Analysis: In Apple Cup loss, Washington State showed fight it will need to keep program alive

SEATTLE – The van driver stuck his fist out the window, smiling as he realized he was passing by a group of fellow Washington State fans. Driving slowly on the way to Husky Stadium, the sun shining on the site of Saturday’s Apple Cup, he had one message for his new friends.

“Go Cougs!” he shouted.

“Go Cougs!” the three men responded.

“We’re gonna get our butt beat,” the driver answered, “but let’s go!”

The van went on its way, and so did the group of three men, all clad in crimson to support their Cougars. Five hours later, they might have frowned at the result, a 24-21 win for No. 4 Washington, but they might smile at the way the Cougars, in many ways, outplayed the Huskies – much like their lawyers did in court earlier this month, securing rights to the conference alongside Pac-12 holdover Oregon State.

Washington State is exiting the Pac-12 as we know it on the football field much like it is in the courthouse, outmaneuvering Washington most every step of the way. The Cougars submitted a better defensive effort on Saturday, and so did their attorneys on Nov. 14 in Colfax. On offense, WSU was sharp when it needed to be, just like its counsel was.

To be sure, the decision has been stayed by the Washington Supreme Court while UW and the departing schools appeal the decision.

Washington (12-0, 9-0) may have won on a last-second field goal, a 42-yarder off the boot of Grady Gross, but on the way there, it was bettered in almost every way but the one that matters most: the scoreboard.

In their last game of the season, Cougars receivers played some of their best football of the year. Josh Kelly went for eight catches for 106 yards. Kyle Williams finished with five catches for 85 yards, including an over-the-shoulder snare that tied the game right before halftime. Senior Lincoln Victor reeled in 11 receptions for 88 yards and one touchdown, the one to knot it up in the fourth quarter, staying consistent as he was all fall.

Cam Ward was Cam Ward, which is to say he was electric and baffling all at once. The Cougars’ second-year quarterback piled up 317 passing yards and three touchdowns, but he also threw two interceptions and ran himself into a couple of sacks, removing any fighting chance at finding a first down. His offensive line hardly gave him a chance, yielding five sacks and racking up crucial penalties.

“It was hard. It was hard to sit in the pocket there a little bit,” WSU coach Jake Dickert said. “… I thought there were times, even when they didn’t get home, the push – he wasn’t able to just deliver a ball on time to some open receivers, and I thought our receivers did a good job of getting open and making some plays.”

They sure did, though, and that’s what was so compelling about their showings: They looked better than their counterparts. For his touchdown, Williams beat UW cornerback Elijah Jackson, just like he did for a one-handed catch in the first quarter. For his score, Kelly beat cornerback Jabbar Muhammad, a former four-star prospect and the Pac-12’s Defensive Player of the Week.

For his touchdown, Victor went in motion, left to right. He watched UW safety Dominique Hampton sit back deep. He caught the ball and made Hampton miss, striding into the end zone for the touchdown to tie the score.

“When I motioned over, I saw the coverage spinning, so I knew the ball was gonna end up in my hands,” Victor said. “I actually had a rough point before that drive. I dropped the ball, and I usually make that routine catch. My boys have my back and told me, just next-play mentality. I think over the course of my career, I’ve always done a great job of responding, no matter what the circumstance was. To tie it up, man, it’s just a great feeling.”

At most every turn, Washington State was better. It was better on defense, logging two sacks and one interception. It was better at the quarterback position, where Ward outdueled Michael Penix Jr., susceptible to the pass rush but not more than Penix, whose accuracy took a real hit when he felt edge rushers Ron Stone Jr. and Brennan Jackson’s footsteps.

These games are won on the margins, though, which is why the Huskies escaped unscathed. Does WSU win if Stone isn’t called for a roughing-the-passer penalty in the final minutes? Do things change if Cam Lampkin doesn’t slip at the line of scrimmage and leave Rome Odunze open for an easy touchdown grab? We will never know.

None of this matters for Washington State. The Cougars (5-7, 2-7) might have outplayed the Huskies, but their season is over. They won five games, falling from grace after their 4-0 start to the season. There are no moral victories, and there are especially none in the visitors’ locker room at Husky Stadium, where nobody has left victorious this year.

WSU’s team may start to look drastically different in nine days, when the transfer portal opens. The Cougars of Saturday may not be the Cougars of Dec. 4. The cruel machine of college football has dictated that. What it can’t touch are the memories Washington State made this season, the wacky year from hell that came inches from reaching heaven Saturday night.

“It sounds dumb, but it was the most fun I’ve ever had while having so many losses,” Stone said. “We came to work every day. It was never, ‘Woe is me.’ We were always ready. And obviously, a lot of those games didn’t go our way, but there was never quit. There was always fight, and I just love those guys.”