Washington Huskies vs. Washington State: 3 huge questions for the 2024 Apple Cup
By Ethan Lee
While Washington Husky fans won’t need to travel very far to see Jedd Fisch and the 2024 Washington Huskies football team take on the Washington State Cougars, we won’t be seeing any football take place on Montlake this week.
That’s because the 2024 edition of the Apple Cup is being hosted at a neutral site location. Lumen Field, the home of the Seattle Seahawks, gets the pleasure of hosting the 116th Apple Cup.
Both the Huskies and the Cougars are 2-0 on the season and they’re both looking to score a big rivalry win as they move forward with their season. Washington got its season started with a dominant win over the Weber State Wildcats (who recently took care of business against Portland State, which will be relevant in a minute). Wazzu started the year by winning a high-scoring affair against Portland State.
Last week, Washington State got an impressive win vs. Texas Tech while the Huskies handled things with the Eastern Michigan Eagles.
Washington Huskies vs. Washington State Cougars: 2024 Apple Cup to take place at Lumen Field
Wazzu would love to get a win for a bit of a redemption/revenge storyline that has to do with the way they got left in the Pac-12. Washington would love to keep on winning and moving forward as a program, gearing up for a game in the Big Ten next week.
Plus there’s obviously bragging rights and a bit of pride on the line for this rivalry game. So, as the Huskies and Cougars gear up to face off in Seattle, let’s go over a few big questions about this game, shall we?
No. 1: What will Will Rogers look like away from Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium?
He hasn’t been 100 percent perfect, but Washington Huskies quarterback Will Rogers has been really solid in his first two starts to get the 2024 Washington Husky football season started up. While he isn’t Michael Penix Jr., and some UW fans will certainly bring that up on social media, Rogers has been steady, efficient, and he’s done more than enough to deliver two wins to the Huskies so far.
Through the first two games for the former Mississippi State Bulldog, Rogers has completed 41 of 52 pass attempts and he’s connected with his receivers for 511 yards and five touchdowns. On top of that, Rogers has yet to throw a pick.
But, it’s worth noting that UW has yet to score a single point in the first quarter so far this season and Washington State will be more than ready to put up points on the scoreboard. Their offense is legit. So, will we see Rogers be able to go score for score with the Cougars?
Wazzu will certainly be focused on this game and very interested in being aggressive in this game. We’ll absolutely need to see the same from Rogers and the Huskies’ offense in this game. Now would be a great time to see Rogers and the Huskies really get rolling with this offensive system.
No. 2: Are the Huskies ready to handle John Mateer’s athleticism?
Washington State’s offense has been THRILLING to watch in its first two games. The Cougars had to replace Cam Ward, who is by far one of the most talented and experienced quarterbacks in the country, as he left to play down in Miami.
But the Cougars certainly found a suitable quarterback replacement in John Mateer, who has been thrilling all on his own and he’s been leading a great rushing attack for the Cougars to get this season started. Mateer has been a nightmare for opposing defenses as he’s run for 252 yards and 2 touchdowns. 197 of those rushing yards came against the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
Oh, and Mateer is also a pretty proficient passer as he’s thrown for 467 yards and 6 touchdowns. He’s a lot of fun! Unless you’re the opposing defensive coordinator that is. In that case, Mateer and the Cougars are proving to be a bit of a headache for folks.
The Huskies have shown that their defense can be effective in shutting folks down. So far, through eight quarters, Washington has yet to allow for an opposing touchdown. It remains to be seen if they can do that with a quarterback quite like Mateer.
No. 3: What on earth will this game look like with it being a neutral site location Apple Cup?
It’s a little weird that this game isn’t on a college campus, right? It’s weird that this Apple Cup is in Seattle, but it’s not at Husky Stadium. It’s basically happening in the Huskies’ backyard, but for some silly reason, it’s at a neutral site. I’m not much of a fan of this arrangement, to be completely honest.
Last season’s game was at Husky Stadium, which was great. This season’s game is still in Seattle, which makes me wonder how Wazzu fans feel about that given that this is two years in a row that it’s been in Seattle.
But just play this game on a campus! Get this back into a college football stadium.
It’ll be interesting to see what the atmosphere is like for this game and how emotionally charged Lumen Field gets. Will we see a more evenly split crowd? What will the crowd even look like for this game? Will the atmosphere impact the way this game plays out? Does the fact it’s not on a campus have any bearing on how it’ll play out?
I have no clue. But, it’s worth keeping an eye on the emotional state of both teams involved in this game and seeing if the atmosphere or emotions of the rivalry lead to anyone making simple mental mistakes.
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