Brock Huard: ‘Don’t call it the Apple Cup’

Sep 11, 2024, 2:05 PM | Updated: Sep 12, 2024, 11:23 am

Seattle Sports

It’s not Thanksgiving week, it won’t be a conference game, and it’s not even going to be played on a college campus, yet the Apple Cup awaits on Saturday for the UW Huskies and WSU Cougars.

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It just doesn’t feel the same, does it? It certainly doesn’t to former UW quarterback Brock Huard. And that’s why he’s drawing a line in the sand on a personal level.

“I know that I will not call this the Apple Cup,” said Huard, who is now a FOX college football analyst and Seattle Sports host.

Those comments come from this week’s episode of Huard’s Dawg Talk video podcast. And, well, there’s a lot more to it.

“Don’t call it the #AppleCup.”

On tonight’s episode of Dawg Talk w/ @BrockHuard, he explains why Saturday’s matchup between the Huskies & Cougar football teams isn’t the same.

Full video coming tonight @ 8pm – get a preview now in this article➡️ https://t.co/2iisE7bYZ6 pic.twitter.com/pl2q9XbVCX

— Seattle Sports (@SeattleSports) September 11, 2024

First, a quick refresher. The Pac-12 more or less broke apart last year, and this season marks the first that the Huskies are in the Big Ten while the Cougars remain as one of two teams in the Pac-12 along with Oregon State. That meant the Apple Cup, usually played a day or two after Thanksgiving, was no longer on the schedule as a regular season finale between the conference rivals.

The two schools salvaged the historic Apple Cup series (through at least 2028) by moving it to the third week of the year, with this year’s game being played at a “neutral” site – Seattle’s Lumen Field – rather than across town at Washington’s Husky Stadium or in Pullman at WSU’s Martin Stadium. And while the alternating home-and-home format will return beginning in 2025 in Pullman, the game will still be an early-season contest with little more at stake other than bragging rights.

Here’s a look at Huard’s thoughts about the situation, and why he doesn’t think it should be called the Apple Cup this time:

I know that I will not call this the Apple Cup – for me. I know this is not played in Pullman. I know this is not played at Husky Stadium. I know because of that, this is a very different feel and a very different environment. I know ticket sales have been tough.

I know that this is going to feel like an NFL environment. Lumen Field and the 12s (make) one of the most difficult and tremendous environments in all of the NFL. (But) Lumen Field, when the Cougs played over there a couple of times through the years, the then-AD thought this would be a good idea because the populace and the alumni base is west of the mountains. It was not a good idea. It didn’t look right, it didn’t feel right, it wasn’t right. The Cougs are meant to play in Pullman. That’s what makes them special. That’s what makes this rivalry in the past special. It is east vs. west. It is the Palouse vs. Seattle. It is the wheat fields vs. the metropolis. It is the ag school vs. the med school. It is everything that just beautifully made this rivalry great because they’re two totally different institutions with two totally different alumni bases with two totally different student bodies.

One is removed and brings that whole campus together. One is largely a commuter school from around the world. They are different environments. But to strip it and not play it in Husky Stadium and not play it in Pullman, I’d rather – and I think the ticket sales have showed this – just see it go away until the two sides can figure out how to play this thing on the campus where it deserves.

… Let’s not pretend to make it what it no longer is, and was for so long. I wish the combatants well. I know that this is going to be a pretty good affair. It’s going to be a really competitive affair. One team is going to be 3-0, and if that’s the Huskies, they’ll be ranked. One’s going to be 3-0, and if it’s the Cougs, (coach) Jake Dickert, man, you have done an unbelievable job of keeping the thing together and the ship afloat over there through some rocky, rocky seas. This is going to be a good one on Saturday. But just don’t call it the Apple Cup.

To hear Huard’s full comments on the Apple Cup, as well as several other points about the UW Huskies going into Week 3 of the college football season, watch the video on Seattle Sports’ YouTube channel, or find the Dawg Talk with Brock Huard podcast at this link or on your favorite podcast app.

Saturday’s game

UW Huskies (2-0) vs. WSU Cougars (2-0)

• 12:30 p.m. Saturday
• Lumen Field (Seattle)
• WSU Radio Network Broadcast: Seattle Sports app, 710 AM, 770 AM (pregame at 10:30 a.m.)
• TV (streaming): Peacock