The Washington State Cougars (2-0) and Washington Huskies (2-0) meet at Lumen Field in Seattle for the 116th meeting in the series now known as the Apple Cup. The winner of the game is awarded the Apple Cup Trophy by the governor of Washington, a tradition since 1963. Conference realignment in the offseason saw Washington move to the Big Ten while Washington State remained in a mostly-deserted Pac-12. Live coverage will begin Saturday at 3:00pm ET on Peacock. Keep reading for how to watch and key storylines for the game.
Washington State
The Cougars are led by head coach Jake Dickert, who is in his third full season at Washington State. Dickert and the Cougs watched most of the teams in the Pac-12 depart the conference in the offseason as schools left for the Big Ten, Big 12, and ACC, leaving only Washington State and Oregon State in the “Pac-2.” Earlier this week, news came that the Pac-12 is set to gain four new members from the Mountain West conference in 2026, just in time for WSU and OSU to play their in-state rivals this weekend.
MORE: What the Pac-12 addition of four Mountain West schools means
On the field, redshirt sophomore QB John Mateer is the leader for the Cougars. He stepped up to the starting position after Cam Ward transferred to Miami in the offseason, and so far has been impressive over the first two games, notching 467 yards and 6 touchdowns through the air, while adding 252 yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground. Mateer leads the FBS in yards per completion (23.35) entering Week 3, but it stands to reason that number could come down against a higher-level defense than the team faced in Weeks 1 and 2.
Washington
New-Big-Ten-member Washington is in a near-full rebuild this season. The Huskies ended last season with a loss in the national championship game to Michigan, and this fall only 2 starters from that team are returning. The turnover included Heisman finalist Michael Penix Jr. (drafted 8th overall by the Atlanta Falcons) and head coach Kalen DeBoer, who took over the head coaching job at Alabama.
Enter Jedd Fisch, who became the Washington head coach after a successful turnaround of Arizona, where he led the Wildcats to a 10-3 record last season just three years after the team went 0-5 in the COVID 2020 season. Fisch’s new staff at Washington includes offensive coordinator Brennan Carroll (son of Pete) and defensive coordinator Steve Belichick (son of Bill).
Headlining the on-field effort is transfer QB Will Rogers, who joined the Huskies this year after four years at Mississippi State. Rogers started 40 games at Mississippi State, throwing for more than 12,000 yards and 94 touchdowns; he left the program as the SEC’s all-time completions leader with 1,301. While Rogers’ resume is impressive, he has yet to face a true test with this overhauled offense as Washington’s first two wins came against Weber State and Eastern Michigan.
How to watch the Washington State Cougars vs. the Washington Huskies
- When: Saturday, September 14
- Where: Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington (neutral site)
- Time: 3:30 p.m. ET (Pregame coverage begins at 3:00pm ET)
- Watch: Peacock
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