Eternal Rivalry Week: Why is Washington vs. Washington State Called ‘The Apple Cup’?

With over 130 schools and over 130 years of history, there’s a college football rivalry happening somewhere every week. Some are titanic clashes, some are petty border disputes, but they all mean the world to the rivals involved. This season, we’re bringing you the triumphant, the heartbreaking, and the ridiculous of college football rivalries across the country. Today: the (all-too-soon) return of the Apple Cup.

The schools: Washington and Washington State. It’s a classic snobs-vs.-slobs, city-vs.-country, wine-vs.-beer kind of rivalry. Everyone involved believes their side has been touched by the divine and the other side is a bunch of lost heathens…and that’s exactly what you want from any rivalry.

The history: The University of Washington first faced off against the Agricultural College, Experiment Station and School of Science of the State of Washington on the football field in 1900. Shortly thereafter, the Agricultural College shortened its clunky name to Washington State—which was in turn shortened to “Wazzu”—and the schools began their century-plus-year rivalry. UW and Wazzu have met nearly every year since 1900, except when world wars and the occasional pandemic intervened. It has served as a gateway to the Rose Bowl for both teams on multiple occasions.

The series: Washington leads the series 76-33-6. The Huskies have won the last two games, nine of the last 10 games and 12 of the last 14 games in the series. Washington is about a 4.5-point favorite this year.

The trophy: The Apple Cup Trophy, which features a double-handled cup with engraved scores from the rivalry’s history on a wooden pedestal, is held by the college that last won the game. Both schools have a shelf set aside for the trophy, and the jokes about dust collecting on the losing team’s shelf are frequent, constant, and expected.

Washington produces more apples than any other state in the union by a wide margin. (Washington’s national championship rival, Michigan, is the runner-up.) Washington’s Apple Commission first donated the “Big Apple Trophy” to the game in 1963, replacing the non-original “Governor’s Trophy.” Since then, the game and the series have been known as The Apple Cup.

Notable games:

Moon photo, 1975: Washington trailed Washington State 27-14 late in the fourth quarter. But when the Cougars opted to go for a late 4th-and-1 conversion instead of a putaway field goal, Washington’s Al Burleson returned an interception 93 yards for a touchdown. After a defensive stop, Washington’s Warren Moon threw a pass downfield that was tipped right into the hands of Spider Gaines, who scored a 78-yard go-ahead touchdown.

The Snow Bowl, 1992: There’s nothing better than a good weather-affected college football game, and the 1992 Apple Cup was played in Pullman in a horrendous snowstorm. The highlight: Drew Bledsoe hitting Philip Bobo in the end zone with a touchdown pass, sending Bobo face-first into a snowbank:

That touchdown helped Wazzu defeat the reigning (split) national champion Huskies. And any day you can bring your rival back down to earth is a good day, no matter how cold the ground is.

“The Game Is Over,” 2002: The underdog Huskies managed to take the lead against the Cougars in overtime, and then the game turned on a single, insane play. Wazzu backup quarterback Matt Kegel threw what should have been a screen pass, but Washington lineman Kai Ellis stepped in the way and caught it briefly. The ball fell to the ground. Incomplete, right? Referee Gordon Riese dashed Wazzu’s hopes with a quick explanation: “The ruling on the field was that it was a backward pass. Washington recovered that backward pass and the game is over.”

Both teams were left completely distraught as officials and players left the field amid a hail of bottles and curses.

The Crapple Cup, 2008: Look, it can’t all be gems. In 2008, the teams met by a combined 1-20. No, that’s not a typo. It took two overtimes, but Washington State won 16-13 in an Apple Cup game that was, as sportswriters at the time called it, “infested with worms.”

The last hurrah, 2023: In one of the boldest plays in Apple Cup history, Washington coach Kalen DeBoer went for the conversion on fourth-and-1 with just 1:11 left in the game and the score was tied. At stake: Washington’s undefeated season and, as it turned out, a College Football Playoff berth. But Michae Penix Jr. threw to Rome Odunze, who picked up the needed yardage, plus 22 beyond, to set up a game-winning field goal. Two games later, Washington was playing for the national title against Michigan. One game after that, Penix, Odunze and DeBoer were all gone … and so was Washington, which jumped from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten after the season. And that sets the stakes for this year’s rematch.

This year: Yes, both schools enter this game undefeated for the first time since 1935. But that comes with a big caveat. The Apple Cup is one of the most visible, painful reminders of how college football conference realignment is upending and breaking some of the sport’s longest-standing traditions. Washington and Washington State meet again this year — but this time it’s a September game, not a Thanksgiving game. It’s a nonconference battle, not a battle for Pac-12 supremacy. And this year, the Apple Cup will kick off in Lumen Stadium, the sleek, professional home of the Seattle Seahawks, not a college stadium.

The Apple Cup will continue until at least 2028, and the trophy will still hold pride of place in whichever school wins it. But something powerful and irreplaceable about this rivalry has been lost to a new approach.