In a year like no other, Washington State marched into Husky Stadium and demolished the Huskies 40-13 on Black Friday thanks to a masterful performance by quarterback Jaden de Laura. Coug fans all over the state rejoiced on the field following the game.
This marks the first time since 2012 under Mike Leach that WSU has won an Apple cup. In fact the past 6 games have been one sided University of Washington victories.
In Max Borghi’s potential final Apple Cup, the Cougs used a steady dose of him to give them a boost throughout. On WSU’s first drive of the game, Borghi capped off a 7 play 75-yard drive with a 32 yard run powering his way into the end zone to put the Cougs up 7-0 early. This gave Borghi the all-time Cougar touchdown record.
The Huskies started former Husky great Damon Huard’s son, Sam Huard. This was his first start in a Husky uniform and the Cougar defense didn’t let off the gas. This may be the future of the Husky program, but he looked every bit of the true freshman he is. Huard threw 4 interceptions on the night and another one on a failed two-point conversion that doesn’t show on the stat sheet. Similar to his uncle Brock Huard in the 97 Apple Cup where he threw 4 interceptions.
The Cougar offense have had troubles inside the red zone this season getting it into the end zone and that showed in the first half. The Cougs had the ball inside the 10-yard line 2 consecutive times and led to short field goal makes by Dean Janikowski. One of the few positive plays for Sam Huard came late in the 2nd when he found Ja’Lynn Polk for 29 yards to the WSU 15-yard line which set up a Kamari Pleasant 10-yard touchdown run to pull the lead within 6. The Cougs only had a 13-7 lead at half time which gave the Huskies a perfect attempt to take the lead on their opening possession of the 2nd half.
The Cougs defense picked up where it left off with a 3 and out to start the half. Jayden once again orchestrated a 10-play drive and ran the ball himself to the UW 1-yard line where Borghi ran it in for the Cougar score. The next 2 Husky possessions ended in a Sam Huard interceptions leading to a Cougar field goal and touchdown to give the Cougs a 23-7 lead. Later, Armani Marsh intercepted Huard for a touchdown return and that sealed the deal for the 2021 Apple Cup. “So proud of our guys, they earned this,” Coach Jake Dickert said following the game. “Means a lot to our university, it’s a big win.”
Max Borghi finished the game with 129 yards on 22 carries and 2 touchdowns. Jayden De Laura was 27 for 32 with 245 yards in his first Apple Cup.
The Cougs await their bowl election, but finished the regular season with a record of 7-5, far better than the last place projection they had to start the season considering all of the turmoil this season with the coaching staff. B
