How to watch the Apple Cup (and Game Thread!)

Nov 26, 2022 - 2:00 PM

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The Washington State Cougars look to retain the Apple Cup trophy as they face the rival Washington Huskies.

WSU (7-4, 4-4 in Pac-12) has personally enjoyed a perfect 3-0 November with wins over Stanford and a sweep of the Arizona schools. UW (9-2, 6-2) has also enjoyed a perfect November with a sweep of the Oregon schools and a blowout win over Colorado last week.

This years Apple Cup is slated in night cap, kicking off at 7:30 P.M. You can watch the game on ESPN, stream the game on the ESPN website or on the ESPN app on your favorite devices.

The Cougars are two point underdogs against the Huskies on DraftKings. Points are expected to be high with the total points set at 60. WSU is +105 on the money line. A $100 bet wins you $105 back with a Cougar victory.

For the first time since the 2018, Pullman, Washington will be the sight of the Evergreen States biggest rivalry. Naturally, it’s going to be chilly. Temperatures will be in the mid-to-low 30s throughout the day, with a 25% chance of precipitation into the night closer to kickoff.

Before, this typically meant bad news for the offensive-minded Cougars. But this years Apple Cup features a complete shift in mentalities. The Huskies and their high-octane offense will have to worry about the possibility of being limited by the cold, rain and snow this year while the stout Cougar defense looks to freeze the Husky offense.

If the Cougars want to defend their Apple Cup trophy, they have to answer to two questions. One, can the defense continue to dominate and rise to the test again the nations number one passing attack? The Cougars are 62nd in the nation in opponent yards per pass attempt with 7.2. Washington averages 8.2 yards per pass attempt, good for 21st in the nation. The Cougars slowed a very good Arizona offense to a complete halt last week and will need a repeat of that performance this week. WSU is also one of the best first-half defenses in the nation, ranking seventh in opponent first half points per game averaging just eight.

Question two, will the Cougar offense continue its momentum against the best defense its seen this month? WSU’s offense has taken advantage of the soft spot in their schedule to get right, averaging 37 points per game in November. They’ve also been getting healthy with a rejuvenated run game led by Nakia Watson and Jaylen Jenkins returning from injuries this month. The return of Watson and Jenkins has led to an outstanding 5.5 yards per rushing attempt in WSU’s last three games. UW’s defense isn’t exactly as vaunted as it once was either. While still solid ranking 36th in opponent rushing yards per attempt (3.8), the secondary has some major issues the Cougars will need to expose. The Huskies rank 120th in FBS in yards per pass attempt with 8.4. If Cam Ward and company can exploit the Huskies secondary early and often and score at least 27+, the Cougars should be in great shape.

The Cougars are looking to win back-to-back Apple Cups for the first time since 2007 and 2008. Jake Dickert would be the first coach to do so since Bill Doba won back-to-back in 2004 and 2005.

Safe travels and stay warm to everybody heading to Pullman for the Apple Cup.

Win the game. Win the quarter. Win the drive. Win the down. Win the snap. Win the victory. Win the day. Happy Cougar Football Saturday.

Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.