Commentary: Here’s why Washington’s official rival is now in Eugene and not Pullman

SEATTLE – The distance from Seattle to Eugene is nearly identical to that of Seattle to Pullman – roughly 285 miles, not as the crow flies but as the sedan drives.

I’ll leave it to you to decide if you prefer the often maddening I-5 slog heading south, or the bucolic two-lane haul heading east. But when it comes to football, it seems undeniable that the University of Oregon and the University of Washington are drifting ever closer together, while UW and Washington State are being increasingly distanced from each other – not geographically, but metaphorically.

Now we have the game to end all games between No. 7 Washington and No. 8 Oregon on Saturday, a majestic matchup in every sense. The stakes when the Huskies host the Ducks couldn’t be higher. On the line is Pac-12 supremacy (as fleeting as that distinction will be), Heisman Trophy positioning and the inside track to the College Football Playoff.

I also see this game as the official delineation of what had been increasingly clear for years – that Oregon has unequivocally usurped the Cougars as the pre-eminent rival of the Huskies.

Looking back, you could have a healthy debate over that question right up until last year, depending on whether you weighted more heavily the intense in-state push and pull of UW and WSU, or the deep, long-term animosity between the Dawgs and Ducks.

But moving forward, there’s really no debate to be had anymore, as Washington and Oregon run off together to the Big Ten. Left behind to fend for themselves in what inevitably will be a lower echelon of conference affiliation are Washington State (as well as Oregon State, ending, I presume, a similar rivalry debate).

The future of the Apple Cup is murky at best, and based on the comments of new Washington Athletic Director Troy Dannen at his introductory news conference Tuesday, it doesn’t look good. Dannen stressed the financial necessity for seven home games each year, which would make it hard to squeeze in Apple Cup games in Pullman, given that Washington is committed to four (in odd-numbered years) or five (in even-numbered years) Big Ten home games.

But even if they can somehow work out the logistics, it’s hard to imagine the Apple Cup having quite the same stakes again, given the disparity in resources that will regrettably, but inevitably, begin to accrue.

That’s why I expect that this year’s Apple Cup will likely be maybe the most heated, intense and hard-fought in the 123-year history of the rivalry. The Cougars, in addition to having a good team that’s likely to be playing for high stakes on Nov. 25 at Husky Stadium, also will be fueled by the righteous indignation and resulting zeal that comes with the genuine belief they have been, well, jobbed by their in-state brethren. I would guess that the Oregon State Beavers will summon the same indignation/zeal combo plate when they travel to Eugene a day earlier.

They are the strangest of grid-fellows, Washington and Oregon. Before their mutual self-interest aligned them in Big Ten machinations and, by the estimation of many of those rooting for WSU and OSU, potential skulduggery, the Dawgs and Ducks had a history of on-field animosity that was legendary.

You know the high points – Washington voting for Cal rather than Oregon to break a first-place tie in 1948, and persuading Montana to do the same to swing the Rose Bowl berth to Cal; the Huskies dancing on the “O” after a win at Autzen Stadium in 1992; The Pick by Kenny Wheaton in 1994; The Point by Jake Browning in 2016; the “academic prowess” mistake by Jimmy Lake in 2021.

There are far more incidents, of course, that have flavored and spiced this series, which dates back to 1900 – the same year that Washington and Oregon played their first football game. At one point, at its most heated, then-Husky coach Jim Lambright accused Oregon’s Mike Bellotti of “preaching hate” toward UW.

When the Ducks were in the midst of a 12-game winning streak from 2004-15, the longest on either side in the series, Oregon coach Chip Kelly tried to squelch the rivalry. He used the phrase “faceless opponent” to describe each and every game Oregon played, and his players bought into it. That muted the hostility, especially when Oregon blew out the Huskies every year under Kelly.

But even as current Washington coach Kalen DeBoer pushes the same sort of mindset – the next game on the schedule is always the most important – there’s no downplaying the gravity of this year’s version. It’s the first meeting of Pac-12 teams at 5-0 or better in 19 years. And never before have both teams been in the top 10 of The Associated Press poll when they squared off.

It’s the sort of buildup that rivalries thrive on. And this is a rivalry that feels like it has legs, even while the one with Washington State is being cut off at the pass.