As the 2024 college football season comes to a close, Cougar fans may be feeling mixed emotions. The Cougars finished the season with losses to New Mexico, Oregon State and Wyoming in a trio of heartbreaking defeats. But let’s take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Despite the setbacks, there is still one undeniable truth: the Cougars are hands down the best team in Washington State and fans should have no hesitation in celebrating that fact.

It is true the Cougars stumbled at the tail end of their season. But here is the kicker: they still came out on top in the most important rivalry game of the year—the Apple Cup. The Huskies may have strutted around the state, holding their heads high as the 2023 national runner-ups, but when it came time to prove their worth against the Cougs this time around, they flopped. That’s right, the Huskies, despite their new Big 10 money, could not handle the heart and soul that the Cougars brought to the field.

Beating the Huskies—no matter what their fanbase says—is an accomplishment that transcends all else. It is the one game every Cougar fan circles on the calendar. When the Cougars secured the win over UW in the Apple Cup, they effectively said, “We’re the kings of the state, and you can’t touch this.”

If you think about it, the Huskies had everything to lose in that game, and they still could not hold up. The 2024 season will go down in history as one where the Cougars, despite all their other misfortunes, proved they were the real alpha in the state.

Now, let’s address the elephant in the room: the three late-season losses to New Mexico, Oregon State and Wyoming. It is tempting to look at the final stretch of the season and feel like the sky is falling. Yes, it stung to lose to New Mexico (who would have predicted that?) and Oregon State (tougher than their record, but still a game we should have won), but these losses do not define the program. They do not overshadow what was a hard-fought season. The Cougs won their Super Bowl (the Apple Cup) and Oregon State won their Super Bowl (against Wazzu).

In fact, some of the losses were closer than they appeared. Against New Mexico, the Cougars were a few plays away from snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. And while Oregon State and Wyoming certainly put up strong performances, neither team is a juggernaut. WSU lost by three, three and one in their last three games. They were a field goal away from winning each game. The Cougars may have lost, but it was far from the catastrophic collapse some in the fanbase might believe it to be.

Meanwhile, our friends across the state went 6-6, losing to historically mediocre Big 10 teams such as Rutgers, Iowa and Indiana. The Cougs, despite being abandoned during realignment, were undefeated (2-0) against power four teams and proved they belonged.

Let’s also look at the bigger picture. The Cougars are building something special. Yes, this season may have ended poorly, but Washington State is showing undeniable progress. The Pac-12 is being rebuilt, Jake Dickert is sticking around with most of his coaching staff and the recruiting remains strong.

UW, on the other hand, is barrelling towards being the sixth-best program in the Big 10, while WSU will soon be well positioned as the second-best program in the new Pac-12.

In the 2024 season, the Cougars showed their resilience, their ability to perform in high-pressure situations (like the Apple Cup) and their commitment to being the best team in Washington state. Despite the losses at the end of the season, it is the wins that matter most. The Cougars can look back and hold their heads high knowing they put together a solid season and, most importantly, handed the Huskies yet another bitter defeat. When it is all said and done, that is the kind of victory that resonates in the hearts of true football fans.

In the end, Cougar Nation has every reason to be proud. The losses to New Mexico, Oregon State and Wyoming are merely bumps in the road. The Apple Cup victory, however, is forever. That alone makes this a season worth celebrating, especially when the team from Seattle can’t even compete in their home city. So go ahead, raise Ole’ Crimson high—because you know deep down that the best team in the state is wearing crimson, not purple.