Despite the shift of the Pac-12 conference, a rivalry prevails. The University of Washington and WSU play Saturday under unique circumstances, squaring off at Lumen Field, the home of the Seattle Seahawks.
Both teams come into the game 2-0 with UW defeating Eastern Michigan University 30-9 at home while WSU defeated Texas Tech University 37-16 in week two. The two schools may no longer be in the same conference, with UW moving to the Big 10, but the passion of the rivalry still lives.
“The passion behind the game, for the fans and everyone. Nobody likes each other at all,” Djouvensky Schlenbaker, a redshirt sophomore running back for WSU said.
UW currently leads the all-time series 76-33-6, with the Cougs’ last win coming in 2021 in Seattle. A year ago, however, the 5-6 Cougars went to Seattle to play the undefeated, National Championship-bound Huskies and lost on a game-winning field goal 24-21.
Although hate is a term often used in rivalries, the Cougs fire in the rivalry comes from a place of pride, senior edge Nusi Malani said. Wazzu came close a year ago, and now they get a chance to avenge the loss.
“We don’t like that school on the West side. It’s not coming from a place of hate, it’s just a love for what we have here in Pullman, Washington, and what we do here,” Malani said. “I don’t think they were expecting the way we were gonna play last year. We punched them in the mouth a little bit… It’s gonna be a dogfight. I’m excited to play them over there in Seattle again.”
The coaches make sure that the players understand the rivalry and what it means to the program, and the energy is different around the facilities during Apple Cup week, WSU head coach Jake Dickert said. The goal of the coaches is to make sure the energy is never too high or too low, he said, and they are preparing for all scenarios.
“We [pump in crowd noise] every away game Wednesday working our red zone period, get loud. I don’t know what it’s gonna be like [at Lumen Field]. We’re preparing for everything,” Dickert said. “Through ticket sales, it’s not 50/50, so we’re preparing for crowd noise and we’ll be ready.
Aside from the name, UW is an almost entirely new team. Over the offseason they had 10 players drafted to the NFL, their head coach in 2023 Kalen Deboer took the head coaching job at the University of Alabama and they had several changes to their own coaching staff and roster as a result.
Their new head coach, Jedd Fisch, coached at the University of Arizona last season, where he came to Pullman and defeated the Cougs 44-6. The driving force for UA in that game was a ground game that racked up 195 yards and five touchdowns, led by RB Jonah Coleman, who followed Fisch to UW.
Coleman has run for over 100 yards in each of his first two games as a Husky, earning PFF’s highest running back grade in week one. Stopping him is goal number one for the Cougar defense, Dickert said.
“We didn’t execute the tackling plan very well on him last year. He’s physical, he’s fast and he just kinda bounces off things. It’s very dynamic. He’s as good as it gets in college football. He’s gonna be the catalyst that drives that offense,” Dickert said. “We have to build a wall to be successful, and you have to have 11 guys that relentlessly pursue the football.”
Senior quarterback Will Rogers, a transfer from Mississippi State University, is at the helm of the Husky offense. Rogers played five seasons at MSU racking up 12,365 passing yards and 94 touchdowns. His most successful season came in 2021 under Mike Leach where he threw for 4,739 yards and 36 touchdowns.
The key to stopping Rogers, who is now playing UW’s pro-style offense compared to MSU’s air raid offense, is getting pressure, senior safety Tyson Durant, an Akron transfer said.
“He’s a pretty accurate passer, not much on the legs,” Durant said. “If we can just shake him up under center a bit. Get some pressure, get some people in his face. I know he hasn’t faced near the D-line we have over here. So if we get some pressure on him I think he’s gonna struggle.”
UW is led offensively by coordinator Brennan Carroll, the son of long-time Seahawks coach Pete Carroll. So far in 2024, they are ninth in the country in explosive plays (10+ yard plays). If the Cougar defense can be one of the best in the country at stopping explosive plays this season, they will have a chance in every game, Dickert said.
The professional lineage does not stop there amongst UW coordinators. They hired Stephen Belichick, son of six-time Super Bowl Champion and former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, as their defensive coordinator this offseason.
Dickert described Belichick as the ‘best defensive play-caller in college football’ right now and with good reason. The Husky defense has yet to allow a touchdown through two weeks, albeit against FCS Weber State University and Eastern Michigan. They also have allowed just seven third-down conversions on 31 attempts, with opposing offenses averaging nine yards to go on third-down tries
One key to watch for between the WSU offense and UW defense will be on the line, with the Huskies already racking up eight sacks through two weeks, and WSU allowing just one. Senior offensive tackle Fa’alili Fa’amoe is a game-time decision for the Cougs and could potentially bolster the O-line depth even more.
Another key is on the ground. WSU ran for 301 yards as a team a week ago while UW allows 115 rushing yards per game. A week ago WSU junior QB John Mateer ran for a program record 197 yards. Also, redshirt sophomore running back Djouvensky Schlenbaker had two touchdowns while freshman RB Wayshawn Parker ran for 63 yards including a 43-yard touchdown.
Lastly, the Wazzu defense forced three turnovers in week one against TTU, while the Huskies have turned the ball over just once this season. Senior nickel corner Kapena Gushiken and redshirt freshman corner Ethan O’Connor both had an interception while redshirt freshman linebacker Buddah Al-Uqdah forced and recovered a fumble against the Red Raiders.
Stakes are high with both teams looking to improve to 3-0 and bragging rights are on the line. Both teams always want to win, but with the offseason destruction of the Pac-12 conference, with UW exploring new horizons, there may be even more juice to the Apple Cup 2024.
The game will take place at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Lumen Field in Seattle, Wash. It will be on broadcast Peacock, but hopefully, the Coug faithful will make their presence felt in person, Dickert said.
“Whatever our best as a fanbase is, it needs to happen this weekend,” Dickert said. “If you’re pissed off about what happened show up, if you’re excited, show up. Whatever happens, show up. Be there, be loud, and show what our best is as Cougs.”
The teams may be in a different place than a year ago, and the game may be earlier in the season, but one thing is certain, the Cougs are ready to go,” Durant said.
“We gotta win this game,” Durant said. “It’s right here, it’s for the taking. I believe 1000% we have the team to do it.”
