Huskies Wrap Up 2021 Season With 113th Boeing Apple Cup

THE GAME: The Washington football team (4-7 overall, 3-5 Pac-12) brings the 2021 season to a close as Washington State (6-5, 5-3) travels across the state for the 113th edition of the Boeing Apple Cup. The game will kick off at 5:00 p.m. PT at Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium and will air on FS1 television. Washington is looking to end the season on a high after having lost three straight games that all came down to the Huskies' final possession. In fact, Washington has played eight consecutiive games that have been decided by 10 or fewer points, with seven of those eight closer than a touchdown. The Huskies have beaten Washington State in seven straight Apple Cups, though the game was not played last year due to the pandemic. That marked the first break in the series since 1942 and 1943, when WSU didn't field a team due to World War II.
 
QUICK HITTERS: Washington leads the Pac-12 in first downs allowed, passing yards allowed, pass efficiency defense, and scoring defense; and is second in total defense ... the Huskies have allowed just three scrimmage plays of 40 or more yards this season, second-fewest in the nation (Arizonoa State has allowed two) ... Washington is the only team that has yet to allow a pass play of 40 or more yards, and leads the nation in fewest 30-plus-yard pass plays allowed, with three; and fewest 30-plus yard scrimmage plays allowed, with eight ... Race Porter is currently No. 2 the Pac-12 (5th in NCAA-FBS) with his 48.0-yard punt average, which is 2.4 yards ahead of pace for the UW single-season school record (45.6) ... 46 members of the current UW roster have started at least one game for the Huskies at some point in their career ... a total of 43 different Huskies have started at least one game this season ... 105 of the 123 players on the UW roster are freshmen or sophomores ... 77 are freshmen ... just five true (first-year) freshmen have played this season for the Huskies: DLs Kuao Peihopa and Voi Tunuufi, QB Sam Huard, WR Jabez Tinae, and DB Davon Banks ... UW has gone 86 games in a row without allowing an opponent to score more than 35 points, easily the longest such streak in the nation.
 
TELEVISION: The Boeing Apple Cup will air on FS1 television, with Alex Faust (play by play) and Petros Padadakis (analyst) calling the action.
 
RADIO:  All Washington football games will air on the Washington Sports Network from Learfield, with Tony Castricone (play by play), former Husky tight end Cameron Cleeland (analyst) and former UW basketball player Elise Woodward (sidelines) on the call. Radio coverage begins four hours before kickoff on the network's flagship station: Seattle's SportsRadio 950 KJR with "Husky Gameday" live from The Zone for Husky home games. Statewide coverage on the 15-station Washington Sports Network begins two hours before kickoff. The entire broadcast is available worldwide on the Huskies Gameday mobile app and on GoHuskies.com. The UW broadcast of the game will also air on Sirius channel 91339, XM channel 197, or 959 (app). 
 
COACHING STAFF: For the third week, Bob Gregory will serve as UW's interim head coach. Gregory, who has been on the UW staff since 2014, was promoted to defensive coordinator ahead of the 2021 season. Running backs coach Keith Bhonapha is also in his eighth season on the UW staff, and added special teams coordinator to his title in 2021. UW alum Ikaika Malloe, who lettered as a Husky from 1993 to 1996 and once worked as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, is inr his sixth season, including his second as co-defensive coordinator. He joined the staff after the 2015 season, coming to Seattle from Utah State, and also moved from coaching the defensive line to outside linebackers. Fifth-year offensive line coach Scott Huff had spent the previous 11 seasons at Boise State, his alma mater. Former USC safety Will Harris, in his fourth year on the UW staff, was elevated to defensive backs coach in 2020. Back for a third season at the UW is wide receivers coach Junior Adams, who came to Seattle after two seasons as offensive coordinator at Western Kentucky. He took over as offensive coordinator prior to the Arizona State game. Two other second-year coaches are tight ends coach Derham Cato and assistant defensive backs coach Terrence Brown. Cato, a former coordinator at Davidson, spent the previous four years as an offensive analyst at UW. Brown is a Stanford alum who spent the 2018 and 2019 at Vanderbilt, and was a graduate assistant at Washington from 2015 through 2017. The newest full-time staff member is defensive line coach Rip Rowan, who had been a defensive quality control coach for the Huskies since 2019. On Nov. 7, offensive quality control analyst Payton McCollum was named quarterbacks coach; while defensive quality control analyst Aaron Schwanz was elevated to inside linebackers coach. Two of four UW graduate assistant coaches are returners to their position: Daniel Segal (offense) and Jon Rowe (offense). They're joined by new GAs Austin Taylor (offense) and Jaylen Johnson (defense), a former UW defensive lineman.
 
HUSKIES vs. COUGARS HISTORY:  The Washington-Washington State series dates back to 1900, when the teams played to a 5-5 tie in Seattle. Washington holds a commanding 74-32-6 edge in the 112-game series, including a 42-15 record in Apple Cup games (1962-present). The UW is 42-15-5 against WSU in games played in Seattle, Washington is 12-7 in games played in WSU's Martin Stadium as the first UW-WSU game wasn't played there until 1982. UW is 32-15-1 in away games in the series, including games played in both Spokane and Pullman. The Huskies have won 17 of the last 22 Apple Cups, and seven in a row. No Apple Cup was played in 2020 due to the pandemic. It was the first break in the series since World War II, when WSU didn't field a team for two seasons (1943-44).
 
In 2019 in Seattle, an efficient Washington offense led the way in a 31-13 Husky win. Jacob Eason was 15-for-22 for 241 yards and a TD. WSU passed for 308 yards and gained 27 first downs, but rushed for only 31 and scored just one touchdown. In 2018 , Washington won, 28-15, in snowy Pullman, limiting the high-flying WSU offense to just 237 yards. Myles Gaskin's 80-yard TD run was the highlight. In 2017 in Seattle, the Huskies built a 34-0 lead en route to a 41-14 win as  Gaskin rushed for 192 yards and four TDs on 25 carries. In 2016 in Pullman, Jake Browning completed 22-of-29 passes for 292 yards and three TDs and the UW led 28-3 after one quarter, in a 45-17 UW win. In 2015,  Gaskin ran for 138 yards and two TDs, and the Huskies got interception returns for scores from Sidney Jones and Azeem Victor in a 45-10 win.
 
In 2014 in the Palouse, Dwayne Washington rushed for 135 yards, including TD runs of 60 and 51 yards, to lead the UW to a 31-13 win. The Huskies held the Cougars scoreless until five minutes into the fourth quarter. In 2013 in Seattle, the Huskies overcame a 10-3 halftime deficit in a 27-17 victory. Bishop Sankey led the Dawgs with 200 rushing yards on 34 carries while Keith Price completed 15-of-20 for 181 yards. 
 
In 2012 in Pullman, WSU overcame an 18-point deficit in the fourth quarter to force overtime, then won 31-28 in OT. In 2011 at CenturyLink Field, the UW won, 38-21, behind 291 yards and three TD passes from Price. In 2010, Washington beat the Cougars, 35-28, in a tightly-contested game in Pullman. The winning score came on a 27-yard pass from Jake Locker to Jermaine Kearse with 44 seconds remaining. In 2009, the Huskies posted the first Apple Cup shutout since 1964 with a 30-0 win over the Cougars at Husky Stadium, breaking a two-game losing streak in the series.
 
In 2008 in Pullman, the Cougars prevailed, 16-13, in double overtime. The year before at Husky Stadium, Alex Brink passed for 399 yards and hit Brandon Gibson with a pair of fourth-quarter TDs to lead WSU to a 42-35 win. The Huskies broke another two-game losing streak with a 35-32 win in Pullman in 2006. In 2005 at Martin Stadium, the Cougars beat the Dawgs, 28-25, behind a solid performance from Brink, who threw for two TDs and ran for another.
 
Before that, in 2003, UW pulled a third-straight upset (by AP ranking) in the series when an unranked Husky team notched a 27-19 win over No. 8 Washington State. In 2002 in Pullman, in a game that surely ranks as one of the most memorable ever in the series, Washington shocked the No. 3 Cougars with a triple-overtime, 29-26 win, despite trailing by 10 with only 4:30 to play. In 2001, when the two teams met at Husky Stadium, the 16th-ranked Huskies upset the No. 9 Cougars with a 26-14 win.  
 
DAWGS AND THE NORTHWEST:  Washington's most-played rivalries are against the other three other northwest Pac-12 schools. The Huskies have faced Washington State 112 times, Oregon in 113 games and Oregon State on 106 occasions. Washington owns the advantage in all three series. The Huskies lead the Ducks 60-48-5, Washington State 74-32-6 and Oregon State 67-35-4. Combined, Washington has a 201-115-15 (.630) record against its northwest rivals. Washington has played all three of the Northwest teams in a season on 91 prior occasions. Over those 91 seasons in which Oregon, OSU and WSU were all on the UW schedule, the Dawgs have swept all three 30 times. In the meantime, the Huskies have lost to all three in the same season on only seven occasions.
 
APPLE CUP FACTS: A few notes on the Apple Cup, proudly presented by Boeing: 
• This year's game will be the 113th meeting between UW and WSU. The Huskies lead 74-32-6. The series began in 1900, when the teams played to a 5-5 tie.
• The UW-WSU game wasn't called the "Apple Cup" until 1962. Prior to 1962, the two teams played for the Governor's Trophy (1931-61).
• Washington has played just 12 overtime games in its history (overtime didn't start until 1996 in college football). Four of those 12 games have come against WSU: 1996 (UW win), 2002 (UW win), 2008 (WSU win), 2012 (WSU win).
• The last seven times that the Cougars were ranked in the AP top 25  heading into an Apple Cup, the Huskies have won the game (2001-02-03-15-16-17-18).
• The Huskies have never lost more than two games in a row to WSU. On the other hand, UW has had 9 streaks of three or more wins in the series.
• From 1955 through 1981, the Apple Cup was played in Seattle (odd-numbered years) or Spokane (even-numbered years), rather than Seattle and Pullman.
 
OPPONENTS 35-AND-UNDER: Washington hasn't allowed an opponent to score more than 35 points in a game since a 44-30 loss at UCLA in 2014. That's a streak of 86 games in a row that the Huskies' opponent has failed to score more than 35. In that 86-game stretch, Husky foes have scored 30 or more just 13 times (of those 13, five were exactly 30 points) and have been held to 14 or fewer points 32 times. In that same span of 86 games, the UW has scored more than 35 points on 31 occasions. No other team in the FBS has a current streak longer than 46 games (San Diego State).
 
DEFENSE vs. BIG PLAYS: Last year (albeit in only four games), Washington's defense allowed just one play from scrimmage for more than 40 yards, tied for fewest in the nation. In 2019, the Huskies gave up just seven such plays of 40 or more yards, the eighth-lowest total (tied) in FBS. The median for 40-plus yard plays allowed in 2019 was 14. Also in 2019, the Huskies allowed just two plays over 50 yards, the third-lowest (tied) total (the median was seven). The year before, the Huskies gave up just ONE scrimmage play of 40 or more yards all season. No other FBS team allowed fewer than four and 102 teams allowed 10 or more that year. In 2017, the UW also led the nation with fewest 40-yard scrimmage plays allowed (3) and were second in fewest 30-yard plays (14). They were tied for 5th and 2nd, respectively, in 2016. Washington has allowed three plays longer than 40 yards in 11 games during the 2021 season. Only Arizona State (with two) has allowed fewer. UW leads the nation with fewest 30-plus yard plays allowed (8).
 
THE PAC-12: Prior to the 2011 season, the Pac-10 Conference added Utah and Colorado to expand to the Pac-12. Washington, which along with California is one of two schools who have been in the conference since its founding in 1915, plays in the Pac-12 North, along with the other three Northwest schools (Oregon, OSU, WSU) and Stanford and Cal. Under the current system, each school plays all five division rivals, plus four of six teams in the other division each season. The first two seasons, the Huskies did not face UCLA or Arizona State. In 2013 and 14, the Huskies didn't play Utah or USC. In 2015 in 2016, neither UCLA nor Colorado were on the UW schedule, while the Huskies didn't face USC and Arizona in 2017 or 2018. The 2019 season marked the start of a new cycle, moving the rotation back to where it started. Therefore, the Huskies 2019 and 2020 scheduled did not include UCLA and Arizona State. In 2021 and 2002, Washington will not play USC and Utah.
 
HUSKY STADIUM RENOVATION: Husky Stadium underwent a major renovation over from Nov., 2011, through Aug., 2013, as the entire lower bowl and south upper deck were demolished and replaced. The new facility features a new, state-of-the-art football operations center (weight room, training room, locker room, meeting rooms, coaches' offices) in the west end, much more premium seating options and a new playing surface. Husky Stadium had featured a track up until 2011, so seats that were once far from the field, particularly in the west end, are much closer to the action. UW is 43-16 at home since the re-opening of Husky Stadium.
 
ALASKA AIRLINES FIELD AT HUSKY STADIUM: The Oregon game on Nov. 5, 2011, marked the final game in Husky Stadium prior to major renovations that were completed in summer, 2013. The Huskies re-opened their home field with a 38-6 win over then-No. 19 Boise State on Aug. 31, 2013. The 2021 season marks the 101st season of play in Husky Stadium. Original construction on the facility was completed in 1920 when Washington played one game in the new campus facility. UW's all-time record in Husky Stadium stands at 399-185-21 (.677).