Foul Play: Cougars dog on Huskies

Look, when I said “MILF,” I did not think I meant “Man I Love Football,” because apparently the Cougars are biting this week.

In what is the first Apple Cup — the yearly rivalry game between the University of Washington Huskies and the Washington State Cougars — after the breakup of the PAC-12, the Cougs managed to hit ’em where it hurts and give the Huskies a 24-19 loss. It’s a sting for a team coming off a national championship loss, and also a sting for a team that is being coached by that lying snake, Jedd Fisch, coming off his own miraculous turnaround in Tucson.

With massive losses in talent and a disappearing act by Kalen DeBoer, who found the temperature in Tuscaloosa a little more inviting, UW wasn’t really set up for success. But still, losing to a team that went 5–7 last year and has won the Apple Cup only a third of the times it’s been played is a bad look for the Huskies.

On the other hand, it’s incredibly invigorating for the Coug team that really wanted a damn win. Washington has been running away with recognition from various sources, including massive NIL deals, an invite to the Big 10, and a national championship runner-up, and they’ve left their little brother in Pullman behind. Getting one over them is probably one of the most cathartic feelings a WSU fan can have.

It also means I can start saying the Cougars dog-walked the Huskies because that’s really funny, and the mental image of a bunch of middle aged women hitting on a bad college football team will absolutely keep me cackling for the rest of the week.

Photo evidence of the Cougars absolutely dog-walking the Huskies. Haley Williams/Sports Editor

It’s also a big step for WSU, and the future of the PAC-12, because the two remaining teams cannibalized the Mountain West this past week to get another four teams: Boise State, San Diego State, Colorado State, and Fresno State. Now, I’m just going to put it out there, but neither Boise, San Diego, nor Fresno are states, so this feels a bit disqualifying, but the Big Ol’ State School Conference sounds like an absolute blast to watch.

Wins like this, signature, eye-grabbing wins, and good performances in general, could give the PAC-6 the ability to actually make waves in the TV landscape and keep the conference from falling apart the next time the ACC, SEC, or Big XII come sniffing for new teams to beat up on, and the fact that we don’t have a dedicated West Coast Conference is going to hurt all these teams travel times going forwards.

Even so, for the time being, I’m just here for the Cougs. They’ve done good. They’ve played good. They felt good. They ran roughshod and they’ll keep on running roughshod. Go Cougs!