The 118th Apple Cup · Husky Stadium · Sept. 6, 2026
Scouting the TrenchesNotes from the Apple Cup
The scoreboard says 24-10. Don’t let it fool you. This was a closer, nastier football game than the final made it look — and it was won and lost where every game is: in the trenches and at the quarterback spot.
Washington had the best player on the field. Washington State had a defense that wouldn’t go away. And 71,056 in Husky Stadium spent four quarters finding out that a two-score game can still be a street fight. Here’s what I saw.
How it happened
- 1QUW 3 · WSU 0
WSU sets the tone up front
The story of the opening 15 minutes was Washington State edge Linus Zunk. He flat-out dominated Washington’s first two drives — get-off, hands, motor, the whole package — and kept UW’s offense on a string. The Huskies couldn’t run it consistently, three big holding penalties killed a drive, and they settled for a 48-yard Tyler Robles field goal.
- 2QUW 10 · WSU 0
Williams flips it with his legs
The turning point was a bad decision under pressure: Pinnick forced one on 3rd-and-long and Jeron Jones picked it off inside the WSU 21. Two plays later Williams reminded everyone why he’s paid like he is — a 16-yard scramble, then a 5-yard keeper. Zunk’s inside stunt forced an intentional grounding, and WSU stood up on a 4th-and-1 goal-line stop right before half — Keith Brown making it.
- 3QUW 10 · WSU 0
A rock fight
Yards were at a premium. Washington’s offense went quiet outside of Williams, and Washington State’s defense was the better unit on the field for a long stretch. The Cougars started to tighten the screws and built a drive that would carry into the fourth for their first points.
- 4QUW 24 · WSU 10
Williams answers, Limar closes it
Pinnick finished the drive he started, punching it in from 11 to make it 10-7 — and right there, you’d have thought WSU was the home team the way Husky Stadium popped. But every time Washington needed a play, No. 1 made it. Williams answered fast and hit Rashid Williams on a little RPO in the flat for a 1-yard score. Jack Stevens — 16-of-19 a year ago — finally got WSU on the board from 42 after badly missing from 52 and pushing a 32. Then Jayden Limar iced it with an 11-yard run inside 2:18. One more swing that kept WSU alive longer than the box score shows: on a late Pinnick scramble, true freshman Ramzak Fruean ran him down from behind and knocked the ball loose — a takeaway wiped out when a Husky defender (No. 4) drew a targeting flag, a bang-bang, incidental one that still carries the automatic ejection.
Size won the war
Early, Washington State won it. Zunk owned the edge and WSU’s front held the Huskies to a field goal on drives that should’ve been touchdowns. Washington’s run game was slow to get going, and the Huskies’ 12 penalties for 130 yards — a lot of them up front — told you their O-line was uncomfortable.
But the trenches are a four-quarter fight, and Washington’s size eventually broke it open. This is a massive roster — 17 players listed at 300 pounds or more, 13 of them on the offensive line — and that depth up front just wore Washington State down. By the second half the line of scrimmage had become too one-sided: the Cougars couldn’t generate anything on offense and couldn’t keep Washington’s playmakers bottled up anymore, because their guys were gassed.
- 17UW players 300+ lbs
- 0/9WSU on third down
- 242WSU total yards
Washington held WSU to 242 total yards and an ugly 0-for-9 on third down, the Cougar O-line faded late — by the fourth, Pinnick was creating on his own because the pocket wasn’t holding — and fifth-year edge Russell Davis II capped the physical day with a chase-from-behind sack.
Here’s the tell on how lopsided it got: Washington’s own offense barely had to be fancy. Outside of a few splash throws from Williams, the Huskies made their money one way all game — and especially in the second half — letting the quarterback run it. Behind that big offensive line, or off a roll-out with all day to survey and take off, Williams running the ball was the offense. When your size lets your best player freelance like that and the other side is too tired to stop it, you’ve won the trenches.
One more trench note that decided field position all day: Max Dean, WSU’s Australian punter. Slow, deliberate setup, rugby-style over the top instead of a spiral — and he never let Washington’s returner touch the ball, pinning the Huskies inside their own 10 over and over. In a game where yards were this hard to come by, he was a real weapon and a big reason WSU hung around.
Who moved the needle
Washington
The real deal, and the difference in this game. There’s a reason they paid him and a reason the blue-bloods came calling in the portal. Every time UW had nothing going, he manufactured something — quicker and more explosive than anyone on the grass, and money in the pressure-cooker downs. Not sure the Huskies win this without him.
A thumper. Big hit after big hit, controlled the middle of the field, and when he was the man who had to make the tackle, he made it. Washington State couldn’t do much between the tackles because of him.
The true freshman was legit — first college game of his life, tied for the team lead in tackles, getting to the quarterback, and even ran Pinnick down from behind to force a fumble (wiped by a teammate’s targeting call). He’s going to be a problem for years. That kid’s going to get drafted.
Fifth-year, 6-3, and physical off the edge. Chased down a sack from behind and was part of a front that took the game over in the second half. One to keep an eye on.
Washington State
A lot like Demond Williams Jr., honestly — dual-threat, makes something out of nothing — just a tick less athletic and explosive. Good legs, and when the game was on the line and they needed a touchdown drive, he went and got the one they got. He just doesn’t have much around him yet, and the O-line fading late didn’t help.
Made play after play. Led the Cougars in tackles, was in on every big stop — including the 4th-and-goal stand before half — and delivered one absolutely thunderous hit. Instincts, ball-awareness, and pop at the point of contact.
The best defensive lineman on the field for most of the first half. Elite get-off, heavy and precise hands, a relentless motor, and real size on the edge.
Seniors to watch
The trench and off-ball seniors from this one who project to the next level — the traits that travel.
- WSULinus Zunk · DE
Great size and get-off, but the next-level traits are the hand placement and the motor. Wins with technique and effort, not just athleticism — and that travels.
- UWRussell Davis II · EDGE · 99
Physical, high-effort edge with a chase-down sack in this one. The kind of relentless motor that keeps a guy on a next-level roster.
- UWJacob Manu · LB · 9
Downhill, physical, and a sure, consistent tackler who controls the middle. Next-level trait is his run-stuffing physicality — teams always need a linebacker who fits and finishes.
- WSUKeith Brown · LB · 21
Next-level traits: game IQ, hitting power at the point of impact, and pursuit. A captain-type leader who shows up on the biggest downs.
- WSUJonny Lester · OT · 67
Just played good, steady ball at tackle. A veteran anchor up front — the kind of experienced O-lineman next-level staffs value.