SEATTLE — For the 116th time, Washington and Washington State will meet up in the Boeing Apple Cup, but this one will look a bit different. This heated rivalry will miss its distinct crispness in the air from its usual meeting in late November. It will be the first time since 1961 that the two teams will meet outside of a conference rivalry. It will also be the first time ever that these two teams will meet at a "neutral site," outside of any renovations to stadiums. There is one thing that will remain the same from its first official "Apple Cup" rendition in 1963.
"I just tell everyone look in the case," senior linebacker Carson Bruener said, referring to the Apple Cup trophy that has resided in the meeting room case for the past two years. "We're in here every single day for our team meetings and it's something that I look at every single day and it means a lot to me."
Bruener grew up in Redmond, Washington, and is the son of former Washington 1991 National Champion Mark Bruener. He said he attended every Apple Cup he possibly could growing up in the Seattle area.
His teammate, Denzel Boston, also grew up locally in South Hill.
"I've never not seen the trophy in the case, so it's definitely a personal thing," Boston said. "I don't want to see it empty, I don't think Carson wants to see it empty on his last year, so that trophy is real special to us. Like he was saying with the history and everything behind it, our plan is to definitely keep it here."
But the team on the East side has other plans, like they did in 2021, the first win in 10 years.
"We got to win this game," redshirt senior defensive back Tyson Durant said. "It's week three this year, it's early this year, I know it's usually been later in the year, but it's right here for the taking and I believe 1,000 percent we have the team to do it."
The Cougars, like the Huskies, have started the season 2-0, with wins over Portland State and Texas Tech.
"Our guys know and understand what it means, but it's still all of the things around it. You can't just be all toughness and no technique when you get into a rivalry game," Washington State head coach Jake Dickert said. "You can't just be all piss and vinegar and forget what I'm supposed to do, right? So when you're in that moment, channel that energy, make sure your energy dial is right, you're never too high or too low, whether that's going right or wrong throughout the course of the game, and make sure you're in that moment every moment."
The 116th edition of the Apple Cup will kick off at 12:30 PT from Lumen Field on Saturday September 14.
