tossed a pair of touchdowns, but it was not enough to overcome the Cougars, who at one point led 35-7 after recovering a fumble in the end zone for a defensive touchdown. Their 42-23 win vaulted them into the Cotton Bowl, which they also won. The Huskies would go on to lose the Rose Bowl to Michigan, so both teams finished the season at 9-3. WSU was ranked No. 15 and UW ranked No. 11, a rare year when both schools placed in the top-15.

Bledsoe, who would go on to play in the Super Bowl with the New England Patriots, would describe the game as the “favorite memory of (his) career.”

#4. 1988 “The Blocked-Punt Heard Around Pullman” WSU 32 – UW 31

The Cougars hadn’t been to a bowl game in seven years, but that was about to change in 1988. WSU came back from a 12-point halftime deficit to win 32-31 in one of the closest Apple Cups of all time, to punch their ticket to the Aloha Bowl.

Shawn Landrum made the play of the game, blocking a punt in the 4th quarter to set up a Cougars touchdown that ultimately won them the game.

#3. 1985 “The Frozen Bowl” WSU 21 – UW 20

It really does feel like the Apple Cup was meant to be played in the cold. Perhaps the two schools will eventually return to playing each other in November. The 1985 game featured temperatures below 20 degrees, and seven inches of snowfall the night before.

QB Mark Rypien was finishing his career at WSU, playing in what would be his final game as a Cougar. Rypien had already thrown a pair of touchdowns when the Cougars got the ball tied up at 14-14 late in the fourth quarter. Rypien led a 9-play, 84-yard drive that resulted in a touchdown pass to Kitrick Taylor.

The Huskies made it interesting, going down and scoring a 50-yard touchdown pass of their own with 2:25 left in the game. However, the Dawgs went for two and failed, thus resulting in a Cougar victory.

#2. 2012 “The Comeback Cougs” WSU 31 – UW 28

Late in the third quarter, Husky running back Bishop Sankey found the endzone, extending the Huskies lead to 28-10. It felt like the game was over. But the Cougars didn’t give up. Running back Carl Winston, who had already provided the lone score of the game for WSU, was about to have the quarter of his life.

He scored not one, but two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, and a successful two-point conversion made it a three-point game with seven minutes to go. Down 28-25, Wazzu got the ball back, and tied it with two minutes left in regulation. Another defensive stop took the game to overtime, where the Cougars were about to make history.

The Huskies started with the ball. On the first play, Toni Pole picked off Kieth Price, and ran it all the way to the opposing five-yard line. That return set up a game-winning field goal for the Cougs, who completed the largest comeback in Apple Cup history.

#1. 1997 “The Best Apple Cup” WSU 41 – UW 35

The Cougars needed a win to reach the Rose Bowl. But going to Seattle to play the rival Huskies was not going to be easy.

WSU, at 6-1, was led by top prospect Ryan Leaf at QB. But the Huskies, just a game back at 5-2, had been the preseason Pac-10 favorites. QB Brock Huard and the Huskies struck first, taking a 7-0 lead. But Leaf and the Cougars scored 17 in the second quarter, putting them up by ten at the half. The Cougs added to their lead with an end-zone fumble recovery, making it 24-7, but Huard and the Huskies weren’t done yet.

Despite his five interceptions (one more than Huard’s nephew would go on to throw in the 2021 Apple Cup), Huard and the Huskies roared back, scoring 28 points in the second half and making the Cougars fight for the win. Ultimately, Ryan Leaf’s 358 yards and two touchdowns won the game for the Cougs.

“There was no way we were gonna lose to Washington,” Leaf said after the win.

He was right. That win punched the Cougars a ticket to their first Rose Bowl in 67 years. It was voted by fans on 247sports as the best WSU win of the past 40-years, and it’s clear why. On the biggest of stages, against their biggest of rivals, the Cougars came through.